More than a Scholarship
佚名 / Anonymous
You may have heard of Osceola McCarty. She’s the 88-year-old woman in Mississippi who had worked for over 75 years as a washer woman. One day after she retired， she went to the bank and discovered， to her great surprise， that her meager monthly savings had grown to over $150， 000. Then to everyone’s great surprise， she turned around and donated $150，000—almost all of those savings—to the University of Southern Mississippi (U**) for a scholarship fund for African-American students with financial needs. She made national headlines.
What you have not heard is how Osceola’s gift had affected my life. I am 19 years old and the first recipient of an Osceola McCarty Scholarship.
I was a dedicated student， and I had my heart set on going to U**. But I missed being eligible for a regular scholarship by one point on the entrance exams， and a scholarship was the only way I could attend.
One Sunday， I came across the story in the paper about Osceola McCarty and her generous gift. I showed my mother the article， and we both agreed it was a great thing to have done.
The next day I went to the financial aid office， and they told me there was still no money available for me， but if anything came up they’d call. A few days later， as I was running out the door to catch a ride with my mother to work， the phone rang. I stopped to pick it up， and while I heard my mother honking the horn for me to hurry up， they told me I had been chosen to receive the first Osceola McCarty Scholarship. I was ecstatic！ I ran out as fast as I could to tell my mother. She had to call the office again herself to make sure it was true.
I first met Osceola at a press conference—meeting her was like finding family. Osceola never married or had children， so my family has since become her family. My grandma and she talk on the phone regularly and do errands together， and she joins us for family functions.