Christopher K. Swartz Scholarship

I am an adult learner returning to complete my Business Administration degree after spending years in the workforce and raising a family. My path has not been traditional, but it has been intentional. Every step I have taken - professionally, academically, and personally - has been shaped by a commitment to building stability, improving systems, and creating environments where people can succeed. Returning to school is not just about earning a degree; it is about opening the door to the career I have worked toward for years. Professionally, my goal is to build a long‑term career in Human Resources and People Operations, with a focus on organizational effectiveness, employee development, and fair, well‑designed systems. I have spent much of my career in operations, quality, and compliance roles, where I learned how strong processes, clear communication, and supportive leadership can transform a workplace. Those experiences helped me understand that HR is not just about policies - it is about shaping the culture, structure, and systems that allow people to thrive. I want to be part of that work. I want to help organizations build environments where employees feel supported, informed, and valued. Personally, my goal is to create long‑term stability for my family while setting an example for my child about perseverance, education, and growth at any age. Returning to school as an adult has required discipline, sacrifice, and resilience. I balance coursework with work responsibilities, family commitments, and financial pressures, but I continue because I know the degree I am earning will change the trajectory of my life. I want my child to see that it is never too late to pursue a goal, rebuild a path, or invest in their future. This scholarship would directly support my ability to continue my education without interruption. As an adult learner, I do not have access to many of the traditional forms of financial support that younger students receive. My tuition is currently covered by aid, and I rely heavily on student loans to stay enrolled. Receiving this scholarship would reduce the financial strain of continuing my degree and allow me to focus more fully on my coursework and long‑term career development. It would also help me avoid taking on additional private loans, which carry higher interest rates and long‑term financial consequences. More than anything, this scholarship would represent an investment in my future. In this future, I can contribute meaningfully to the field of Human Resources, support others' development, and build a career rooted in fairness, structure, and positive impact. I am committed to finishing my degree, advancing in my career, and using what I learn to help create workplaces where people feel supported and empowered. This scholarship would bring me one step closer to achieving those goals.

When I was sixteen, I received a WhatsApp message from a woman named Amara in Uganda. She had used a $75 microloan that I had secured for her to restock her grocery stall. "My children ate today," she wrote. "Thank you." I reread it four times, then sat and stared at it. That message changed something in me. I realized that the difference between where someone with a dream is now and where they want to be is often smaller than it appears. Sometimes it’s $75. Sometimes it’s just someone showing up. I decided that I wanted to spend my life being the person to make that happen. That’s what led me to found Small Step Loans, where I raised $10,000 for a microloan portfolio with 100+ borrowers in 27 countries. Not for a resume, but to be the person who brings other people's dreams to life. Whether it's a single mother with a grocery stall in Uganda or a kid across the street selling lemonade and saving up to go to astronaut school one day. Everyone deserves to have a dream. Later on, when I arrived at Indiana University, I was eager to continue impacting the communities around me. I joined RedCapes, a student nonprofit dedicated to ending food insecurity on campus. I partnered with 20 organizations, ranging from fraternities/sororities to the Salvation Army, raised over $3,000, and distributed 3,000 essential items to those in need. But the moment that sticks with me most is when a student grabbed a care package and quietly said, "I didn't know what I was going to eat tonight." My degree in finance and career path into consulting are tools that I've used in this journey and will need to develop to grow my impact. I've already done this by consulting for entrepreneurs and managing their finances, freeing them to focus on growing their business. As well as by applying my financial creativity to RedCapes, working outside the box with our small budget to help thousands. I hope to use everything I learn at IU and as a future consultant, along with everything I’ve done at RedCapes and Small Step Loans, to grow my own social justice organization, making as many dreams as I can come to life. This is a lifelong endeavor to me, something I want to pass down to my children and watch as they transform the lives of the next generation of dreamers. Reading Chris's story helped inspire this vision because he'd lived in the same way. He moved from football fields to Congress to small business boardrooms, but what truly defined him was what he gave rather than what he achieved. His time, attention, and heart. That's the kind of life I'm trying to create. This scholarship will do more than just keep me in school. Every dollar I spend on tuition is a dollar I cannot use to fund a microloan portfolio, a nonprofit campaign, or a young dreamer’s aspirations. Every minute I spend working part-time is a minute I can spend helping others. So this scholarship will do more than words can say in reducing these struggles and helping me bring my vision to life, turning a single investment in my future into hundreds of dreams come true. I don’t know exactly what my organization will look like in twenty years. But I know it will be built on what Amara and countless other dreamers I helped throughout my journey have taught me: doing good is not charity, it is a responsibility. And it is the most important thing I can imagine doing with my life.