8.2.24

Core Values Scholar speaks to importance of financial aid

The day after she graduated high school Yuki To started a new job. While her classmates enjoyed their last summer before leaving for their respective colleges, she spent her days in a physician’s office, saving paychecks to cover the cost of tuition at Wichita State. Even still, she knew funds for the school year would be tight.

“Everyone knows college is expensive,” she said. “But as a first-generation student, there are so many costs you don’t even know to anticipate, like books and laptops and student fees.”

To’s parents, although unable to finance her education, afforded her the opportunity to attend college by immigrating to the U.S. from Vietnam when she was six. Their sacrifice instilled a passion for education that left her undeterred by its sticker shock.

“My family has always been my greatest motivation,” To said. “They left everything they knew so that I could one day attend a university.”

Financial aid made their vision for their daughter into a reality. Securing the Lenora McGregor Scholarship her freshman year allowed her to focus on her studies and seize opportunities across campus, joining the Asian Student Conference and Vietnamese Student Association. In addition to her campus involvement, To works as a medical interpreter, a position that not only allows her to serve the Vietnamese population in Wichita but provides her with field experience as she pursues a career as a physician. To plans to attend the KU School of Medicine after graduating in May of 2025.

Now entering her senior year, To has been awarded the WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement’s Core Values Scholarship, which is funded through employee contributions and distributed to one student a year who exemplifies the organization’s guiding principles of integrity, collaboration, excellence and service.

“Without scholarships, I would’ve had to take on a second job or take out loans,” To said. “But someone recognized that I have the potential to succeed. That generosity has allowed me to have so many experiences that will serve me as I work toward my goals.”