Osceola mother wins scholarship after winning national contest

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Osceola mother wins scholarship after winning national contest

Around Osceola

Wednesday, 23 June 2010 00:00

By Morgan Harvey
Intern
A mother of two wanting to return to school found a blessing in browsing the Internet for scholarships.
Marisol Ferreira, 34, of Kissimmee, won one of the 2010 Project Working Mom Scholarships, a national scholarship essay contest that helps mothers and fathers return to school for free.
“I was browsing on the Internet trying to find something for me to go to school. I was trying to get some Pell Grants, some student loans, something to help me out. However I didn’t have enough cash because I’m a working mom with two kids and tuition is very, very tight.” Ferreira said. “So one of my friends told me that there was a program available and linked me to the working Mom’s essay that I had to do, so I just did the essay. I just told my story and I’m starting right now.”
Ferreira is one of many who have gotten the chance to return to school thanks to Project Working Mom. It’s a scholarship program created by elearners.com that helps working mothers and fathers, no matter their situation, go back to school.
Partnered with the Tyra Banks Show, Project Working Mom gives more than $5 million to deserving scholarship winners annually.
In order to win, applicants must write an essay about why they deserve the scholarship. Ferreira chose to tell her story.
“My story is a long story, a very long story. My essay, I put everything down, it was just a way to vent,” she said. “My story is something you would see on T.V .and not believe that it happened in real life.”
After a rocky start, including a dysfunctional relationship and pregnancy, Ferreira worked to pull herself out of her situation. But because taking care of her two children was her main concern, she had postponed her educational goals.
Now, Ferreira said she feels more than blessed about the scholarship, knowing that it will lead to better things for her and her two young daughters.
“Its magic. It’s a blessing for me,” she said. “It was something I was looking forward to doing for many, many years and it’s a blessing for me. Every day is a brand new day for me. I’m studying, which is what I was looking for.”
Ferreira’s decision to go back to school was spurred by the birth of her second daughter, which brought to light the goals that she had for herself.
“My 1-year-old is the one that encouraged me to get back on my feet and go back to school. If you don’t have a degree in this recession and the times that we live in, I don’t think you are going to have a satisfying life. I think you need to go for your dreams, your goals in life, ” she said.
Ferreira is currently a student at Everest College and she is using her scholarship money to get a degree in business administration which she plans on using after she graduates to start up her own business with her cousin that will cater to the Kissimmee community.
To other women out there are considering going back to school, Ferreira had a tip.
“I just want to put the word out and let everybody know that everything is possible,” she said. “Even though you’re working as a full-time mom and you’re by yourself, you’re not by yourself. There are a lot of people out there who would like to see you growing and if you look for help, it’s there.”