Shauntia Carson reaches aspirations she never thought possible
OCTOBER 5, 2018
Written By: Patricia McKnight
Shauntia Carson, one of our 2018 recipients of the Milwaukee’s Finest Scholarship, is the first in her family to attend college.
Like many college students, Shauntia says she is excited to be enrolled at Marquette University this fall to major in Criminology and Law Studies. She decided to choose a college close to home because staying in touch with her family is one of the most important things to her.
“My biggest motivation to finish college is my family. I am a first generation student and I’d like to make my family proud,” stated Carson.
Living on campus provides her with the best of both worlds. Carson says Marquette University will offer her the ‘college experience’ while also being close enough to home to visit her loved ones.
“I think about my family a lot and how much graduating and succeeding means to them. I plan to make them very proud," she said.
As a freshman, Carson is taking big strides to make her family proud. Within the first two months of college, Carson is serving as the elected Program Coordinator of Cobeen Hall. Her responsibilities include coordinating social, educational and service events for students who live on campus. Her aspirations reach even higher. She’s already preparing to run as Council Chair in 2019.
“I plan to be successful in college by going to the library after class, going to office hours and my weekly tutoring sessions. I’m confident to not only reach professional goals but also to reach my personal goals by balancing my work, school, and a social life,” she said affirmingly.
Before receiving our scholarship Carson thought she’d be borrowing money to pay for college, but she already began harboring the burden of private loans on her family's finances. Milwaukee's Finest Scholarship exceeded Shauntia’s expectations for not only her finances but what she could be able to accomplish as an educated professional.
“Before I didn’t apply to many scholarships because I thought no one would believe in me, but Milwaukee's Finest did. It made me more confident in myself and my ability to attend college. If I didn’t receive this scholarship I wouldn’t have been able to attend my dream college.”
The Milwaukee's Finest Scholarship Foundation believes that all students, especially first-generation students, deserve equal opportunity. It’s thanks to donors like you that we can help students like Shauntia reach aspirations they never though possible.