Free Degree or with Debt? Otriz can possibly show you
The degree to which college students are graduating with debt today is approaching crisis level, Forbes magazine reported Oct. 20, 2017. Nevertheless, college degrees are attainable without going into debt for students who are enterprising, savvy about college and scholarship opportunities and hard-working. A Kansas State University junior offers unassailable proof.
David Alexander Ortiz won a full-ride scholarship to attend Kansas City Kansas Community College. Having graduated in May with a 3.925 GPA and won additional scholarships, he’s now pursuing a degree in chemical engineering at K-State.
“For the longest time, I thought I’d go to university first, then I got a scholarship to KCKCC, and I was able to excel and do more things in my two years there than I ever thought possible,” Ortiz says.
Part of being college-savvy is fully exploring options and taking advantage of opportunities, the Lansing native says. He admits to being highly motivated and attributes that in part to KCKCC and Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.
“I received a first-class education,” Ortiz says. “I had exceptional teachers, and I use the knowledge I got from them every day.”
The Phi Theta Kappan says the organization brought out the best in him, molded him into what he is and opened a world of possibility.
“I did more through that organization than I ever thought I would, I made connections, volunteered and had opportunities. Through them I got scholarships,” he says. “Phi Theta Kappa does so many good things for community college students.”
Last spring, Ortiz became the first KCKCC student ever to win a highly competitive Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation scholarship. He was one of only 150 scholarship winners nationwide. The foundation partners with Phi Theta Kappa, which sponsors the All-USA and All-State Academic Team programs. Ortiz was selected for the 2017-2018 All-State Kansas team.
“It meant so much to me to be able to represent my community college and the state of Kansas,” he says. “It’s an honor that I feel privileged to have had. The biggest thing in my life was winning the All-State Academic Team.”
He was one of only 200 selected out of more than 7,000 applicants. His parents, Lourdes and Wilfredo were thrilled when he qualified for the all-state academic team and won the scholarship, he says.
Every year, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation awards 1,400 scholarships to exceptional high school students through the Coca-Cola Community College Academic teams and two other programs. The foundation is now accepting scholarship applications from high school seniors. The deadline to apply is Oct. 31 at 5 p.m., Eastern Time.
To be eligible for a scholarship, students must attend a school or be home-schooled in the U.S. and be U.S citizens, U.S. nationals, permanent residents, refugees, asylees, humanitarian parolees or Cuba-Haitian entrants planning to pursue a degree at an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution. Scholarship applications must be submitted online (https://www.coca-colascholarsfoundation.org/apply/).
“Scholarships make a huge financial difference,” Ortiz says. “My tuition is less than half because of scholarships.”
He makes a case for starting at community college. Tuition is more affordable, even without a scholarship.
“And transferring from there to university allowed me to get right into the meat and potatoes of the subject,” Ortiz says. “I’m taking classes that are really interesting.”
