Women given second chance to complete education

Mary Berrien’s high school education ended abruptly in 1969 when she learned she was pregnant at age 17.

Ahsaki Brown was halfway through her junior year at the University of Albany in upstate New York when, she said, a fellow student sexually assaulted her.

As much as she wanted to, Brown said, the emotional trauma from the incident was more than she could handle. She dropped out.

“I made a heartened effort to continue, but I just couldn’t,” Brown recalled recently.

Now she and Berrien have come further than they ever imagined. Berrien’s children are all grown now. Brown’s moved past her trauma. And both were recently awarded $5,000 scholarships to attend college.

The women say they owe their good fortune to the Possible Woman Foundation International, a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships to women whose education has been interrupted and want to go back to school.

In all, seven women were chosen from some 235 applicants from across the country, said Kathy Leggett Eldridge, chair of the foundation’s board of directors.

Because of the current economic environment, she said, preference is given to Georgia women like Berrien, a resident of Austell, and Brown, who lives in Dallas.

“I went to college on loans and scholarships and I would not have been there without the help of many, many people; so the mission of this organization resonates with me,” said Eldridge, a 1985 graduate of Agnes Scott College. “It’s why we work so hard to fund these ladies and to hopefully push them just a little further.

Although some women eventually find their way back, some don’t, often because the money isn’t there.

Linda Wind knew plenty of women like that. She’d also had successful corporate careers with IBM, Panasonic and Sharp Electronics at a time when there weren’t many women executives to help her along the way.

Wind wanted to give back, and in 2001 she founded the Possible Woman scholarship.

“The more we help other women, the more we ultimately help ourselves,” she said.

That year, she awarded two women $1,000 scholarships each toward their education. Since then, nearly 50 women have received scholarships totaling about $185,000.

“The vision has totally skyrocketed,” Wind said.

Although there are many scholarship programs available to women, what sets this one apart, Eldridge said, “is we actively seek out women who are giving back to their community. They have to be involved in community work.”

Brown, 35, has worked as a job coach for the homeless and volunteers at several nonprofits, encouraging students to find their purpose and improve their lives. Berrien founded Chainbreakers Unlimited, a nonprofit prison ministry, which helps inmates find jobs and a place to live after they are released. The program also provides mentoring for the men and their children.

By the time Berrien started the program four years ago, she had raised four children, earned her GED and three associate degrees. She wanted a bachelor's degree in human services, and in the fall of last year she enrolled at Mercer University in Lithia Springs.

But Berrien worried about how she would pay for the advanced degree. When she found out about the Possible Woman scholarship, she completed the application and waited.

In late March, she and Brown received notice they had won. This was their chance at a fresh start, to finally finish what they’d started years before.

“I was so excited, I cried,” said Berrien, a 59-year-old grandmother. “It’s such a joy to know people are out there willing to help you.”

For Brown, the timing of the award couldn’t have been more perfect.