Scholarship Recipients

The following are just a few of the more than 300 women whose lives have been touched by the Lauren Rose Albert Foundation Scholarship Program.

Lisa

Lisa Without her grant from the Lauren Rose Albert Foundation Lisa feels she would not have been able to finish her education at Gloucester County Community College.

"I remember having to buy a particular book which was $175," Lisa says. "I thought, 'Oh my gosh, how am I going to pay for this?' I was just trying to survive financially from one semester to another. My goal was to take each semester as it came.”

"The Foundation grant helped to alleviate a lot of the burden I would have had to endure if I had not been a recipient. Also, the LRAF grants were not about just helping me pay for my education. When I received these grants I felt like someone else was on my side. Someone else saw my potential and said, 'Yes, we think you can do it too. We want you to succeed and this is how we can help.' It was the validation I needed to believe I could achieve."

As a child, Lisa did not have a lot of encouragement. She grew up in an abusive family setting; for Lisa there are no happy childhood memories. Books and reading were her only escape and her only dream was to seek a college education after graduating high school. But this was not to be and Lisa ended up in a brief marriage with a child and a series of unproductive jobs in the accounting field.

“I remember thinking, there has to be more to life than this,” recalls Lisa, “I had to do something to change my life for me and my daughter Ellen.” She choose a path that reflects her troubled childhood and her passion to help others; in 2005 she enrolled in Gloucester County College to study psychology. That’s where help from the LRAF and others changed her life forever. “I remember feeling liberated,” recounts Lisa, “I could envision a better life for Ellen and me.” Her years at GCC were marked by significant recognition and achievement; most notably the ALL-USA Academic – 1st Team, NJ New Century Scholar and a long list of prestigious academic and community service awards.

Despite her accomplishments, life for this single working mother is not without daily challenges. Lisa was born with cataracts and is legally blind; she currently can drive during daylight, but any worsening of her condition will result in the permanent loss of her license.

A routine health check-up in July 2007 ended in a hospital stay and diagnosis of diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol. Confronted with sizable medical bills – and no health insurance and fear for her life – and concern for her daughter Ellen, Lisa fought back. And she won! She’s been medicine free since February and to date has lost 132 pounds! “I no longer use food to cope with life,” Lisa explains, “I use exercise or meditation as substitutes.” All the diagnoses have changed or completely disappeared.

In May 2009, Lisa will graduate with honors from Rutgers University with a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology and a 3.95 GPA.

Nadine

Nadine Once upon a time, Nadine, a divorced mother of two sons, didn’t have a home. Now she has graduated from Rowan University and thinking about attending graduate school.

Getting to this point hasn’t been easy – she’s held as many as three jobs at a time, suffered a heart attack and watched her lifestyle take a dramatic turn when her marriage ended while she was earning her associate’s degree.

She’s had a bit of help though, including financial assistance for her course load from Rowan and a scholarship for her books from the Lauren Rose Albert Foundation.

“There were times I questioned whether I could make it,” said Nadine, of Washington Township, Gloucester County. “The scholarship was a godsend. It’s a wonderful thing. It just meant so much to me that someone would consider me and issue the money for books.”

The future is full of options for Nadine. She would like to teach college history and become an author. Ultimately, she’d like to start a non-profit organization that can help women going through what she experienced to find the assistance they need.

“It’s been one of my dreams to hopefully have a place they can turn to where I am directing them to the right place or helping them myself.”

Nadine now serves as a member of the Lauren Rose Albert Foundation Education Committee.

Kristen

Kristen Kristen attended Burlington County College briefly after graduating from high school, but the arrival of her daughter re-focused her goals and the importance of education. “I wanted to give my daughter a better life, “said Kristen, “and I wanted to get a degree and better myself.”

The Lauren Rose Albert Foundation Scholarship grant meant a great deal to Kristen, “It’s been a big weight off of me. In fact, I’m not sure I would be able to graduate without this help.”

Marquita

Marquita feels strongly that a parent should set an example for their children by pursuing their dreams and being a good parent. This has been a challenge for this single mother but one that she has handled “by letting go and letting God.” It is hard work, notes Marquita, but it surely pays off in the end. “You never want your children to be strangers to hard work; leading by example is the best teacher.”

A Gloucester County College student, her LRAF Scholarship grants made a real difference for Marquita -- she had no other financial assistance and this was the only way she could afford her textbooks.

Roshawnda

A few years ago, Roshawnda made a decision to change her life. Realizing that she had no real job skills, - “counter work was not going to cut it” – Roshawnda went back to college to pursue a nursing degree specializing in cardio-pulmonary care. For the single mother of a teenage daughter and young son, the Lauren Rose Albert Foundation scholarship award was a “significant help” for Roshawnda who received only a small amount of financial aid.