2 Stone County Students Receive ASPSF Scholarship

Nonprofit Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund (ASPSF) awarded 550 scholarships for the spring semester, including two from Stone County.

Riley Gilpatrick and Amber Raker both of Mountain View received single parent scholarships on March 24 at the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville. The ceremony included a celebration for 26 ASPSF recipients from Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Sharp, Stone, and Woodruff Counties.

Gilpatrick and Raker received $1,600 each that they can spend on any expense to help them stay in school. Additionally, as ASPSF recipients, they have access to mentors, training, and resource referrals to help them reach their academic and career goals. In fact, at the March 24 event, Jackson Jones from the Cadence Bank branch in Horseshoe Bend provided a savings workshop to teach the families in attendance how to budget and prepare for the future.

Gilpatrick is a full-time student at the University of Arkansas and works part time as a therapist for autistic children. Her goal is to pursue a master’s in clinical psychology so she can continue to help children grow and develop.

“I want to say thank you to ASPSF and all of its supporters as this has undoubtedly been the most challenging yet most rewarding time period of my life,” Gilpatrick said. “When I look at my life now and look forward to the life that I am working so hard to create for my daughter, I would do it all over again.”

Raker, meanwhile, is studying at Ozarka College to become a licensed practical nurse. For almost 10 years, she’s worked at a nursing home as a certified nursing assistant. With her scholarship, she will repair her vehicle so she can travel back and forth for clinicals, a critical piece of any nursing program.

“I cannot express in words how much this scholarship means to me. After several years of putting off college, I’m finally doing it!” Raker said. “I will graduate from nursing school. I will be able to achieve my dream and set a great example for my children. Because of this blessing, I will make a better life for my children and me.”

In total, ASPSF awarded 550 scholarships totaling over $700,000 to low-income single parent students in March for the spring semester. This is the highest number of scholarship awards and scholarship dollars ASPSF has awarded in a single semester since at least 2023.

This increase is thanks to generous donors including Cadence Bank, Entergy, Arkansas Division of Higher Education, Alice Walton Foundation, First Electric, Heart of the Ozarks United Way, and many other generous companies, organizations, and individuals.

For more information, contact ASPSF Chief Communications Officer Jen Lawrence at jlawrence@aspsf.org or 501-550-6304.