Abby Young, Future Pharmacist and Scholarship Winner

Finding Direction

Abby Young used Scholarships.com to earn enough money to fund her entire college tuition. But though her achievements are sky-high, she remains as down-to-earth as the town she calls home.

Tucked away in a forested corner of Oklahoma is Colcord, a tiny town of about 800 people. Colcord is home to a number of beautiful, one-of-a-kind sights, including a historic mill, a rushing waterfall, and a museum of Native American history— but without a nearby public university and few public transportation options, less than 20% of this little town’s population is college-educated.

Growing up in Colcord, Young was unsure about what the future held for her. A thoughtful, curious student, she cycled through different ideas of what to pursue: agriculture, maybe, then veterinary science, then medicine, perhaps. She job-shadowed a radiologist, then a pharmacist, but it was difficult to choose what route to take.

Senior year came around and Young was still considering not only her career path, but also her finances. The closest undergraduate institution to Colcord is a private religious college with a steep tuition bill. The area has a rich history, but it is also historically low-income. For much of the community, Young included, financing any higher education at all is a daunting task. Then, Young’s high school counselor told her she should apply for the Gates Scholarship.

“I said, ‘I don’t know what that is,’ looked it up, and it came through on Scholarships.com,” Young explained. “And I signed up and started looking through different stuff on there.”

"...don't give up. Try your hardest."

Through Scholarships.com, Young matched with unique funds that suited her personal circumstances. She discovered that as a high-achieving student from a low-income household, she was the perfect candidate for the prestigious, full-tuition Gates Scholarship; she also qualified for local scholarships like those offered by the Cherokee Nation Foundation, which she had an even higher chance of winning.

“I think applying to scholarships is very stressful, especially as a high school student,” Young said. Juggling homework, post-graduation plans, and family responsibilities was enough of a task on its own; finding time to hunt for scholarships on top of all that made the process even more complicated. Scholarships.com found applicable funds and provided easy-to-understand guidelines so Young could spend less time looking and more time applying.

In the end, it all paid off. Young received the Gates scholarship and several Cherokee Nation Foundation scholarships, which covered the entire cost of her undergraduate tuition.

“They gave me the opportunity to even attend college,” she said. “My options were small, and these scholarships opened up more of what I could possibly do, especially career-wise.”

After a long consideration process and lots of research, Young enrolled at Northeastern State University to study chemistry, beginning an adult life that once seemed impossible. She plans to become a pharmacist, her ambitions reaching far past the Colcord city limits.

“It is a very stressful time,” she emphasized, “but don’t give up. Try your hardest.”