Paying it Forward - 2010 Profiles

Alumni - Sun City West, Arizona
“Your university changed my life. Now, I hope to help change the life of my son. I want it to be his turn.” Linda’s children helped her find her niche in life. As a young mother she took a job as a Special Education Aide at their elementary school and later completed her degree in education. “I chose education because I loved working with children,” she explains. Linda went on to earn her master’s degree in education from University of Phoenix. “As I look back at the teacher I was (I am retired), I realize that because of my years at University of Phoenix, I was a Master Teacher. I changed the lives of my students; I encouraged them to see beyond the present and to a future they could control as long as they were educated and aware of the possibilities only education could provide them; and I encouraged others to follow my path. I know many educators who are University of Phoenix graduates because I helped them find that special place.” Linda would like to pay forward her education to her son Scott.

Recipient - Cave Creek, Arizona
Scott is a natural born entrepreneur and businessman. “In his senior year of high school, Scott started his own computer company and was so talented, persistent and persuasive that he had the local chamber of commerce as a client,” shares Linda. He had a promising start at college but couldn’t complete his degree for a lack of funds. Never one to give up, he began studying on his own and testing for certificates in the computer field. He became the President and CEO of his own company but lost his business when the economy took a turn. Now Scott is having a difficult time in the current economic situation and knows he needs to earn his business degree to get back on track. “Scott wants to earn a degree in business so he can start his own firm. Neither he nor any of his family can afford to help him attend college, but he wants the opportunities a degree will offer him. He is driven and talented and will become a success if given a chance. Knowing Scott, there is no question about that.” A degree changed Linda’s life and she knows it will do the same for her son.