Scholarships impact the lives of students beyond the classroom. Your generosity has forever impacted students like Chelsea Coleman-Scott, a recipient of the Lawrence Reuss and Florence House Reuss Family Scholarship.

A young mother sits at her long wooden dining room table. It’s 2023 in a rural town southwest of Champaign. As dinner cooks in the oven, her ten-year-old daughter peeks at the laptop screen sitting on the table, eager to see what her mom is studying today.

Chelsea Coleman-Scott juggles multiple titles: Mom, student, community member. Her journey to her current life, a mom of three and junior in the online social work program at Illinois, has been winding, though she’d have it no other way, as each turn in the road has taught her more about herself.

While Chelsea excels in her studies now, a college degree has not always fit into her busy life. She first attended college as a young single mother, working two jobs, hoping to earn her nursing degree. Trying to be perfect at being a mom full-time, a full-time employee, and a student full-time in a rigorous program was taxing. Chelsea’s academic expectations were not lending themselves to her real-life – hours of studying, expectations to be on campus at the drop of a hat, and hard deadlines that did not flex even when her little one came home sick from school. She prided herself in helping others and being a voice in her community, though there was little time left at the end of the day. Something had to give.

Chelsea made the tough decision to leave her nursing program to support her then family of two.

As time passed and her family grew to five, Chelsea still felt she could succeed in higher education. With the support of her partner and dreams of modeling perseverance for her children, Chelsea took steps towards earning that four-year degree she had set out to earn years before.

Lake Land College was her first stop on her rekindled educational journey and opened Chelsea’s eyes to how she could balance it all. Her flexible courses taught her how to juggle multiple titles and responsibilities. With each course completed, her confidence grew. Chelsea earned an associate’s degree in Social Work and with her newfound academic conviction, she applied to the University of Illinois.

At first, the University of Illinois intimidated Chelsea – her younger brother attended the Grainger College of Engineering, and she knew the campus was a demanding place to set her sights. She would be the first to admit she was not the “traditional student,” entering the university almost a decade after many of the other students on campus. When her acceptance finally came, her excitement was tempered both by her long list of responsibilities and the academic expectations now on her shoulders.

Chelsea entered her first days of class wearily. She was still working full-time, caring for her children, and more than two hours from the physical campus. Each day of class became easier as she grew to know her classmates and professors more. Her peers understood the need to fit school into life, not vice versa. Chelsea had attended other institutions and never felt connected. However, at Illinois, having only stepped onto the Champaign campus once before, she was closer to her online cohort than she had ever been. When her children needed her, Chelsea could email her professors, who were understanding and allowed flexibility in her work. There were no expectations to drop everything to be on campus, allowing Chelsea to balance her family life.

Each day, Chelsea was showing herself and her children anything was possible. The coursework fit into her life, and the program’s internship began showing her she could not just leave a lasting impact on her family – she could impact her hometown.

Each social work student must complete an internship – a hands-on experience designed to help students decide their future career path in the field. Chelsea always thought she would complete her internship and subsequent career in the Department of Child and Protective Services (DCFS). As the clock wound down to a needed decision on her internship location, Chelsea looked around her hometown and felt she could take a different route. She knew that her town was dealing with many of the issues small towns across the United States face, including mental health and substance issues. She had heard of programs where a social worker accompanied law enforcement to assist with these calls and cases. This sounded like something her town needed – Chelsea just needed to convince both the university and her local sheriff’s department to let her pilot it.

Chelsea went to work pitching her idea to her professor. She had little hope the pitch would succeed, but the idea also sounded perfect to her professor. So perfect, in fact, her professor made the two-plus hour drive to convince the local sheriff’s department this was an opportunity worth investing in. When the conversation was over, the sheriff also felt this could succeed. This would be the first time a social worker would collaborate with the department.

Chelsea has since finished her internship and earned her bachelor’s degree in May of 2024. Her internship that was a mere thought months ago brought Christmas cheer to over 30 children, installed hygiene stations throughout the community for children in need, and even implemented a program called “Handle with Care” which enables the police station to contact the school if a child was witness to something that may cause them to behave differently. In this role, she also partnered with local agencies to help feed the homeless and provide care packages to veterans in nursing homes.

With the upcoming start of her master’s degree program she reflected, “I am very grateful that the station and Illinois gave me the opportunity to be there and witness firsthand the things our community struggles with and where our strengths are.”

She’s added the title of graduate to that long list of accomplishments and she’s only getting started.