USU students working to create scholarship for Haitians, seeking interested sponsors

Three USU students are working to create a scholarship program that would start bringing Haitian college students to Logan this fall. Chris Gow, Joey Stocking and Scott Clawson have worked with several campus organizations to provide hope for Haiti in the form of education through a effort called the Haitian Scholarship Program.

The recent earthquake has opened the floodgates to humanitarian aid, yet many are skeptical if the aid will get to the right people. Furthermore, just sending aid to the country only acts as a band-aid to the more overarching problem: Why is Haiti so poor to begin with, and what needs to be done as a long-term solution?

The Haitian Scholarship Program is designed to create a long-term solution to the problems found in Haiti by creating future leaders. The aim is to seek out some of the brightest and most ambitious Haitian individuals and have them educated at USU, so they can return to Haiti as empowered leaders armed with the necessary tools to reverse the culture of poverty in their respective communities.

The goal is to have four Haitian students enrolled and ready to start school in the Fall 2010 semester, but Gow, Stocking and Clawson would like to grow the number of Haitian students attending Utah State University every year by two students, eventually having at least eight Haitian students at the school each semester. The estimated total cost for one student to complete an undergraduate degree is $109,200. To bring four students in the fall the USU students are seeking $450,000.

This is an opportunity to invest in human capital by educating Haitians. This is not a short-term "give a man a fish" solution but rather an honoring of the old adage, which says, "Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime." Join the effort to bring sustainability and trust to a population so close to our borders.

If you are interested in helping the Haitian Scholarship Program please contact Chris Gow at chris.gow@hotmail.com or Adeli Nol, Office of International Students and Scholars advisor, at adeli.nol@usu.edu.