Campus & Community

When it came time for Palm Beach State College students and twin sisters Hannah and Hailey Lord to decide where they would pursue their bachelor’s degrees, it was a no-brainer.

At the time, the two were Dr. Floyd F. Koch Honors College students who had just earned their Associate in Arts degrees at PBSC. At graduation, they were both smiling ear-to-ear because they were getting their degrees with no debt thanks to their Presidential Honors College Scholarship, which gave them each $4,000 per academic year.

Since then, PBSC has upped the ante for this top scholarship. Recipients are now awarded $6,000 per academic year beginning this fall.

“Having no debt really meant freedom for us and a sense of comfort,” said Hailey. “We had friends who were $60,000 in debt when they graduated. We were so thankful that wasn’t the case for us and are so grateful to PBSC for offering the scholarship.”

According to the two, the scholarship was the number one reason they decided to stay to pursue their bachelor’s degrees.

“At first, we didn’t even know that you could continue using the scholarship for your bachelor’s degree,” said Hannah. “We really didn’t want to leave the College and were asking if it could be extended. Obviously, we were both thrilled when we found out that it could.”

Hailey had offers from other schools, including a $25,000 per year scholarship to Stetson University and a $2,000 per year scholarship to Florida Atlantic University.

“The scholarships were great, especially the one to Stetson,” said Hailey. “However, Stetson is a private university and their tuition prices were so much higher. The PBSC opportunity ended up being the best.”

The two also wanted to stay local to help run their family business called AllStar Martial Arts Academy in Wellington. Their parents started the academy in 2006, and since high school Hailey and Hannah have been teaching classes there to different age groups.

When it was time to decide which bachelor’s program they would pursue, that too was an easy decision. The Bachelor of Applied Science in Supervision and Management degree with a concentration in entrepreneurship fit perfectly into their career goals because they want to help grow the family business.

Both of them say that what they’ve learned through the program, particularly the entrepreneurship class, has helped them understand how a business should run.

Through a class project, they both created a business plan for the academy that included income statements, budgets and more.

“Our parents didn’t go to school to learn business,” said Hailey. “What we’ve learned we have also shared with them. It has been beneficial to the whole family.”

Hannah and Hailey plan to graduate this fall. Like with their first graduation, they are looking forward to having no debt.

There was also another added bonus to the Honors College scholarship. Not only did it cover their tuition each semester, they each had about $500 left over that they used toward the cost of their books.

“It was nice because a lot of times we just bought one book and shared it because we had almost every class together, and we lived together,” said Hannah.

Both women hope that other students consider attending PBSC.

“PBSC has so much to offer in terms of scholarships,” said Hailey. “It has really made the difference in our lives and we know it would in others too.”

Applications are currently being accepted for the Presidential Honors College Scholarship. The deadline to apply is April 13, 2018.