Adopt-a-Student

When I first received my financial aid package from CU, I was offered zero dollars in scholarship. That's right. Zero. The goose egg. Nil.

You get the picture.

Then, I came and sang for my studio placement audition. Later, in a meeting with Professor Mason, I was informed me that they would be giving me $1000 in scholarship for the year. Hallelujah!

A few weeks later, I looked at my tuition bill, and suddenly had $1750 in scholarships for this semester alone, including a $500 "Adopt-a-Student"
Scholarship.

The program is awesome. Patrons of the CU Music Program donate a couple (or a couple hundred) thousand dollars to the program, and their gift is given to a student (or students) with similar musical interests.  We are expected to inform our sponsors of our performances so that they can attend. Sponsors, in addition to giving us the scholarship, can be expected to do anything from inviting us to an opera to letting us do our laundry at their houses. We are expected to do as much as we can at their invitation. I love the concept of having a sponsor who really cares about students!  Some students really need that kind of influence in their lives!

Tonight, we all were invited to a dinner to meet our sponsors. Alan and Stephanie have donated $1000 to my education, and I had the opportunity to meet Stephanie tonight. She was awesome. Both Alan and Stephanie are retired and contribute to the Boulder community in many capacties. I don't think that I could ask for better sponsors.

Stephanie offered to let me wash laundry at their house, and invited me for lunch next week so that I can meet Alan. She also has asked me to accompany them to a broadcast in HD of a Metropolitan Opera production at the movie theatre here, and is very excited to hear me sing. Awesome, awesome lady.

I'm really looking forward to getting to know these people better, through this awesome program. The scholarship's value isn't huge, but the non-monetary portion of the program is going to be very rewarding.

Just another reason to love this place. And to be thankful.