All the difference

The financial component of higher education can be as challenging as completing the required coursework – and a scholarship can be all of the difference.

OOIDA established the Mary Johnston Scholarship program in 1998 to assist the children, grandchildren and legal dependents of its members in achieving their higher education goals.

Since that time, numerous recipients have told Land Line the money played a big part in helping them pursue their dreams. The Association awards one winner a $2,000 scholarship and four runners-up a $1,000 scholarship annually.

“My parents have worked hard to give me what they can; getting this scholarship is a huge relief for both of us,” Brayden Schildhauer, the scholarship winner in 2022, told Land Line.

2021 winner Jewell Cox of Elk Horn, Ky., said the funding has helped keep her options open as she pursues future endeavors.

“I’ve always dreamed big, believing anything is possible,” Cox told Land Line in June 2021. “Getting this degree gives me many options for careers and allows me to dream big.”

For Tadan Alvarado, the 2023 winner from Flatonia, Texas, news of the award could not have come at a better time.

“The last couple of years have been hard for the family business due to COVID-19, diesel prices and inflation,” he told Land Line. “It will really help out a lot. My dad works really hard, and I want to make him proud.”

Andrew King, research analyst for the OOIDA Foundation, said the Mary Johnston Scholarship is just as meaningful on the awarding side.

“The Mary Johnston Scholarship program provides a unique opportunity for the students who too often are overlooked during the scholarship process,” King said. “We have had (future) nurses, attorneys, heavy equipment mechanics and even NASA engineers come through our program. It is a blessing that we are able to assist the children, grandchildren and dependent children of truckers.”

In 2024, OOIDA will again award one $2,000 and four $1,000 scholarships through a blind evaluation by the OOIDA Scholarship Advisory Committee. The funds will be transferred directly to the student’s selected institution and can be renewed for a total of four years.

Completion of a renewal form is required to renew each year, and winners receive the form by mail each year.

The deadline to submit all required materials, including a 500-word essay and the applicant’s transcripts, is Feb. 1, 2024.

“This is always a tough competition to judge, as all their kids are winners in my book,” OOIDA executive vice president Lewie Pugh said. “The cool thing about the Mary Johnston Scholarship is the fact you can use it for trade schools or a four-year college.”

To apply or learn more about the Mary Johnston Scholarship, visit ooida.com/scholarship-program. LL