Class of 2013
Associate of Arts in Teaching / St. Louis Community College
Bachelor of Arts, Education / University of Missouri-St. Louis
Life has always thrown me curves. Struggle and strife have been my teammates. After dealing with surgeries, divorce, death, financial distress, relocation, and natural disasters to boot, I now feel as though I can see the silver lining.
If you ask Lindsay Digar, she will tell you that her mother pushed her even when she didn’t think she could go another step. Lindsay did not graduate from high school, but a series of low-paying service jobs inspired her to complete her GED in 2006 at the age of 22. From that point on, there was no stopping her — even though plenty of obstacles appeared in her way, including a tornado that decimated her Bridgeton home.
In 2009, Lindsay earned an Associate of Arts in Teaching at St. Louis Community College. Although she considered transferring to a four-year school prior to receiving her associate’s degree, she decided to complete the curriculum. Having that “official piece of paper” meant the world to her. Then she transferred to University of Missouri-St. Louis, where she expects to receive her bachelor’s in education in May 2013.
With its interest-free loans and grants, The Scholarship Foundation joined Lindsay’s mother in cheering her onward. “I had always lacked that third party endorsement,” she says, “that unbiased acknowledgement, that coach in my ear when I’m up to bat, rooting me on and congratulating me for what I’ve done despite what I have been through. The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis has not only been that coach helping me along. They have also equipped me with the ability to become a coach for others. Perhaps as a teacher I’ll help someone else who has trouble adjusting to curve balls, too. That is truly the best gift of all.