Scholarship

Press Release

During the time I spent representing the Second District of Idaho in the U.S. Congress, the issue of a pay raise for members of Congress came up for a vote before the house. I had committed to Idaho that I would not take a pay raise for myself and voted against this bill. It passed without my vote. Then it became necessary to make a decision on what to do with said pay raise. A few members (none from Idaho) returned the money to the treasury but, after much contemplation, my wife and I made the decision to try to help people in Idaho.

At that time, many people were hurting financially. Farmers, students and families were struggling. We made the decision to provide scholarship money to non-traditional students. These were people who had been victims of the economy and were struggling for new opportunities in life. It seemed to us that there were lots of funding sources for 18 year-old students but were extremely scarce for older people facing the same life changing experiences. In retrospect, we are grateful we had this opportunity. I wanted to share a letter we received from a young woman at that time. Her full name has not been included because we have not been able to contact her to obtain her permission to do so. She should be extremely proud of her accomplishment, hence reprinting this letter:

Dear Mr. Stallings,

It is very hard for me to put into words how I am feeling at this time. This morning I got up, fed my four children, hurried them off to school and then hurried off to school myself. In my religion class, I received the message that the scholarship office wanted to see me as soon as possible. When I sat in that office, my prayers were answered. I still cannot believe that I was chosen to receive this scholarship.

I have recently been divorced and now I have the opportunity to support my children. I have chosen to go back to school and get a degree in Secondary Education. This is a very challenging step for me and my children because, up to this point, I have stayed home and cared for only them.

When I applied for an academic scholarship, I prayed very hard I would be able to keep my grades up and be able to earn the right to have one. I knew there was no way to get one for this semester and it would take hard work to get it next semester. This afternoon when I walked into the office and was told of your generous offer, I cried.

My heart is so full of gratitude to you and my Heavenly Father for this scholarship and I pray He will bless you for your kind assistance. May you be blessed in all you do.

Sincerely,

Kathy E.

Kathy, we were blessed just to receive your letter and hope your life has been successful and you have been able to provide for your children. Congratulations. If you see this post please contact us so we can find out about how everything has gone, and with permission share them with others. Thank you.

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