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The Iowa Stater
Dec. 15, 1995

Opportunity knocks

Amber Wade was in the second semester of her senior year at Grinnell High School and well on her way to the goal she had set for herself at the age of 5. She was going to attend Iowa State University and earn a degree in veterinary medicine.

Energetic and academically gifted, Wade already had been accepted at Iowa State and had enough credits to graduate from high school. She planned to spend her second semester preparing for Iowa State by taking advanced-level math and science courses.

Then something terrible happened.

At 5 p.m. on March 5, Wade was driving home from a meeting when a drunk driver crossed the center lane and slammed into her car. Poweshiek County emergency rescue technicians worked for two hours with two Jaws of Life before they could extract the severely injured Wade from the wreckage. She survived the accident, but went through hours of surgery to repair damage to her left arm, left leg and head.

Wade was in the hospital for 67 days and spent most of the summer in physical therapy. Despite some brain damage, she resumed her advanced- level courses during the summer.

"It was part of my therapy," she said. "I made my brain work."

Still, the accident stole precious time. Wade's opportunity to pursue much needed scholarships and earn summer job money for college was gone. Medical expenses made it all the more difficult for a family already financially strapped by the farm economy and other circumstances to pay for college. Suddenly the dream of that 5-year-old girl appeared unattainable.

Then something wonderful happened.

Wade didn't know it, but while she was lying in a hospital facing an uncertain future, she was being chosen for an opportunity at Iowa State that would put her dream back into the realm of reality.

First class
In February, Iowa State announced the creation of the Christina Hixson Opportunity Awards, perhaps one of higher education's most exciting and inspiring scholarship programs. Christina Hixson, sole trustee of the Lied Foundation Trust in Las Vegas, gave the university $5 million to establish a scholarship program for Iowa students who have demonstrated potential to succeed at college, but lack resources because of financial and personal difficulties.

Each Hixson student receives a full-tuition, $2,500 scholarship. The goal of the program is to annually award scholarships to one student from each of Iowa's 99 counties. This year's first Hixson class consists of 100 students, representing 95 counties.

Each member of the first Hixson class has faced significant kinds of adversity. Many come from loving, supportive families who just don't have the income to finance even a fraction of college. Many have coped with the emotional strain of divorce, catastrophic illness and the deaths of parents. Several have been on their own, juggling high school with jobs that pay the bills.

While adversity contributed to their eligibility for the Hixson program, it is ultimately accomplishment that brought these 100 students to Iowa State.

"I'm determined to achieve my goals by working hard," Wade said. "This is a different kind of scholarship and those of us chosen for it were chosen because of our attitudes, because we earned it."

The Hixson students averaged in the 74th percentile of their high school graduation classes and scored an average of 24 on their ACT exams, which is above the national average. There are National Honor Society members among their ranks. There is participation in high school, community and church activities to their credit.

"The Hixson program is designed for students who have gone through either financial or personal hardship - sometimes both. Some people might be surprised at the caliber of student we have attracted," said Debra Sanborn, Hixson program director. "These students truly are scholars. Moreoever, they are scholars who are going to be role models for other students from similar backgrounds."

The reason I am here
The Hixson program is the reason I am here," said Wade, who, still recovering from her injuries, is running two miles a day.

Wade's feeling is shared by many of the Hixson students, including Tereasa McFarland, a pre-business major from Centerville.

"Yes!"

That was McFarland's reaction upon learning she had been selected for the Hixson program. McFarland is one of several Hixson students who have experienced the turmoil of divorce. In McFarland's case, the turmoil ultimately resulted in her moving out of her mother and stepfather's home, getting her own apartment and struggling to maintain her grades while trying to pay rent and utility bills.

The Hixson program has provided McFarland with a chance at her goal of earning an accounting degree. It also offered a chance at a new beginning.

"I probably never would have gone to college, or I might have gone to a community college," McFarland said. "I knew that if I could get here, I could make it, and it would take me far enough away from everything that I was going through at home."

Karilyn Detrick, a pre-vet major from Algona, can talk about the toll of divorce. She also can talk about the doors that education can open. Detrick takes great pride in her mother, who after a divorce decided to go back to school and earn a nursing degree.

"There were a lot of sacrifices in those years. We were in a terrible financial situation. My friends would go to The Brass Buckle and buy new clothes, but I would have to tell myself the clothes I had were good enough," Detrick said. "But it was worth it. My mom has been a major inspiration for me. She wanted something and she got it. She told me I would go to college now or wait. The Hixson scholarship helped me do it now."

Susan Morrison, an elementary education major from Harlan, is the first member of her family to go to college -- an accomplishment she didn't think was possible. Morrison has lived with her grandmother while supporting herself financially since the age of 15. She admits that when she found out she had been selected for the Hixson program, she started crying and jumping up and down.

"It was amazing. I didn't think I was going to college, period," Morrison said. "But I wanted to be here. I wanted to get an education."

