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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Foundation provides vital scholarship help to Community Colleges of Spokane students

Anne Abbott, a paralegal and single mother, is one of more than 500 students to receive scholarships through the Community Colleges of Spokane Foundation this year. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)

After winning full-time custody of her three daughters in a bitter divorce, Anne Abbott knew it was time to get back to work.

Abbott had been a stay-at-home mom for 12 years when the divorce was finalized in 2015. She had started writing again and doing marketing work from home, but that would not be enough to support a family of four, she thought.

So early last year she moved to Spokane from central Oregon, with plans to become an attorney specializing in family law. After volunteering at the county prosecutor’s office, she found work as a paralegal at a downtown firm and restarted her education at Spokane Community College.

That wouldn’t have been possible, she said, if it weren’t for a pair of scholarships she received through the Community Colleges of Spokane Foundation.

“I want to be a voice for those who don’t have one, and I want to be a champion for those who are fighting for what’s right,” Abbott said. “It makes going to school for six years, and living on a budget, and having to ask for help when I need it – it makes it worthwhile.”

Abbott, 36, is one of more than 500 students who have received scholarships through the foundation for the 2017-18 school year. She received the Kendall Family Scholarship, for single parents and displaced homemakers, and an award from the women’s organization PEO reserved for single mothers with financial need.

In all, the CCS Foundation said it is doling out more than $600,000 in scholarships for the academic year, with awards ranging from $500 to $4,000, which covers tuition. Winners were chosen from more than 1,500 applicants based on “financial need, academic merit and challenges overcome,” a news release said.

About 47 percent of applicants are first generation students, meaning neither parent attended college; 11 percent are currently or formerly homeless; and 57 percent are “nontraditional” students returning to school – like Abbott.

“Our students are not your stereotypical college students,” said Heather Beebe-Stevens, the foundation’s executive director. “They face a vast array of obstacles that have the potential to throw them off track, so we are doing everything we can to give them the resources they need to complete their dreams of education, training and successful careers.”

Since 2014, the foundation has increased the amount of scholarships awarded by more than 20 percent, while the number of applications has tripled.

“While this has increased the caliber of students who receive support, it also means that many deserving students receive no assistance, due to lack of funds,” the news release said. “The foundation welcomes financial gifts of any amount to help support student needs.”

In addition to traditional scholarships, the foundation said it provides more than $60,000 in emergency assistance each year to help students stay in school when facing unexpected financial setbacks.

Unlike many students, Abbott already had several years of college under her belt when she enrolled at SCC. She had been a fitness instructor and managed her own studio. She had worked for a publishing house and covered theater as a freelance writer.

Returning to the workforce after more than a decade was difficult, Abbott said, although she had the tools to do it. Too many people, she said, are “ill-equipped to start over.”

Abbott now works for Burke Law Group and hopes to attend Gonzaga Law School in a few years. On her desk she keeps letters that her daughters – now 6, 10 and 13 years old – wrote to her when she started the job.

The oldest, Emma, wrote: “Momma, it’s been a long road to get to the place you’re at and I’m so proud of you. We’re in it together and you have worked so hard for what you’ve accomplished and what you will accomplish in the future. You deserve to stand in that courtroom and I know you will.”