Coming Full Circle

Playing and laughing with the other kids, attending fun community events, and always feeling a strong sense of family and support–that’s what I think of when I recall the time spent growing up at Family Scholar House. It was over eleven years ago when my mother, little brother, and I all moved into the cloister apartments and joined what was then called Project Women. My mother was a single parent with two children struggling to get through school with a lack of useful resources and financial support. I was only thirteen at the time, but still remember realizing that my mom was having a difficult time and working hard for me and my brother. With the help and genuine compassion shown by the staff, my mother began to develop friendships with the other participants, find inner-confidence, and start to build the support system that she needed to succeed.

Family Scholar House states that their mission is to end the cycle of poverty and transform our community by empowering families and youth to succeed in education and achieve life-long sufficiency. As of December 2018, my mother graduated as a DNP and as of May 2019, I graduated from Indiana University Southeast with my bachelor’s degree. Now having the opportunity to work in the intake office as an Americorps intern, I am able to see first-hand the steps and process my mother went through in order to provide a better life for not only herself, but for our family. At the age of 25, I am now even more encouraged to help spread the importance of education to others within my community as well as my own personal relationships. Family Scholar House is a program that truly provides single parents with the right resources and support system they need in order to take that first step towards making a change.