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June 2012

OSU-OKC Provides Scholarships to Westwood Elementary School Students

OSU-OKC President Natalie Shirley smiles with Westwood Elementary School fifth-grader Jonathan Avila during the graduation ceremony.

OSU-Oklahoma City is providing a chance of a lifetime to fifth-graders at Westwood Elementary School by awarding a supplemental scholarship to attend OSU-OKC.

OSU-OKC employee volunteers take turns each week reading with first- through fifth-grade students to offer encouragement. The university will continue to communicate with the students after fifth grade by sending them birthday and holiday cards. Once students enter eighth grade, OSU-OKC will update the students with program requirements and information.

To receive the scholarship, students are required to graduate from an Oklahoma City public high school or charter school and apply for Oklahoma’s Promise (OHLAP) and FASFA financial aid. If they are legally eligible to apply, they will be able to obtain the supplemental scholarship.

“Our goal is to change the future for these students by engaging with them and their families early,” said OSU-OKC President Natalie Shirley. “Historically, Westwood Elementary has seen approximately 40 percent of their students drop out before completing high school and only 13 percent attend college. That’s a number we can change with these scholarships.”

The program has the potential to send more than 100 students to OSU-OKC over the course of five years with little or no cost to the student and their family.

For more information, contact OSU-OKC Academic Affairs administrative assistant Janet Stricklin at (405) 945-3240.