By Julianna Parker Jones
When University of Oklahoma pre-med senior Peace Ossom was told she won a scholarship for single moms, she only expected to get $100.
She had taken a semester off school to have her son, and was looking for help with school costs. At the scholarship reception, she found out she'd been awarded a new scholarship for $2,000.
"They had an awards ceremony and they kind of surprised me," she said. She nearly missed the announcement because she was in the bathroom, but was pulled out for the special announcement.
"To me the biggest thing is to see people who want to give that much," Ossom said, adding that $2,000 is a lot of money. "That speaks a lot."
This is the first year for the scholarship, called the Empowerment of Spirit Award. Four women each received $2,000 scholarships: Ossom, Yok-Fong Paat, Eulonda Rushing and Rebecca Karnes.
Each single mom originally applied for another scholarship for single moms, the $4,000 Betty Baum and Norman Hirschfield Scholarships. There were too many applicants for three scholarships and they didn't receive that one. Staff at the Women's Studies Program, where the scholarship is administered, wanted to give them something. The women were outstanding candidates, said Jill Irvine, director of Women's Studies.
So faculty member Martha Skeeters asked Norman resident Cindy Merrick to consider giving $100 to the women. She gave Merrick the applications filled out by the four women, which included their personal stories.
"I took 'em home and I sat at my kitchen table reading them and I just cried," Merrick said.
She said she was impressed by their ability to move beyond their past and commit fully to both their children and their education.
"They had asked for $100, and I just thought that wasn't enough," Merrick said.
While she was sitting in her kitchen thinking that, she started opening up her mail. The first piece she opened was an $8,000 check from the Internal Revenue Service.
She said she immediately knew that she didn't need that money, but these women did.
"I was a single mom," Merrick said. "It's tough. It's tough -- they have some extreme financial needs."
Merrick also enlisted the help of her friend, Ally Richardson, to make the EOS scholarship a reality. The women also chose the name, which in addition to being an acronym for Empowerment of Spirit, also represents Eos, the goddess of the dawn that represents new beginnings.
Richardson said it was the recipients of the scholarship that really inspired its creation by their vulnerability in their applications.
"We were so moved by their stories and by the way they were able to move past their stories," she said. As a result, she said, the women helped to empower Richardson and Merrick by allowing them to do something to make a difference in their lives.
Scholarship recipient Rushing, a women's studies and human relations major, said she learned to empower herself after she got out of a "not-typical" marriage. She decided she wanted to get an education then.
"It was that experience that made me want to do it for myself and not just my kids, and not be so dependent," Rushing said.
Her mother raised Rushing on her own and gave her an example of a strong single mother.
"I'm just glad that she showed me how to do it," Rushing said.
Despite the challenges posed by being a single mother, Paat said she decided to continue her education in which she is pursuing a Ph.D. in sociology.
"I wanted to continue to improve myself, and I wanted to set a good example for my son," she said. Her own father did not complete high school because he needed to work to support his family, Paat said. But she said he taught her the importance of a good education from an early age.
The scholarship will be awarded to more single moms next year, the number depending on the number of applicants, Irvine said. The Women's Studies Program is looking for more people to donate to support the scholarship, but Merrick and Richardson definitely have committed for the future.
"We're anxious to do this every year," Merrick said. She also said she wants to give others the opportunity to be empowered by giving to others.
Ossom said this gift enables her to give back.
When Ossom found out she was pregnant, she said she looked around for other women in similar situations that she could lean on. She said she didn't find many, but now knows several people who have gone through what she's been through. She said she hopes to be a support for others in the future.
"I just want to be able to be an example for other single moms out there," Ossom said.
Julianna Parker Jones 366-3541 jparker@normantranscript.com
