Belmont, Ohio Resident Receives COVID-19 College Scholarship

Vivica Foster is the first to receive a WGU emergency aid scholarship in Ohio

Vivica Foster of Belmont is the first Ohio recipient of a $3,000 emergency aid scholarship from Western Governors University to help her complete online studies toward her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction.

The Bright Future Scholarship is one of several ways WGU is helping students who are struggling with the impact of COVID-19. WGU is also offering non-tuition emergency aid, hardship scholarships, funding for interrupted terms and help with payment plans.

The Bright Future Scholarship is a targeted, needs-based scholarship for new WGU students who have lost income during the pandemic. The scholarship will provide $1,500 for the first term and $500 per term for three subsequent terms.

"Ever since I was little, I always knew I wanted to become a teacher,” Foster said. But, she said, she was advised in high school to pursue another profession that would provide a higher income.

Foster began studies in dental hygiene but quit after one semester and enrolled at a community college, where she received an associate degree in early childhood education.

K.L. Allen, state director of WGU Ohio, was part of a recent virtual surprise presentation to Foster.

“We need more teachers,” Allen said. “Vivica has a passion for teaching and clearly will help meet that need. All of us at WGU Ohio are extremely proud of her and proud to be able to present her this scholarship to further her education.”

Foster received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from WGU while working as a Head Start teacher and taught fourth graders this spring for her student teaching requirement.

“I love teaching because I love the look on students’ faces when they finally realize something and things click,” she said. “I love making learning fun for them. I learned from this experience that I was born to teach, and to always go after things even if you’re scared because you may end up loving it.”

But COVID-19 shuttered schools and Head Start programs. Foster is currently unemployed but is determined to get a master’s degree. She said she realized she wanted to pursue a degree from WGU because she wants to continue learning and be the best teacher she can be. She will begin her first term Aug. 1.

"I love the format of WGU and how affordable it is,” she said.

Her short-term career goal is to find a teaching job for the 2020-2021 school year.

"By earning my master’s degree, it will help me better myself in my first classroom,” she wrote. “It will give me the professional development I need."

"I love inspiring people and lending my voice to a good cause,” she said. "I want to become an advocate for education."

WGU was founded by a group of state governors in 1997 to offer students, particularly adult learners, the chance to go to college while working and caring for their families. It offers programs in health and nursing, business, teaching, and information technology. More than 3,700 students are currently enrolled in WGU Ohio.

The university’s competency-based education allows students to take advantage of their knowledge and experience to move quickly through material they already know so they can focus on what they still need to learn. Students complete their programs by studying schedules that fit their lives, advancing as soon as they demonstrate that they have mastered the subject matter.