October 16, 2007

Scholarship Winners for Students Impacted by the Death of a Parent

Posted by: LIFE Foundation

Stephen Canter was the owner of a successful construction company and had life insurance to protect both the company and his family. But when the business began to fail, the life insurance was dropped as a cost-saving measure. After Stephen’s death and with no life insurance to sustain the family, the dream of a college education seemed unattainable for Stephen's oldest child, Brijna.

When Stephen Canter died suddenly at age 44, his family's financial situation quickly fell apart. Several years earlier, Stephen was the owner of a successful construction company and had life insurance to protect both the company and his family. But when the business began to fail, the life insurance was dropped as a cost-saving measure. Without it, the dream of a college education seemed unattainable for Stephen's oldest child, Brijna, who was 14 at the time. Brijna, her three brothers and their mother were evicted from three different homes and had to rely on the generosity of friends to get by in the years following Stephen's death.

In fact, Brijna did postpone college to help raise her younger brothers and earn money to supplement her mother's income. A year after graduating high school, she enrolled in community college. Today, with the help of a $5,000 scholarship from the nonprofit LIFE Foundation, Brijna is majoring in Health Services Administration at the University of Central Florida and her future is looking brighter.

LIFE awarded two $5,000 Grand Prize scholarships and the second winner was Zachary Cyran of Amherst, Ohio, who won in the Video Entry category. His father died of a heart attack when he was seven years old. His father had life insurance, but only enough to cover his funeral expenses, leaving Zachary and his mother little money to cover everyday expenses, let alone college costs.

Brijna, Zachary and 23 other college students are recipients of 2007 LIFE Lessons Scholarships, which assist college students who have experienced the emotional and financial impact of losing a parent at a young age. In all, LIFE awarded scholarships totaling $25,000 to deserving students around the country.

"Because my dad's life insurance policy had lapsed, we had nothing to fall back on when he died," said Brijna. "Our financial situation was dire. We had no home, no money, and no stability in our lives. The LIFE Lessons scholarship will make it easier to pay for tuition, books, and living expenses. It means I won't graduate with quite as much debt. And it means that I'll be able to look to the future sooner rather than later."

According to the College Board, the average cost of a four-year public college education is $58,000 and more than twice that amount at a private institution.

"Paying for college is a major financial challenge for most American families, but it becomes infinitely more difficult when a parent dies without life insurance," said David F. Woods, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF, president of the LIFE Foundation. "Judging from the nearly 1,000 submissions received for our third annual LIFE Lessons College Scholarship program, this problem is, unfortunately, way too common. It's our hope that the stories of this year's scholarship winners will serve as a wake-up call to parents around the country. They must take steps now to ensure they have adequate life insurance coverage."

The Grand Prize in the Video Entry category was determined by an online public vote, in which more than 13,000 votes were cast. Prior to Zachary being awarded the LIFE Lessons scholarship, he had exhausted all savings and scholarship money but today is attending Bowling Green State University. His winning video, along with the entries of other scholarship winners, can be seen at www.lifehappens.org/scholarship (click on 2007 Contest Winners).

To be considered for this year's scholarship program, students had to submit either a 500-word written essay or a three-minute video describing the financial and emotional impact of losing their mom or dad at a young age.

In addition to Brijna and Zachary, the following students are recipients of 2007 LIFE Lessons Scholarships: Jessica Davis (Westchester Community College); Tammie Sommons (Howard University); Lark Mitchell (Florida A&M University); Karen Egbuna (Trinity University); Carly Tsurudome (University of CA, Los Angeles); Jillian Fragale (Prescott College); Thomas Johnson (University of the Arts); Kristin Oickle (New England School of Law); Shandrika Drake (Campbell University); Brittany Rittenberry (University of New Hampshire); Zachary Parkhill (Saint Vincent College); Crystal Miller (University of CO, Health & Sciences Center); Cristina Jones (California State University - Fullerton); Andrew Kaczynski (Savannah College of Art & Design); Pearl Degen (Dowling College); Barbara Lovett (University of Central Florida) Jamie Carver (University of Texas, Arlington); Tiffany Cullen (Savannah College of Art & Design); Tara Joseph (Howard University) and; William Taylor (Temple University).

For more information about the LIFE Lessons College Scholarship program, visit their web site.