Helping a Range of Student Overcoming Huge Odds
In a typical year, ABO awards scholarships that range from $500-$3,500 to both first-year and continuing students attending universities, community colleges and trade schools. In total, the scholarship program awards about $45,000 to around 15 nominated and selected students each year.
According to its About description on Facebook, the Achievement Beyond Obstacles “is a scholarship program for high school seniors who have overcome hardships and demonstrated personal leadership.”
One recipient it recently touted is Lauren Mazurowski, a graduate student at UNR, who received an ABO scholarship every year of her college career. She is now the president of the Student Association for International Water Issues, for which she plans annual trips to help struggling communities around the world with access to potable water.
“These seniors are nominated by their high school counselors because they have triumphed over some kind of hardship,” Kim Mazeres, a member of the Youth Services Committee with Rotary District 5190, explained to Our Town Reno. “Yet these students have also demonstrated personal leadership, courage, academic improvement and want to go to college.”
The hardships ABO Scholarship recipients face often vary from student to student.
“Five years ago we had a student who was homeless,” Mazeres said. “She and her brothers were couch-surfing and she not only graduated high school from Sparks High, but she was bound and determined to go to UNR as a journalism student. She completed her degree this summer and during her college career, had a baby and got married.”
Other students Mazeres said have faced other challenges such as cancer, incarceration or may have previously dropped out of school and came back to earn their diploma. Due to the unique challenges many of these students face, the program has expanded in recent years to include a mandatory “Leadership Weekend,” a two-day workshop where students undergo professional and personal leadership seminars.
Kim Mazeres (right) poses proudly with a scholarship recipient.
The Value of its Leadership Weekend Component
“[ABO] was originally a scholarship program where a handful of students were given about a thousand dollars each,” Mazeres said. “But as we've seen these students’ needs, we started a Leadership Weekend that is all about personal leadership for the students and understanding that they're not alone with the problems they face. It is run by a couple of professional trainers and students have to attend because we believe they are more successful at college once they go through that program.”
The Leadership Weekend has been a part of ABO for over five years now and includes a financial literacy workshop so students can understand how to budget and manage the cost of college. Students from TMCC and UNR serve as mentors as well, providing the incoming students a chance to see the campus and hear what it’s like to be a college student.
“[The Leadership Weekend] gives them a great base for going into college,” Mazeres said. “It's all about personal leadership and knowing that if they've come this far, they can overcome whatever is in their path to be successful and begin to grow their network around them.”
A Facebook screengrab includes a recent photo with Reno City Council member Oscar Delgado.
Adapting to COVID-19
ABO, like nonprofits all across the country, has had to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Typically, the Leadership Weekend for nominated students would take place in late October or early November. Then students would have an opportunity to give a presentation to the Rotary Clubs about their background and academic goals in late March, before a final selection of recipients is determined.
But this past spring, due to the country-wide lockdowns, last year’s selection process had to be modified.
“We thought about [using] Zoom [for student presentations], but all of us were new to Zoom in that mid-March timeframe so we hesitated,” Mazeres said. “This year, we wouldn't hesitate to Zoom. All of our Rotary clubs have gotten very adept at using Zoom for meetings. So we may be able to do something more with the students via Zoom this year when it comes to presentations.”
In place of the standard student-presentation process for selection, this year ABO transitioned to a purely application-based process. Of particular note is that ABO awarded $21,500 in scholarships to 16 first-year students, the most first-year recipients they’ve had in recent years.
“I can't remember the last time we gave scholarships to 16 first-year students,” Mazeres said. “The scholarships may have been a little smaller because it was tougher to pick a standout student or a couple of standout students when you hadn't seen them as much in-person, but it was easier to know that they are all deserving. So we actually gave out more first-year scholarships than we normally do because of the pandemic.”
ABO scholarships are not just for first-year students, however. Recipients are eligible to re-apply for the scholarship each year to continue their education at their college or university, or even continue their education by pursuing a Master’s or other professional degree.
Tougher Than Ever Before with Looming Evictions
“Last year, we gave $25,500 in scholarships to 14 continuing students,” Mazeres said. “Furthermore, we now have two students in graduate school and one that's entering law school.”
Mazeres cites one young woman who received an ABO scholarship that is now pursuing her Master’s degree after completing her Environmental Engineering degree. She was recently rewarded a six-figure fellowship as part of her Master’s program.
“She came from a situation where her dad had a specific type of dementia,” Mazeres said. “She and her brothers took care of their dad after school so mom could work, and mom had not worked before then. She now gives back to the program and has come back to talk to students about everything they can accomplish and everything that is possible for them.”
Recipients of ABO Scholarships have come from each of the high schools in the Washoe County School District. With the onset of hybrid-learning that most schools have implemented for the 2020-2021 academic year, there originally were concerns about high school counselors being able to identify prospective students for this year’s ABO program.
“We were worried about our counselors not being able to nominate students, given the weirdness that they've been through for the last six months,” Mazeres said. “But the counselors are all rockstars. They've already told us, ‘I’ve got my students in mind and know what I'm doing, so when you're ready, we'll be ready.’”
ABO is still currently exploring options on how they will conduct this year’s Leadership Weekend and student presentations. But like everyone else during the COVID-19 pandemic, they are learning to adapt and have taken inspiration during this time from the students themselves.
“I think our students have it tougher now than ever before, whether it's parents that are without work because of COVID or had been without work and are struggling to pay bills,” Mazeres said. “Then with the eviction moratoriums that they’re going to be staring down as well, I just think there's more need [for ABO scholarships] than ever before. So those of us who are able to help our society, our community and our young people to assist them in becoming the absolute best versions of themselves is not only good for them, but it's good for our entire community.”