Dreams Never Expire

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by life? Like EVERYTHING is competing for your attention, energy, and time? Try as we might, we can't do it all and something has to give. It's a common feeling, one of the reasons why we give up or put dreams on hold, and one of the biggest challenges to overcome when we try to come back to a goal that we shelved. 

Good news! 

We have the opportunity and privilege to make it a little easier for adult learners to overcome these hurdles. Supporting the educational aspirations of our adult community benefits us all and may inspire others to follow their own long-forgotten dreams. 

Won't you join us in supporting adult students at NKU?

Objective

The objective of our project is to initiate a scholarship fund for use by currently enrolled NKU adult learners to offset the costs associated with being a student while managing other responsibilities, including care for others, heavy workloads and household management.

With your support, we can make earning an NKU degree a reality for our adult learners. By providing scholarship support, our students will not have to give up their dreams due to competing responsibilities.   

Background

In January 2020, Northern Kentucky University became an Age-Friendly University (AFU) and joined an international network of colleges and universities pursuing a vision of higher education as inclusive of all age groups. In 2021, we formed the AFU Coalition, a group of faculty, staff, students, and community partners committed to promoting the 10 Age-Friendly University Principles at NKU and throughout our region. As part of the coalition's aims, we seek to respond to the educational needs and interests of adult learners. Historically, higher education was not designed for these students despite the richness that they contribute to our classrooms and campus.

Since its origin in 2021, the coalition has tripled in size, hosted annual events (e.g., Careers in Aging Week), and consulted on valuable research (e.g., caregiving on campus, ageism in the classroom). Repeatedly from these actions we have heard a need to better support segments of our student body who are balancing multiple responsibilities as adult learners, as employees, and as parents and caregivers, such as through small monetary grants and peer-to-peer support. This impact campaign is a primary step in response to that need.

Make your best gift today to help make our adult learners' dreams come true. THANK YOU!