Therri Papp, recipient of the 2013 Doctoral Scholarship in Community Engagement for her commitment to community engaged scholarship, began volunteering at the local community level and quickly expanded to the world community, “Through volunteering, I have naturally gravitated to the youth and found that I could make a difference. I found facilitating learning both rewarding and life altering. In fact, it was the catalyst that changed my vocation to where I am today. I was told that if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life. I loved facilitating learning with youth. I was doing it for free for many years. That epiphany led me to change my life path, return to school and be exactly where I should be – doing what I love. Most importantly, I feel I am making a difference in the lives of youth by facilitating learning… now I can extend my commitment into academia and share my passion with the larger academic community.”

Therri professes that the hardest part about her education journey is only having one source of income, “The commitment to succeed in higher education requires financial means but also realizing that life still happens despite school.  As an adult educator and adult learner, I am empathetic to the complexities of life that my students face because I have “been there, done that”! The bills still need to be paid, family obligations remain dominant, course readings and assignments need to be completed and a delicate balance must be negotiated.” The proceeds from the scholarship will afford Therri the opportunity to succeed in her studies and focus on her research.