When a student receives a scholarship, it creates opportunities for him or her that may not be possible otherwise. By receiving extra money for tuition and books, students are able to study more, participate in extracurricular activities, and take internships, which may or may not be paid.
Sophomore Jacob Billingsley is one of those students. He is the latest recipient of the Arthur F. and James C. Carson Scholarship. Named for his father and uncle, James Patterson set up the scholarship for freshman or sophomore full-time students who are majoring in English.
“This scholarship means that I don’t have to worry as much about school debt, and that I have more opportunities to get involved on campus,” says Billingsley.
After graduation, Billingsley plans to earn his masters of fine arts degree in poetry, and he says this scholarship has helped him afford graduate school.
“My writing and my studies are very important to me and this money as allowed me to concentrate on my studies,” he says.
According to Billingsley, his professors have been important in his development as a reader, writer, and a person. He is confident that what he has learned at MU will continue to affect him through the years.
He admits that he owes the Anderson family a debt of gratitude and is curious what motivated them to fund a scholarship that is specific to English students.
“I want to know what they have found in the study of literature that’s so important to them, and I want them to know how important it is to me as well.”
More stories: Students and scholarships
