Over the summer, Marietta Community Foundation had the privilege of welcoming an intern, Jasmine Riggs, from the Civic Leaders Fellowship Program to our staff. With the help of our Communications & Program Services Director, Mason Beuhring, Riggs was able to advance her writing skills and created a series of articles where we revisit past scholarship winners and ask, ‘Where Are They Now?’

Marietta, OH– The pressure placed upon a student who desires to win a scholarship is immense.  The countless hours spent filling out applications and writing essays all come down to one single moment… A moment that has students hanging on the edge of their seats.

For many of those students, the opportunities that a scholarship affords them can have the power to impact their futures. From attending the college of their dreams to graduating debt-free, scholarships have the power to open doors and change lives. 

This was the case for Marietta Community Foundation’s 2019 Carol Christy Scholarship recipient, Ana-Sophia Beardsley. Beardsley, a graduate of Waterford High School, had most of her college hopes riding on the chance that she would be awarded the Carol Christy Scholarship. Whether she won the Christy Scholarship or not would be the determining factor of which school she could attend in the Fall of 2019.

“It was probably one of the most surreal moments of my life,” said Beardsley. “I’m sitting in the bleachers and I’m sweating. I’m thinking ‘this is it.’ And I just hear my name and I get chills. Everything is numb--I can’t speak, I can’t move, I’m crying.”

According to Beardsley, receiving the Carol Christy Scholarship lifted an immense weight off of her shoulders. Her schooling was no longer limited because she now had the financial advantage of the Christy Scholarship to help her pay for college. For Beardsley, the relief she felt when the announcement was made turned a stressful moment into an overwhelmingly emotional one. 

“When I heard my name called and I got the scholarship, I was just sobbing. It sounds so incredibly dramatic and ridiculous, but [the Carol Christy] is the biggest scholarship that I have… it changed what college I went to. It meant so much.” 

Since receiving the Carol Christy Scholarship, Beardsley has finished her first year at her dream school, Asbury University, in Wilmore, Kentucky. She is working towards an undergraduate degree in journalism from their Media, Journalism & Digital Storytelling Department. Using the education and training that she will receive from Asbury, Beardsley desires to someday work as a journalist, highlighting human rights issues and bringing attention to violence against women. 

Seeing her fellow classmates struggle with the financial burden of higher education, to the point of potentially giving up due to the stress, Beardsley finds comfort in knowing that her educational career is secure thanks to the Christy Scholarship. 

“Having that consistent help through college… helps keep my mindset more focused on my academics instead of having to worry about how I’m going to have to pay for school.”

Winning the Christy Scholarship helped Beardsley achieve her academic goals, but it also gave her self-confidence. To Beardsley, this scholarship was a “lifeline of hope.”

“Knowing that a committee of people and this Foundation I didn’t know, saw what I could do with this education...it’s just unbelievable,” said Beardsley. “It was the most moving thing… knowing that there was someone out there that read my story and said, ‘You know what? This girl, this one we see something in.’ Something like that doesn’t just help me financially, it helps me with my confidence.”

The Marietta Community Foundation meets National Standards for operational quality, donor service, and accountability in the community foundation sector. Founded in 1974, the Marietta Community Foundation has grown over the years thanks to a number of generous gifts.

Marietta Community Foundation works to improve Washington County through grants and initiatives. If you want to change the life of a local student, please contact Heather Allender at 740-373-3286 or heather@mcfohio.org.