As each year ticks by, college has been getting more and more expensive. Now, unless you’re considered wealthy or are willing to agree to thousands of dollars in loans, attending college is out of the question for many.
Scholarships help many students attend higher higher education, but even those are hard to obtain.
But thanks to the Rosztoczy Foundation a group of 63 third graders from Arizona will be able to attend four years of college without having to worry about money. They were all given full rides to the in-state college of their choice.
The announcement at Bernard Black Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona was made Monday during what parents thought was just another assembly.
“I just thought it was another award because he’s a good kid,” Brandon Gailliard said about his son Noah.
But it was more than anyone could have ever dreamed of.
Roosevelt School District Superintendent Quintin Boyce took to the stage and made the surprise announcement.
“For every Bernard Black third grader, that is right here with us, they are offering a full-ride college scholarship,” Boyce said of the Rosztoczy Foundation’s generous offer.
“The goal, through the generous officer of this family, is that finances will not be the barrier that college is an option for every third grader right here,” he said.
The foundation will pay for the students’ tuition, books, and room and board through their “College Promise” program.
The foundation, which previously gifted scholarships to a class of third graders in 2012, gives out scholarships to students in Arizona as well as offers opportunities to students in Hungary.
While the students may be too young to understand the impact, parents were overjoyed.
“I just couldn’t hold it back because it just means for sure my son is going to college. I don’t have to think about it. He’s going,” Gailliard said.
It’s reported that over 1.7 million scholarships are awarded to students each year, but only 7 percent of students receive one. And the average worth of those scholarships: $7,400.
So news of a full ride scholarship, even years before their children will graduate, had many in tears.
“I’m a single parent and college is far away, but it’s not easy,” Tanisa Miller, a single mother of two said. “Just thinking that someone has the kindness of their heart to want to send someone like my child to school is a little overwhelming.”
In order to receive the full benefits of the scholarships, students have to graduate from their elementary school and a Phoenix Union High school. They must also demonstrate financial need and enroll in an Arizona state college.
The generosity it takes to offer 63 scholarships to these young students…I can’t imagine! It brings tears to my eyes. This is going to help so many families.
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