Mellanie Barr
Barr graduated from Cabarrus College of Health Sciences in 2009 with an associate’s degree in nursing.

Anita Cherry
Cherry wanted to earn a college degree as a way to a better life for herself and her child, but couldn’t afford it because of medical expenses. With Answer’s help, she graduated in December 2009 from Pfeiffer University with a B.S. in business administration. She’s now working full-time as an accountant. Cherry has served for two years as a mentor in Answer’s Mentors for Mom program. She has one daughter, Brianna, who is in 11th grade.

 

 

Marie Dingle
Dingle graduated from UNC Charlotte in May 2009, earning a Bachelor of Social Work. She didn’t stop there. In December 2011, she graduated from UNC Greensboro with a Master of Library and Information Studies degree. She works as a media specialist at Whitewater Middle School in Charlotte and has two children, Jerrod and Stephanie. Dingle is also a mentor in Answer’s Mentors for Moms program. She was recently featured in the UNC Charlotte Alumni Magazine and SouthPark Magazine.

 

Tonya Nichole Faulkner
Faulkner sought a college degree to break the cycle of poverty in her family. In 2008, she graduated magna cum laude from Queens University of Charlotte with a B.A. in Human and Community Services. She later earned a Master of Arts in Nonprofit Management from High Point University. Faulker is employed at Rockingham Community College in the Trio program, a federally funded program that assists low-income and first-generation college students. Faulkner’s daughter is currently a junior at Queens with a 3.4 GPA, and Faulkner’s son is in middle school. The Saturday Evening Post featured Faulkner in a profile of the Answer Scholarship.

Erica Frazier

Frazier completed a B.S. in Management from the University of Phoenix in 2012. A single mother of a teenager and two younger children, she is earning her degree while working as program director for Above and Beyond Students’ after-school program. Frazier tried to pursue a college degree previously while working full-time, but wasn’t serious about it until divorce made her look hard at her future. Read more about Frazier in The Charlotte Post . The national magazine American Baby also interviewed Frazier for a story on moms going to college.

 

Malaika Grier

Grier graduated from Belmont Abbey College in the summer of 2010 with a B.A. in Accounting.

Jennifer Holbrook
Holbrook graduated in December 2008 from Winthrop University, majoring in Communication Disorders/Speech Language Pathology. She was on the Dean’s List with a 3.95 GPA.

Carrie Johnson Walters Walters, a mother of two teens, graduated in December 2013 from UNC Charlotte with a B.A. in Communication Studies in Public Advocacy.  She is currently working on a J.D. at Charlotte School of Law.  The Kannapolis mom was raised in a low-income, single-parent household in government housing and never knew her biological father.  She gave birth to her first child during her senior year of high school.  Walters works as a paralegal and has volunteered with Guardian ad Litem, the voice for minor children in abuse and neglect court cases. Walters was recently featured in the Independent Tribune.

 

Shantell Kelty
A single mom, Kelty graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration from Pfeiffer University in December 2011. In her application for an Answer scholarship, Kelty wrote, “Returning to college has been my one heart’s desire for many years now. Being in the workforce has shown me the importance of a college education. A person can have all the experience needed for a position, but (without) a college degree to support the experience, your resume becomes one of many.” Receiving the Answer scholarship allowed her to show her daughter Kaylan that any goal is attainable. Kelty hopes to work for a non-profit organization and to continue her education by earning a master’s degree, possibly in organizational leadership. Kelty was featured in the Myers Park Life publication.

Sharon Laney
Laney graduated summa cum laude from Montreat College in May 2007 with a degree in business management. She works in a family business. Her oldest daughter currently attends Central Piedmont Community College, while her youngest daughter is in high school.

Katrina Mitchell
Mitchell started 2012 with a new job as a language arts teacher at Joseph W. Grier Academy, part of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. She teaches 3rd to 5th grades, with an emphasis on literacy. Mitchell graduated in December 2011 from Belmont Abbey College with a B.A. in Elementary Education, and is attending Lesley University for her masters in Curriculum Instruction: Literacy. Mitchell was featured in the Myers Park Life publication.

Her accomplishments are all the more remarkable given that Katrina Mitchell’s mother was only 14 when Mitchell was born, and as a teenager, Mitchell had to work to help her family pay household bills. She attended college briefly then, but without adequate support or guidance she wasn’t a serious student and quit before earning a degree. That changed when she became a mother and discovered Answer. Mitchell’s pre-teen daughter, seeing her mom’s example, made honor roll at school for the first time last year.

Sonya Muhammad
“Sonya Muhammed was trying to raise two daughters on her own, earn her degree at UNC Charlotte, and work a third-shift job when she was awarded the Answer Scholarship.” That’s how Pride Magazine described Muhammad, who graduated from UNC Charlotte in 2007 with a bachelors in social work and in June 2009 with a master’s in social work. She is a mental health therapist with Britton and Crump., Inc., and is considering whether to pursue a Ph.D. in her field. Muhammed also serves on the Answer selection committee and is a mentor to new Answer Scholarship recipients. Her daughter Tori is in her third year of college; her younger daughter, Arafah, is in high school.

Jamille White
White graduated in 2012 with a B.S. in Business, concentration in management, from the University of Phoenix. She has been an inspiration for her twin sons, Jamal and Jarvaris, both freshmen at Clemson University. Jamal will study engineering; Jarvaris will study architecture. The family lives in Rock Hill, S.C.

 

 

Litasha White
White was one of Answer’s inaugural recipients in December 2006. She bought her first home in 2007 after graduating from Pfeiffer University. White has returned to Pfeiffer and is currently studying for a joint MBA/MHA (Master of Health Administration). She works as chief operating officer for Second Chances and a Chance for Change. Her daughter, Aja, is an 11th grade honors student who hopes to attend Wingate University or UNC Greensboro.