The William G. Rohrer Charitable Foundation has donated and pledged a total of $700,000 to Camden County College students since 2012, including its most recent pledge of $300,000 to be paid out over the next five years. Since its inception, the William G. Rohrer Scholarship Program at CCC has awarded scholarships to approximately 240 students. Scholarships are awarded annually to high school graduates entering CCC for the first time, and to CCC graduates transferring to a four-year university. Meet some of our Rohrer scholars who were recently honored at a luncheon with their donor in August.
Meet Kojo Abanyie (18), a pharmacy student transferring to Rutgers this year. Kojo is a member of the Chemistry Club and Phi Theta Kappa. Kojo started as a dual credit student, which made it easy for him to get his high school diploma and college credits at the same time. “There are a lot of professors here that work at other institutions of higher learning,” which means he is getting the same education someone else is paying much more to obtain. Kojo wants the Rohrer Foundation to know that he is thankful for the recognition of his hard work. He promises to continue to work hard in the future. Kojo believes donating to a scholarship fund “is a good thing to do because it not only helps with someone’s money situation, but also gives them encouragement to continue to do well.”
Meet Kristin Burke (37), an elementary education major transferring to Stockton to major in liberal studies. Kristen wants to become a middle school teacher. She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa and is secretary for Kappa Delta Pi. Kristin remembers, “I had a job that I hated and had to drive past the College to get there. One day I decided, I’m going to apply to this college and change my life. And I did. And I don’t regret it.” She wants her donor to know, “It’s a wonderful thing that you’re doing and it’s changing peoples’ lives. It’s changing future generations as well. My children are watching me work hard and my students are going to know that I got scholarships. I plan on telling everybody about how CCC did this for me and you don’t have to go hugely in debt at a four-year university right away. It’s affordable and workable, and the scholarship really is changing lives.”
Meet Ashlee Dever (32), is a nursing major who will continue her studies here in Blackwood as a Rutgers University nursing student. She decided to attend CCC because of the convenience. “I took morning classes, afternoon classes, weekend classes, online classes. It was just totally flexible. It was easy to fit it in my schedule.” She wants her donor to know that her Rohrer scholarship “really did make a huge difference and helped make it possible for me to go on and get a four-year degree.”
Meet Elizabeth Doan (20), a double major in education and foreign languages. She wants to transfer to Rowan and major in musical education so she can travel the world and teach music. She chose CCC because she was a NJ STARS recipient, and it was close to home, but once here, Elizabeth realized, “it’s so sophisticated. There’s so much going on and it’s such a vibrant campus with so many different programs.” She is thankful to Linda Rohrer and the Rohrer Foundation. “Thank you so much to Linda Rohrer. This isn’t the first scholarship I received from her. I’m so honored that her foundation supported me as an incoming CCC student and now a transfer student.”
Meet Mia Sanchez (20), a business administration student at CCC transferring to Rutgers-Camden to earn her bachelor’s degree. Mia also has been an intern at the US embassy in Azerbaijan. She currently works at The Center and is an executive board member for Phi Theta Kappa. Regarding her scholarship, Mia wants her donor to know: “This scholarship made my future education possible and took away a lot of the financial burden placed on me.” She believes, “People who are capable should invest in students like me, so we can focus on school without having to worry about money.”
Meet Khyia Ward (20), a psychology student transferring to Rutgers-Camden. She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa and also recently was voted Alumnae Trustee, which allows her to sit on the College Board of Trustees for one year. Khyia believes, the teachers were very supportive of me and other students. Everybody was trying to work together to get a degree and move you on to the next step. There’s just a really good support system here at Camden County College.” She wants her donor to know, “Thank you so much. You have no idea how this impacts a person’s life. This is going to help me pay for things that I wasn’t sure of before.”
