Scholarship Recipient Profiles
Meet some talented and ambitious members of our NIU community. These students worked diligently to find and apply for scholarships to assist with financing their education. You, too, can be a scholarship recipient! Read on as our Huskies offer advice and suggestions to students who are searching for scholarships.
Tyler Hayes
Scholarships Awarded: Create the Change Scholarship; Centennial Scholarship; General Assembly tuition waiver; and 10 additional private scholarships
Area of Study: Chemistry
Anticipated Graduation Date: 2014
Hometown: Genoa, IL
Activities: High school track and football; Building Club; National Honor Society; Academic Bowl; WYSE Competitions; IDEA Regional and State Drafting; AIA Drafting Competition; Boy Scouts of America
What are your personal and professional goals?
I was recently awarded the highest rank in Boy Scouts, the Eagle Scout rank. This was a personal goal since I first joined when I was in first grade. I have always wanted to go to college, and getting scholarships was a major factor in determining where I could afford to go. I was fortunate enough to be able to get enough to go to NIU sooner than expected. For my professional goal, I would like to be a chemist. Ideally, I would like to get a job out of college in a professional workplace. Then, after 15 or 20 years, I would like to go back to college and earn a teaching degree just like my high school chemistry and physics teacher did. He now teaches what he loves to young high school students. Hopefully I can be as good of a teacher as he was, to inspire kids to make something of themselves in the science field.
How were you able to obtain so many scholarships?
The reason why I was able to receive the number of scholarships I did was because my high school guidance office did a phenomenal job at posting all the new scholarships and letting the seniors know about them in the announcements. They were incredibly helpful. I also had strong parental support. Whenever I had questions on my scholarship applications, my parents were more than willing to help. I also think my participation in high school activities was an important factor, along with my good grades. I also looked up what NIU offered for scholarships.
What are your suggestions for students who are searching for scholarships?
For students searching for scholarships, check with your guidance office. If they don't have the form, most applications can be found on-line. Most of my scholarships were from local Genoa organizations; however, most towns have specific ones as well. Don't forget your employer or your parents' employers. Check their website for a scholarship section if it is a larger company or union. Also, make sure to check into the college you want to attend because they have scholarships from private donations, as well as from the school. Take the time to fill the scholarships out; you can't put them off until the last minute. They have a set deadline date, and most want to receive a current, official high school transcript or letter of recommendation. Some even need specific questions answered in a paragraph form. Besides that, maintain your grades in school, but have fun in your extra-curricular activities and keep active with community service projects. In my opinion, community service is extremely important, and I enjoy helping others.
What are you looking forward to the most about being an NIU Huskie?
I'm looking forward to moving onto something new and unfamiliar which will now play an important part in this next stage of my life. I can't wait to begin this experience and encounter those challenges that lie ahead. I'm really grateful that I can attend NIU, thanks in large part to the scholarships I received.
Meet more inspiring student scholarship recipients!