A lack of financial resources almost kept him from finishing college. Now he serves in the Office of Naval Research as a systems engineer and technical analyst.
Richard’s Story
At the beginning of my final year at Prairie View A&M University, I faced a seemingly insurmountable challenge: I had exhausted both my personal financial resources and my school financial aid. With no books and a hefty debt, I faced the very real possibility of not finishing school.
If not for a timely award from The Scholarship Fund, I could have become a victim of circumstance like so many others—a person fully capable of earning a college degree and becoming successful, but unable to afford the education. With the Fund’s help, not only did I earn my bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, but I placed third in a nationwide engineering design competition.
After college, I worked at Rolls-Royce as a design engineer, and then in the United States Marine Corps as a ground intelligence officer. Today I work as a systems engineer and technical analyst with the Office of Naval Research. I’m so grateful for many of The Scholarship Fund donors who have given opportunities to students like myself.
“If not for a timely award from The Scholarship Fund, I could have become a victim of circumstance like so many others—a person fully capable of earning a college degree and becoming successful, but unable to afford the education.”
–Richard Lavallais, systems engineer and technical assistance contractor, Office of Naval Research