{"id":719,"date":"2017-07-20T11:10:08","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T15:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/?p=719"},"modified":"2019-02-11T12:33:23","modified_gmt":"2019-02-11T17:33:23","slug":"thoughts-from-a-grateful-scholarship-recipient","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/2017\/07\/20\/thoughts-from-a-grateful-scholarship-recipient\/","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts from a grateful scholarship recipient"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every year, the\u00a0Fr. Vincent Welch Memorial Dinner\u00a0raises funds for scholarships for students of University of Detroit Mercy\u00a0and Loyola High School. On Tuesday, Artona Millhouse ’16 told a large crowd the difference\u00a0the\u00a0scholarship she received to attend Detroit Mercy has made in her life. We excerpted it here because we thought it was something everyone should hear.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Artona
Artona Millhouse ’16<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I stood in this same spot, on this day last year, as a senior and\u00a0recipient of the Mary Leila Koppe Endowed Scholarship. I now stand before you all as a proud first-generation college graduate with a bachelor\u2019s degree in Developmental Psychology. I am beyond thankful for the opportunity to return and share an update on what life has been like since graduation.<\/p>\n

I completed my undergraduate journey on December 13, 2016; just nine days before my 23rd birthday. I remember completing my Health Care Ethics final and experiencing an array of emotions. I felt drained after having four\u00a0exams, three\u00a0essays and two\u00a0final projects. I felt determined as I challenged myself to earn a 4.0 or else I could not truly celebrate my birthday. I felt excited and in awe that this was the very moment I worked so hard for. I hate to admit it but also felt fearful of adulthood and what it had to offer me. I worried that I would not be prepared for the career world and would let my family down. I spent 4 \u00bd years of my life at Detroit Mercy\u00a0and felt comfortable there, and now I was about to step foot into a different world.<\/p>\n

I discussed my fears with my mom, who gave me the best advice I could have asked for:\u00a0“Greatness never came from comfort zones.\u201d If I wanted to experience all that God had in store for me I would have to step outside of the familiar. Next, she reminded who and what I\u2019d worked so hard for.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always said graduating college was about\u00a0more than myself; it was also for my family. I wanted to show my younger siblings life is more about where you are headed than where you are from. What example would I be setting for them if I gave up? If my siblings were in a similar situation I\u2019d tell them that achievements don\u2019t end after college and that they\u2019d have to continue to aim high. That\u2019s exactly what I intended to do.<\/p>\n

I knew I was called to serve others; specifically children. I began to apply for jobs at schools, daycares and\u00a0guidance centers until intuition directed me to The Children\u2019s Center of Wayne County\u2014Michigan\u2019s top provider of children\u2019s services ranging from clinical to behavioral therapy. I knew, from the moment I decided to work with children this would be my dream workplace, as I saw the work done here firsthand. I found a listing for a Behavior Technician position in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. A behavior technician provides one on one instructional services to children who have autism. They work on skills as small as clapping hands to teaching children social and life essentials. Something told me to apply.<\/p>\n

I interviewed for the position in mid-January\u00a0and went in using every ounce of interview experience I gained on campus. The mock interviews at The Career Education Center, interviewing process for orientation leader to jobs in residence life came in handy. I was asked questions about my passion, gifts and plans for the future. I was confident responding to these questions because I was given the preparation since my freshmen year at Detroit Mercy. I was well rounded, patient, empathic and passionate about serving others. I knew these things combined with my love for God would make me an asset to any team and that came through\u00a0in the interview. After the interview I was told I would receive an update within the next two weeks. I was offered the\u00a0position the next day; my start date would be Jan. 30.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t be happier with the decision I made. The truth is the work is extremely challenging at times but the rewards are far greater. I\u2019ve been at TCC for a short time nonetheless I\u2019ve witnessed kiddos grow in ways that truly melt my heart. I\u2019ve watched children who would scratch, bite and scream to communicate learn to use their words; children who wouldn\u2019t engage with peers ask others for high fives; children who couldn\u2019t stay seated for five\u00a0minutes during therapy sit and focus for three-hour sessions. This may seem trivial to others but helping these kiddos\u00a0progress in these ways is what gets me out of bed every morning.<\/p>\n

I may be the first Millhouse to graduate college but I am certainly not the last; as you\u2019ve helped to create a family full of Titans. My sister begins classes at Detroit Mercy in the fall and\u00a0my brother will be enrolling the following year.\u00a0\u00a0My youngest sister, who\u2019s only 10, already has her heart set on being a Titan.<\/p>\n

Thank you again for making my desire to complete my education a possibility.<\/p>\n

You can change a life by supporting scholarships to University of Detroit Mercy by clicking here<\/a>. Thank you.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every year, the\u00a0Fr. Vincent Welch Memorial Dinner\u00a0raises funds for scholarships for students of University of Detroit Mercy\u00a0and Loyola High School. On Tuesday, Artona Millhouse ’16 told a large crowd the difference\u00a0the\u00a0scholarship she received to attend Detroit Mercy has made in her life. We excerpted it here because we thought it …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[4,2,10,33],"tags":[27],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2017\/07\/Artona-for-blog.jpg?fit=1934%2C2406&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Kcng-bB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=719"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2178,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719\/revisions\/2178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}