This past weekend, I had the extreme pleasure of heading back to St. Louis for a much needed I Do It For Her family reunion. As has become the unofficial tradition, I met up with our most recent scholarship recipient, Michael Love, and his mom over breakfast at Cafe Osage in the Central West End.

After many cups of coffee and the initial introductory conversation, it was an absolutely wonderful way to spend my Saturday morning and get to know both Michael and his quite obviously caring mother a bit more personally. There is no doubt that she is a driving force in his life and wants to help him succeed beyond what he thinks he’s capable of.

And as a self-proclaimed “momma’s boy” myself, I couldn’t have been happier to see the strength in their relationship displayed in full force as we alternated between light-hearted conversation of how great coffee is and the more serious dialogue of what I Do It For Her stands for as an organization.

Just getting started

Couldn’t be more excited to welcome them to the family!

Michael’s application was no doubt impressive but meeting him in person was even more extraordinary. Although shy at first, as the morning progressed, he began to open up more and I could tell he was so genuinely excited to be starting school in a few weeks. His obvious gratitude and humility are one of the many characteristics that will serve him well as he heads off to SIUE this month.

Because of scheduling conflicts, I couldn’t arrange for both Michael and MaKayla to meet face-to-face unfortunately. She’s busy gearing up for her third year away at school and still just as remarkable in her own right.

2 years of college under her belt have given her the chance to mature and face the adversity we all must encounter at some point in our own lives, if we’re lucky. Having to retake a course on philosophy after receiving her first ‘f’ grade in her academic career has her motivated to prove to herself that she is able to excel in a topic that’s a bit outside her comfort zone. Knowing she still has a ways to go before she graduates, the next thing we’re hoping to help her succeed at is some sort of internship or paid job in the behavioral health arena.

“Helping low-income students attend college is no doubt an important mission of ours but we also have to be conscious of the fact that the journey doesn’t stop there. A college degree is simply a piece of paper unless you put it to use in finding a career that makes you continually grow both personally and professionally.”

MaKayla and her mom always provide such a great atmosphere of fun conversation and before I knew it, I was saying ‘goodbye’ so I could catch my flight back to Denver that afternoon.

With the I Do It For Her already starting to expand, our goal is be able to provide a partial-scholarship each year to a deserving student on a consistent basis. This is only achievable with your continued support and donations! So as the school year begins this fall and the summer starts to wind down, please consider making a donation and being a part of the opportunity to profoundly change someone’s life forever.