What began as a job to help pay for college and meet new people turned into a bigger reward than senior Carissa Deeds could have imagined.
A few months ago, Deeds was awarded the first Libraries Student Assistant Scholarship. In the essay that secured her award, Deeds wrote about how working at the library helped her meet new people and made the transition from high school to college smoother.
“This is going to be a huge help financially,” Deeds said. “Because I am working on both a major in early education and a minor in sign language in four years, I am taking way over the credit limit. It’s a lot moneywise, but this scholarship will help me continue to pay for college and graduate on time.”
Deeds used the $1,000 scholarship toward her 2014-15 tuition and fees, and with the cost of higher education, Deeds said every bit of help made a difference.
Her scholarship is one of more than 700 offered by various departments. While some scholarships are available only to a student enrolled in a specific program or major, students won’t know what they may qualify for until they conduct some research.
“There’s a lot more free money out there than many students and their families may realize,” said Mark Evans, ’s director of Student Financial Aid. “We always encourage students to apply if they qualify. The hours it takes to write an essay and fill out an application can pay big dividends for those willing to seek out scholarship opportunities.”
Scholarship awards can be based on a variety of criteria including merit, talent, demonstrated financial need, field of study, participation in a specific program, organization or activity, or any combination.
’s scholarship engine provides easy access for both incoming freshmen and returning students to enter their criteria and search for available university-awarded scholarships.
Access the scholarship search engine
Portal to external scholarship engines
More than 76 percent of students receive financial aid, Evans said, with many receiving scholarships on top of grants and other assistance for which they have qualified. Last year, and the Foundation provided more than $43 million in scholarships.