TESTIMONIALS

Leslie Turner

Duke University class of 2017

I began my scholarship search in the fall of my senior year in 2012. It was then when I was introduced to a plethora of scholarships by Ms. Waddell. She introduced me to the Gates Millennium Scholarship, Ron Brown Scholarship, Horatio Alger National Scholarship, General Mills Health Scholarship, and the Atlas Butler Strength in Service Award. She had a stack of scholarships available for those seeking assistance, but these were the ones that I decided to apply for. With all of Ms. Waddell’s guidance and expertise, I was able to win all five of these scholarships. The Gates Millennium Scholarship is a full-ride for 10 years. The Ron Brown Scholarship is a $40,000 scholarship ($10,000 a year). The Horatio Alger Scholarship is a $20,000 scholarship ($5,000 a year). The General Mills Health Scholarship was $5,000. The Atlas Butler Strength in Service Award was $1,000. Ms. Waddell was more active in my college scholarship application process than my own guidance counselor. I gained a genuine mentorship from Ms. Waddell and she even supported me in my college search. I now attend Duke University with a full-ride scholarship. I am not struggling financially in college thanks Ms. Waddell and all her help.

Coming into high school my junior year I didn’t know what expect. I knew that college was coming up soon after my senior year and I needed to start getting ready for that. I began looking into many different schools and narrowing my searches down. I needed direction although I had a good start. That’s where Ms. Waddell’s help came in. She worked vigorously with me through this scholarship process. It is very time consuming and definitely isn’t an easy process but the payoff is huge. You may do over 70 scholarships, some for only 500 dollars and some for 25,000 dollars. You can do as many as you want. The main thing that you will get out of this process is discipline, hard work, and not always succeeding. Even though you may not get every scholarship, you learn what it takes to complete those and the concentration that is required to have them done correctly. I have benefited greatly from this, I was selected as a recipient for various scholarships which will lower my tuition and cost of books for college. I will be receiving a Dell laptop ,I pad and college gear in the near future from one of the scholarships, and a $1,000 dollars from another, just to name a few.

Nate Jameson

Capital University class of 2018

India Adams

Spelman College Class of 2016

My name is India Adams, Junior Comparative Women’s Studies major at Spelman College. Attending Spelman College has been nothing short of a dream. I attribute much of this reality to the support and encouragement of Ms. Waddell.

Ms. Waddell was very instrumental in my senior year. She was a teacher invested in not only academic achievement, but my personal growth as well. As a coach, Ms. Waddell worked diligently with me for hours to assure that I applied to as many scholarships as possible. From the Horatio Alger Scholarship to the Ron Brown Scholarship, she helped me with prioritizing, editing, mailing, and maintain the many scholarship opportunities. Due to her selfless help, I was runner up for the Coca Cola Scholarship and a recipient of the Zeta Phi Beta Scholarship.

Outside of tour sessions, Ms. Waddell was a very supportive mother figure. There was a time during senior year where it appeared that I would be attending a college that I did not want to attend. Discouraged by what I had labeled as a failure, Ms. Waddell encouraged me to continue fighting for my dream of attending Spelman College., she reassured me of my value and potential and told me that I would be successful no matter where I attended. By the spring of my senior year, I was awarded a full scholarship to Spelman College! I value the times where she supported me when I did not have a prom date, when she came to my graduation party, when she purchased my television for my dorm room, when she listened through my tears during my first semester of college.

Ms. Waddell has proven herself to be a woman who takes teaching seriously. I can testify to her commitment and passion for children as she has been my greatest cheerleader within and outside the classroom. It was Ms. Waddell who believed in me when I did not believe in myself. Her belief has given me the courage to do my best and has been the motivation behind my many successes in life. Ms. Waddell has become more that an educator, but she is a friend, mother, and mentor.

Taylor Mitchell

Alabama State University class of 2018

Entering my senior year, I was pretty determined to go above and beyond what was expected from me. I wanted to be class president, maintain my grade point average and most importantly, get a full ride to my dream school, Alabama State University. Now a high school graduate and looking back at my senior year, I can say, I accomplished all of my goals, and I have to thank Ms. Waddell. When working with Ms. Waddell, I didn’t know what to expect. In our sessions, we applied to colleges, wrote essays continuously for scholarships and talked about the college process in depth. I asked counselors for transcripts and recommendation letters, it was an ever going process just to sell myself to my colleges and receive money. Ms. Waddell’s sessions did not only teach me how to apply for college and scholarships but how to manage my time and work for things that I strive to achieve.

I will never forget the day I almost gave up because I wasn’t winning any scholarships at the time and none of my colleges were getting back to me in a timely manner, Ms. Waddell constantly reminded me “hard work pays off and that your reward will soon come.” Her words will always remain with me. Because I listened and remained steadfast in this process, I received a full ride to college and over $40,000 dollars in scholarships. I have received the: Alabama State Incentive Scholarship (Full Tuition) , Founders Scholarship $10,000 (annually), Alpha Kappa Alpha Scholarship $1500 , Delta Sigma Theta Scholarship $1,000, Helen Jenkins Scholarship $2,000, Cavalier Foundation Scholarship $1,000, Greater Hand Community Scholarship (Free Laptop & Printer), National Coalition of Black Women Scholarship $500 I have Ms. Waddell to thank for all of this; I strongly recommend that if you are serious about wanting to attend college debt free, she is the go to person.

Kalea Lucas

University of Cincinnati Class of 2019

Going into high school I always knew I wanted to go to college, but with the cost of tuition and fees rising to astronomical proportions, I knew I did not want to pay out of pocket. Scholarships are out there, so many more than you think! And while it is hard work filling out applications and writing essays, all it does is prepare you for the future that is college. Going into senior year I had a multitude of activities on my plate. Band, Chorale, Performance Studio, hospice volunteering, you name it and I did it. I found it hard at times figuring out how this scholarship program was going to fit into my schedule. However, I chose to participate. Ms. Waddell was always there to reassure me and to allow me to take breaks or lighten up the load if it got to be too much. She provided me with the tools and the confidence to apply for these scholarships and I am proud to say that I was granted a full ride to the University of Cincinnati through the Business College, in addition to two other University scholarships, the AKA “Achieving Standards of Excellence” Scholarship and the National Honor Society Scholarship from my school’s chapter. Not only am I being paid to go to school, I have plenty of money left over to cover any and all living expenses I might have as well as some to save for my future. If you put in the work you will see the results. And with Ms. Waddell’s help I was able to be where I am today. Best of luck to you all.