Unlocking Opportunity Through Sponsored Scholarships

by Jessica Winter

“You’re not only changing my life, but also my daughter’s because she’ll see that I was able to keep pushing. It’s because of your generosity that I’m able to stay in school. As you know, as an online student, it can be easy to just give up – especially when financials become a burden – it’s so easy to give up. But you have lifted that weight to where I’m able to not stress about it.” These are the sentiments of Alexis Brockman, Class of 2024. 

Brockman, an SNHU online student studying psychology, was awarded the Dwayne Griffin Sponsored Scholar Scholarship. Anyone can establish a Sponsored Scholars Program scholarship in their name with a contribution as little as $2,500. The program creates a current use scholarship for a student who demonstrates financial need. The program also offers an opportunity for connection between the donor and scholarship beneficiary.

Dwayne Griffin ’18 knows how difficult the journey to degree completion can be. Griffin attended a technical college in his early 20s, but soon found himself overloaded with family, work and financial responsibilities. “Life got in the way,” he says, “but I didn’t want that to be an excuse.” Seeing his college education through to the finish line continued to linger in the back of his mind as the years passed.

“You have to finish what you start,” says Griffin. “It was always in the back of my mind to finish and I thought, ‘How can I preach to my children to complete their education when I haven’t?’ It was always nagging and eating at me, and I didn’t want to be a hypocrite.” Griffin returned to school in his 30s as a Southern New Hampshire University online student. He completed a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree, taking roughly six years to make it to the finish line. That was longer than he had anticipated, and he doesn’t consider the timeline ideal. But that’s when the doors of educational opportunity really started to open for him. Griffin quickly moved on to and completed a Master of Business Administration degree after earning his bachelor’s. Soon after he finished his MBA, he started (and is currently attending) a Doctor of Business Administration program.

When asked what SNHU means to him, Griffin replied with one word: “opportunity.” He went on to explain that he had applied to lots of different schools when he decided it was time to pursue his undergraduate degree, but was denied entry. “Other colleges and universities didn’t give me a chance when SNHU did,” says Griffin. “Education can change the trajectory of your life. It did for me. It’s opened up so many doors for me, doors I didn’t know I’d walk through.” 

The chance he was given at a college education has inspired Griffin on his current journey as an SNHU alumnus and donor. “I choose to support SNHU because SNHU supported me. I give back in as many ways as I can because they invested in me. SNHU is an anchor. I know the impact they made on me and I want to do the same for others,” he says.

His donations were usually anonymous and on “autopilot” through an employer-based giving program – until Griffin saw the opportunity to not only help, but also connect with, an individual student through the Sponsored Scholars Program. “Giving is gratifying and puts a feather in your cap,” says Griffin, “but the opportunity to gain a personal connection to someone you’ve impacted made me feel exceptionally proud.”

Supporting the education of a single parent with extraordinary life challenges and knowing that his support would mean she could focus on her studies with less worry was meaningful to Griffin. “You want to ride the momentum,” reflects Griffin on his own college experience. “Taking a break can get you out of the zone. That’s half the battle – motivation. If I could help her get through without stopping, her daughter will see what she’s accomplished. And that inspires the next generation of learners.”

Sponsored Scholars Program

With a donation of $2,500 or more, your gift to the Sponsored Scholars Program directly supports those students who excel academically but are unable to afford tuition on their own. Each donation helps break down the financial barrier standing between a high-achieving student and the degree they deserve. 

Learn more and make your impact at alumni.snhu.edu/scholars.

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