Bruce Pao Choua Yang knows all too well about the pursuit of opportunity and the sacrifices and successes that come with it. In the late 1970s, before he could even read and write, Yang's family fled war-torn Laos. Yang's father carried him on his back and his mother carried an older brother as they headed for a river that would take them to a new life in Thailand. Shots rang out before they reached the river. Yang's mother and brother were killed, his father was seriously wounded.

Yang and his father were able to make it to Thailand. Eventually, Yang's father remarried and the family moved to the United States with the help of a church sponsorship, and later to Pella. America provided Yang his first opportunity at a better life. The Hixson program provided him with a second.

"Being in the Hixson program is a great privilege because the goal was to find students who have what it takes to make it in college. It gives me great confidence that people have put their trust in me," said Yang, who is studying computer graphic design. "I have been blessed with many supportive people in my life and Christina Hixson is now one of them."

Yang is very close to his family and was thinking about attending college closer to home. The Hixson program afforded him the opportunity to get out on his own and "learn who I am and who I can become if I give it everything I've got."

Symbols of opportunity
The Hixson students realize that they are not merely recipients of a significant scholarship. They have willingly and enthusiastically taken on responsibilities of role models.

"I have wanted to be a veterinarian and go to Iowa State since I was a little girl," Detrick said. "Even though there were times I never thought I would be here, I am here. I want people to see me and feel that no matter how bad you think you've got it, there is always an opportunity. There is always someone there to help you." "I want people to see me as someone who had the strength to make it through what I thought was the worst of everything," McFarland said. "I want to tell people that nothing can hold you back, that you can do it. If you need help, there will be someone who can help you. You're not alone."

Being a symbol of opportunity is especially important for Patrick Shoemaker, a pre-engineering major from New Hartford. Shoemaker has lived in a foster home since the age of 12. During his junior year at Dike-New Hartford High School, a high school counselor talked a science teacher into letting Shoemaker enroll in her chemistry class. Shoemaker went on to excel in science and now plans to earn a degree in computer engineering. He and a friend placed sixth in a state physics competition with a water heater they created.

For Shoemaker, being a Hixson student means being a symbol for others living in foster homes.

"I told myself a long time ago that I wanted to get a good education and make things better for myself. Because of being in a foster home, I think a lot of people didn't believe I could make it, but I motivated myself to prove them wrong," Shoemaker said. "Just because you come from a foster home doesn't mean you can't make it. I want other foster children to know they can get motivated and go out and do the same thing I am doing."

Becoming 'Lieders'
Many of the Hixson students have volunteered to be ambassadors for the program and periodically travel the state with university administrators to talk about the value of a college degree. The ambassadors have dubbed themselves the "Hixson Lieders," in honor of their benefactors. The Hixson Lieders are assisting with programming and a monthly newsletter, as well as serving as a network for contacting other Hixson students.

"They've really gotten behind the program," Sanborn said. "They are interacting and supporting each other. They are ready to serve as mentors for students chosen from their counties next year."

Michael Read, Ladora, is one of the Hixson Lieders. From the boots on his feet to the slight drawl that rolls out of his native Iowa mouth, Read is a cowboy. Read exemplifies a situation faced by many young people in the Midwest. He possesses the credentials colleges want, but is saddled with financial problems brought on by the plight of the family farm.

"My folks started from scratch. What land and machinery they've got, they got on their own. When you look at the prices of machinery and land values and compare that to the price you're getting for what you produce, there is not a big margin for error," Read said.

During his career at Iowa Valley High School in Marengo, Read racked up an impressive record of academic achievements and participation in sports, FFA and various church and community groups. And of course, he worked on the farm. He always planned to come to Iowa State and major in agricultural systems technology -- "there are so many fields open to you in this major that I could talk about them all for hours" -- but knew he would have to go far into debt to do it. The Hixson scholarship has eased some of that load.

"The fact that you are the one freshman chosen for the Hixson program from your county -- the lone representative of your county -- that's a heck of an honor," Read said. "It makes you feel good about your accomplishments and that what you've done during high school has paid off in a really big way."

Since he was in junior high school, Buddy Jackson knew he wanted to study architecture at Iowa State. But he knew that dream was going to be a tough one to achieve. Because of financial problems, his family lost its home, and his parents had to leave Jackson's hometown of Vail. Jackson remained and lived with the family of a high school friend during his senior year.

"I never imagined actually going to college because I knew I would have to have money to go," Jackson said. "When my brother was a senior in high school, he decided he wanted to be a dentist. He worked two jobs to save enough money and enrolled at Iowa State to study chemistry. That was an inspiration for me."

For Jackson, the Hixson scholarship has meant that attending Iowa State is going to be a little easier. It is that benefit that prompted Jackson to volunteer as a Hixson Lieder.

"I volunteered to help with the program because I wanted to get involved. I wanted to contribute something to it," Jackson said. "The Hixson program means that thingscan work out for you. It's helping my dream come true."

The Hixson Opportunity Program begins this year with 100 students and 100 dreams. These are the first students. These are the first dreams. There are hundreds and hundreds more to come.
- Steve Sullivan, News Service

The Iowa Stater (inside@iastate.edu) University Relations

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Revised 12/19/95 URL: http://www.iastate.edu/ general/IaStater/hixsonstudent.html