September 13, 2007
Student rising above problems gets help
One of the YWCA’s Thurmond College Scholarship winners overcomes struggles to stay in CSUF.
By MONZERRATH GONZALEZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Shannon Ortiz faced a crossroad in her life when she realized she could not live with herself knowing her two daughters had seen her stay in an abusive relationship.
She didn’t want them to grow up and say to her, “you stayed.”
She did what she knew would be best: she left.
Ortiz, a fulltime Cal State Fullerton student, took almost a one-year break from school. In that time, she moved into a transitional home, a hotel and homeless intervention programs.
For the last 21 months, she has been living in the Santa Ana Salvation Army homeless intervention program with daughters Morgan, 7, and Mackenzie, 6. She’ll be graduating from the program in December.
Despite the challenges in her life, Ortiz has persevered and said she has never lost sight of her goal of earning her degree.
The 35-year-old English major received some help recently as one of five recipients of the Thurmond College Scholarship from the YWCA of North Orange County.
To qualify, women must be at least 24 years old, have a 2.0 grade point average and be attempting to better their lives through education.
A letter of recommendation and interview are also parts of the process.
“The biggest lesson I’ve learned in the last five years is that the most important thing in my life is my kids,” Ortiz said. “I could lose everything, but as long as I have them I could recover.”
Mackenzie was recently was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and must take special education classes.
Her autism has forced Ortiz to reduce her work hours to care for the girl.
Although times have been hard, Ortiz said she is inspired by her daughters and wants to succeed for them, as well as teach them important life lessons.
“I want them to have faith … I want them to be confident as individuals and know their values,” she said. “I want them to know that to really live life you need to share it with other people. When you live life for yourself you are not really living.”
With the $2,000 received from the Thurmond Scholarship, Ortiz is able to pay for tuition and books.
The Thurmond family said the fund was started to help single mothers in need of financial assistance, a niche they felt needed to be filled.
Ruth Thurmond, who started the scholarship, was an active member of the YWCA and an advocate for women’s rights, Roseanne Thurmond, her daughter-in-law, said.
“What we want [recipients] to be able to do is get their degrees and go into successful professional lives,” Don Thurmond, family trustee, said.
The four other scholarship winners also have overcome obstacles. Midori Tanaka is a full-time student and single mother of two who works 30 hours a week.
Her goal is to receive a bachelor’s degree in international business by spring 2008.
Farhana Saima is also a fulltime student who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in marketing.
Lili Asiabanpour has a 3.98 GPA and has been on the dean’s list several semesters; she overcame an illness and an abusive relationship.
Patricia Campbell, a single parent and returning full-time student, hopes to receive a bachelor’s degree in anthropology with a minor in history in 2008.