The EMU Alumni Association Scholarships are given annually to freshman, sophomore or transfer students. The $1,000 award is renewable up to four consecutive years. Sixteen students currently receive the scholarship.

Junior special education major Allison Dery was just doing her job, leading a group of prospective students through Pierce Hall on a campus tour, when she saw an announcement for the Alumni Association Scholar-ship on a bulletin board. "I don't know how many times I'd walked past it," Dery said. "One day, it just jumped out at me."

Knowing that her mother, Carolyn (B.S. '78), received her teaching degree from EMU, Dery applied for and was chosen to receive the award for the remainder of her program. Even without the scholarship, Dery said she made a good decision when she chose EMU.

"I looked at a lot of education programs," she said. "Every one offered one or two areas of specialization, but only EMU offered every single one I thought I wanted, plus a few I'd never heard of."

That turned out to be another fortunate coincidence. "I knew I wanted to major in special education, but I went back and forth between hearing and vision impaired [specializations]," she said. "A lot!" It was only after a year that Dery realized speech and language pathology was a perfect fit. "I love it here," Dery said. "I'm so glad I didn't have to finish somewhere else."

When Kyla Hurst, a sophomore majoring in art education, was looking at colleges, EMU invited her to take the test for the Presidential Scholarship. It was then her parents decided "that they'd better start figuring out a way to pay for this," as mom Rebecca (B.S. '74) recalled, and contacted the Office for Alumni Relations to ask if there was any kind of special funding available for the children of alumni. Kyla's mom and dad, Gary (M.A. '77), are teachers for Novi Public Schools in Novi, Mich.

Hurst is glad her mom called. The extra money helps finance her goal of becoming a photography teacher at a high school. While at Plymouth-Canton High School, Hurst undertook an independent study project photographing abandoned buildings in Detroit that nature had taken over. She keeps two part-time jobs during the school year, working an additional 20 hours a week.

Hurst likes the requirement that scholarship recipients have to work in the Office for Alumni Relations or at an alumni event each semester. Since she is commuting, it helps her stay connected to campus. "It's a way to meet people and make friends," she said.