My Story
I was an overwhelmed mom — then I figured it out
I wasn't an expert. I didn't have a roadmap. I was just a parent who was determined to find another way — and I did. Twice. Here's how it happened.
I wasn't an expert. I didn't have a roadmap. I was just a parent who was determined to find another way — and I did. Twice. Here's how it happened.
When our oldest daughter was accepted to college, we did what every parent does — we filled out the FAFSA and waited. The answer came back quickly: we didn't qualify for financial aid. We made too much on paper. But we were a middle-class family stuck in the gap — earning enough to disqualify us, but not enough to comfortably cover the cost of college.
So my husband Joe and I figured it out. We researched, we applied, and we found scholarships we didn't even know existed. Our daughter won a partial scholarship — enough to help, but not enough to fully close the gap. We covered the rest ourselves, and we were determined to keep student loans off the table. We did.
By the time our youngest was ready for college, I knew more. I knew what to look for, what to apply to, and how to build a strategy around it. The difference was night and day. Her tuition is paid in full — and we received a refund.
Between both daughters, our family has secured over a million dollars in scholarships from organizations and universities including Stanford, USC, Howard, Spelman, and more. I'm not sharing that to impress you. I'm sharing it because I was once sitting exactly where you are — overwhelmed, uncertain, and not sure where to start. If our family could figure this out, so can yours.
That's why I wrote this guide.
The Scholarship Blueprint is everything I learned helping both my daughters — organized into one clear, practical guide for students and parents.