Nominations for ADCI Scholarships Due November 30, 2011

 

Dear Fellow ADCI Members

It has been a very busy year for us all and I, personally, do not know where the time has gone. It is unbelievable that we were, just a few months ago it seems, in New Orleans attending UI2011. Now it is November and we have the Holidays and a new year just around the corner.

During this year we have watched our cities, states and country facing huge deficits. To make up for the inability of our Government to continue to subsidize higher education, tuition has increased, in some colleges and universities as much as 30%. It is clear that our students will not be able to fund their continuing education expense without assistance.

Our middle daughter has returned to school as a 35 year old single mother of two. She works, raises her six year old daughter and five year old son, and is a full time student. With all of her obligations she has managed to maintain a 3.8 GPA. She has applied for student loans and special needs grants for assistance. With two years to go, she knows that the cost of her education will be great, and it is a cause of great stress for her.

I think of the countless students graduating from high school; others who are going back to school after losing jobs; veterans returning from our wars, some injured, many without jobs. All looking for the same thing as our daughter, a new direction, job training or continuing education in order to realize that American Dream. Not wealth, but financial independence through higher education.

The ADCI offers two four thousand dollar scholarships each year, one to a General Member applicant and one to an Associate Member applicant. The Scholarship application is found on the ADCI website (http://www.adc-int.org/scholarship.php); please sponsor that worthy applicant in your circle of influence. The deadline for getting the applications in to the ADCI office, or to me directly is November 30th.

Thank you and best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday.
Dori Ritter, Chair
ADCI Scholarship Committee