Rogers State University’s Educational Talent Search program has announced that Jessica Williams, a 2009 graduate of the program, received a $500 scholarship from the Southwest Association of Student Assistance Programs (SWASAP). Williams was one of only 13 Oklahoma participants to receive the honor and the only student from northeast Oklahoma.
“We are very proud of Jessica and her accomplishments,” said Kevin Abbott, assistant director of Educational Talent Search (ETS) at RSU. “She was an outstanding participant of our program and an excellent student at Skiatook High School.”
Williams is currently a freshman at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Mo. She is in her second semester and is studying criminal justice. The ETS alumna said that without ETS, her college track would have seemed very narrow.
“I didn’t know how many options I had,” Williams said. “I didn’t know what colleges were out there and what I could study. Talent Search opened my eyes to the different choices that were out there.”
ETS is a college preparatory program charged with serving and assisting sixth through 12th grade students from traditionally disadvantaged backgrounds who have the potential to succeed in higher education. RSU-ETS serves 19 schools in Osage, Rogers, and Tulsa counties and is one of the four federal TRiO programs at RSU.
SWASAP is a non-profit, regional association whose purpose is to advance the ideal of educational opportunity for all TRIO eligible individuals. SWASAP provides the guidance and support needed to foster those activities that enable the target population to persist in achieving their educational goals.