Scholarship Contest Gives Working Professionals Chance to Return to School

If you’ve been itching to go back to school to earn that MBA, or a Masters of Education, you may be in luck. The University of Phoenix and The Enterprise newspaper are teaming up to offer a $5,000 scholarship for continuing education.

The scholarship has been offered for a number of years, but only for an MBA. This year, says Darris Howe, VP and Director of the Utah Campus of the University of Phoenix, they’ve added the option to pursue a Masters of Education. “As you know, we have a very serious teacher shortage in Utah. We want to make sure that Utah is well situated and well positioned to have the best teachers for our elementary school children also.”

The scholarship would also allow the recipient to change career tracks and enter the educational field. “One of the most successful programs we’ve had at the university is those individuals who have been in an occupation other than education and want to go back after their careers in business have ended,” says Howe. “This scholarship would be a good opportunity for them to do that too.”

Competition is always tight for the scholarship, but this year could prove especially so. With the economy beginning to sour, the tendency is for people to go back to school. Howe says they’re already seeing that trend. “When the economy goes south, people want to make sure they have the skills, the education necessary to succeed to get those types of jobs and pursue those types of opportunities that would best help them and their families.”

Howe says they’re looking for people who can demonstrate some activity in the community, or those who have overcome some type of difficulty in their life that would set them apart through the selection process. “The recipient that we gave last year, for example, was a entrepreneur with their family business in generators, and her father, who was the founder of the business had suffered some health problems. She stepped in and took over, and saw this MBA as a chance to further her education as she goes out and runs her family business.”

Scholarship applications can be obtained by contacting Holly Heffron at University of Phoenix, 905-4310, or via e-mail at holly.heffron@phoenix.edu.

Deadline is September 30th.

Utah Pulse's Bryan Schott speaks with Darris Howe about the $5,000 scholarship competition.