Higher education enterprise software provider rewards adult students for their perseverance
TORONTO, Sept. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Moon Soe, 25, and Virginia Wilson, 58, have each been awarded a $2,500 scholarship as the 2012-2013 recipients of the Mary Cone Barrie Scholarship Award. The scholarship is awarded each year by Toronto-based education technology firm Destiny Solutions as a means of recognizing the struggles and sacrifices made by non-traditional students.
Soe is currently enrolled in the Urban Teacher Program at Metropolitan State University in Minnesota. Originally from Burma, Soe spent 13 years in a refugee camp in Thailand where he taught as an unlicensed teacher in the camp's secondary school. "However, I felt bad for I was not able to provide my students the best quality education because I was not well trained," he said.
Soe plans to graduate in spring of 2013 and become a secondary school math teacher.
"Working fulltime and going to school fulltime might be a little difficult, but … I motivate myself everyday to have enough energy," he said. "The scholarship not only helped me financially, but has also become part of my success story. A lot of people don't have high hopes for themselves. I can become an example and show them that there are opportunities if they want to continue their education."
Wilson is expecting to graduate in spring of 2013 from the University of Maine with a Bachelor of Sociology.
A true lifelong learner, Wilson went back to school 15 years ago to become a minister. In this role, she went to Kenya to do missionary work during the after-election violence of 2007-2008.
"It made me determined to go back and help people who are displaced by war or disaster," she said. "I dared dream the impossible and was called a fool by many—here I was approaching my 50s and wanting to start a new career."
Upon graduation, Wilson plans to work with the United Nations, or another relief organization.
"Receiving this scholarship is recognition for me. It means I will be able to take the classes that will enable me to graduate and I will be able to be working one year sooner with people that need me," she said.
This is the fifth year that Destiny Solutions has offered the Mary Cone Barrie Scholarship Award.
"We created the scholarship as a means of honoring the late Dr. Mary Cone Barrie and supporting the students she was so dedicated to helping," said Shaul Kuper, president and CEO of Destiny Solutions. "Non-traditional students face a unique set of circumstances and I am so pleased that we are able to help Virginia Wilson and Moon Soe as they strive to improve their lives, and the lives of those around them, through education."
About Destiny Solutions
The leader in lifelong learning business solutions, Destiny Solutions delivers breakthrough technology, exclusively for non-traditional higher education. Destiny Solutions has been proven to enable leading schools to reach their market potential, increase their business agility and enable operational integrity while operating in highly competitive markets.
Contact:
Rachel Kuper
Email
416 480 0500 x 214