After a series of stops and starts in her pursuit of higher education — up to and including marriage and children — Carrie Cleveland graduated from UMBC this past May with a degree in social work. During her time here, Cleveland was the recipient of multiple scholarships made possible by the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation, including the Susan Bernstein-Charlotte W. Newcombe Memorial Scholarship for returning students in the social work field. The Newcombe Foundation provides support to students over the age of 25, and has helped over 5,000 UMBC students achieve their goals since 1981. In her own words…
“What I appreciated about these awards is that these scholarships were meant to help a student who had additional challenges. Trying to manage three young kids while in school is challenging. I have the expenses of a working person, like daycare, but not the income that is needed to help pay for those expenses. These scholarships helped me to be able to afford my tuition and the cost of care for my children while I took classes or was in my social work field placement. If it was not for these funds, I would have had to take out more loans to cover the cost of care for my children. I am so appreciated of scholarships that look at not just the student, but their unique circumstances as well…
“[After graduation,] I will be attending University of Maryland, Baltimore as an advanced standing student at the School of Social Work. My clinical field instruction will take place at a school for middle schoolers who are federally classified as emotionally disabled.”
