Madison Kremer

It all started when I was 16. Around the time I started to drive my mother became very ill. There were many signs of her becoming a “different” person, but we never thought something like this could’ve happened to us. To say the very least, after years of trying to figure out what was wrong with her, we found out she had dementia. My mother was 55 when she passed away from a very horrible disease.

My senior year of high school I had to take night classes at school due to in home care being outrageous. She couldn’t get coverage and Medicare wouldn’t help out because of her age. I stayed home when my father was at work to watch and care for her, and then when he got home, I went to school, then straight to work. I spent my senior year of high school watching my mother descend, day in and day out. We lost our house due to my mother not being able to work and my father not being able to do it all on his own. Straight after high school I went to Longview Community College here in Kansas City. My mother became very ill during this time frame and passed away my second year of school part-time. She passed away July 16th, 2017. From the time she got sick to now has been financially terrible for me. I currently pay out of pocket for school all while working a full time job at C.H. Robinson. I want to expedite the school process and “start” the rest of my life. I want to make something of myself. I have applied for FAFSA and pell grants but can NOT get anything besides small loans. The reasoning behind not getting any pell grant is because my “dad makes too much”. I am fully independent and do not rely on my dad for anything. I pay all my own bills, I pay rent, and pay for school. I pay all this by myself with no assistance from my father. When my mother passed away she didn’t have any pension, life insurance or anything left over. My mother had obviously been ill before we knew it. A couple years before her passing she stopped paying taxes and we had no idea. With her passing we have discovered all the years of taxes she hasn’t paid and my father is stuck paying that; leaving it where he is just scraping by and can not help out with school costs.

I understand if there is more deserving people than me for this scholarship, but please keep me in mind. This is the last resort of me being able to accomplish something. I’m the first college student of my family. (Mom, dad & two older brothers) It would mean the world to me, to get just a little help. It will take me years and years to finish school continuing to go part time like I am. I graduated high school in 2016 and only have 19 credits so far – due to not having the funds.