NEWARK — Taylor Miller is just a freshman at The Ohio State University at Newark, but she is already creating connections that could serve her for a lifetime.
The Mount Liberty resident’s dream is to become a trauma nurse; to solve life-threatening problems in an instant. But in June 2016, more than a year before she arrived on campus, Taylor’s dream was in danger of never coming true when her father was diagnosed with stage three rectal cancer.
Miller’s family, desperate to save her father, made the reluctant decision to use Miller’s college fund to cover rising medical expenses. By the end of her senior year of high school, the money was gone.
“My parents were heartbroken to tell me I might not be able to attend college autumn semester,” remembers Miller. “I knew that I would not go if I had to take a year off, so I was trying everything I could in order to get the biggest financial aid package.”
When Miller’s Ohio State Newark aid package did arrive, however, her outlook suddenly changed from anxious to hopeful, thanks to a scholarship award that would change her life.
Miller was awarded a KBW Scholarship, established by the Ariel Corporation and Ariel Foundation to benefit students from Knox County, and their generosity made all the difference to Miller and her family. This year more than $900,000 in scholarships were available to exclusively support Ohio State Newark students on their journey toward new futures, with an average award of $2,000 per student.
“With the scholarship I received, along with the grants that the school was able to give me and a couple of loans, I was actually able to attend freshmen year of college,” said Miller. “I want to personally thank every donor that was able to help me along my journey of being able to start to achieve my dream.”
Today, Miller’s father is in full remission and doing well. He is still quite tired on some days, she reports, but he is back at work and in the swing of how things used to be. Miller is thrilled to be pursuing her nursing degree, with an eye toward eventually working with children with disabilities.
