Building a Future

The Teacher

“It is very likely that I would not have had the opportunity to go to a university if I had not received scholarships and grants,” says Michelle Beller of Elmira, Oregon. “Money has always been a concern with my family because of my mom’s disease and my dad being a disabled veteran.” Michelle’s mother died in May 2003 after suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease for ten years.

Michelle was relieved to receive a Staton Scholarship and a Dean’s Scholarship, along with other financial aid, to attend the University of Oregon. “Five years from now I plan on having my teaching certificate and being a kindergarten-through-third-grade teacher at my old elementary school in Elmira,” says the education major. “Perhaps I’ll even become a principal there."