Hello, my name is Ramsey Orr. I am a husband, father, veteran, and a college student. I come from humble beginnings, but education was always a priority in my home. When I was in sixth grade my mom put me in a school for gifted children even though it created more expenses and meant that all three of her children would be in different schools that year. She did it because she recognized the value of that level of education and knew the impact that experience would have on me. For high school, my siblings and I attended a school that was 40 minutes away from where we lived. My mother put us in that school to take advantage of the scholastic and extra-curricular opportunities that the schools near us didn’t offer. I truly appreciated her sacrifice and her dedication to helping us become our own versions of successful. I graduated high school in May 2000 and decided to attend Southern Illinois University of Carbondale. I was excited to experience college life, then I got my first tuition bill. I hadn’t realized just how expensive college was, especially with out-of-state tuition. I had to leave school and decided to join the Air Force in February 2001 at the age of 19. I joined for the education benefits, but on September 11, 2001, my motivation changed. I was in my initial military job training when I saw the Twin Towers fall. At that moment, I completely dedicated myself to my military career and everything else became secondary. College wasn’t on my radar. After a successful Air Force career with deployments, starting a family, and traveling all over the world, I honorably separated from the service in 2013. I moved to England with my wife, who was still on active duty. While I was happy with the end of my military career and growing family, I felt like something was missing. It was then that I decided to start my college journey again. I finally had time and energy to devote myself to earning my degree and in May 2016, I received my bachelor’s degree in business administration. It was a long but rewarding journey of hard work, sacrifice, and determination. It may not have been the traditional way, but I was successful in my endeavor just the same. My family and I made our final military move to Tampa, Florida in June 2021 and I decided to focus on completing my master’s degree. In December 2024, I accomplished that lofty goal and, at the young age of 43, have set my sights on earning my doctorate. I believe achieving this level of education will empower me to build my personal business and better serve my community. With my higher education, I plan on teaching young people about financial literacy, small business ownership, and techniques for saving for retirement. I also plan to embark on an even more fulfilling second career of mentoring veterans while securing the work/life balance that my family deserves after all the years of military service and deployments. If I am blessed to receive the Debra S. Jackson New Horizons Scholarship, it will give me and my family the financial cushion and security we need for me to complete my DBA. Rebuilding after a military move can be daunting, but I am excited for the challenge and eager to make an impact and earning my doctorate is an important part of making that happen. Thank you for your consideration!

My name I Ramsey Orr. I am a husband, father, veteran, and a college student. I come from humble beginnings but education was always a priority in my home. When I was in sixth grade my mom put me in a school for gifted children even though it created more expenses and meant that all three of her children would be in different schools that year. She did it because she recognized the value of that level of education and knew the impact that experience would have on me. For high school, my siblings and I attended a school that was 40 minutes away from where we lived. My mother put us in that school to take advantage of the scholastic and extra-curricular opportunities that the schools near us didn’t offer. I truly appreciated her sacrifice and became steadfast in my pursuit of higher learning. I graduated high school in May 2000 and decided to attend Southern Illinois University of Carbondale. I was excited to experience college life, then I got my first tuition bill. I hadn’t realized just how expensive college was, especially with out-of-state tuition. I had to leave school and decided to join the Air Force in February 2001. I joined for the education benefits, but on September 11, 2001, my motivation changed. I was in my initial military job training when I saw the Twin Towers fall. At that moment, I completely dedicated myself to my military career and everything else became secondary. College wasn’t on my radar. After deployments, starting a family, and traveling all over the world, I honorably separated from the military in 2013. While stationed with my family in England, I finally had time and energy to devote myself to earning my degree and in May 2016, I received my bachelor’s degree in business administration. It was a long but rewarding journey of hard work, sacrifice, and determination. My family and I made our final move to Tampa, Florida in June 2021 and I decided to coach my kid’s soccer and volleyball teams and joined local community groups. Now at the young age of 42, my focus is on completing my master’s degree. I believe achieving this level of education will empower me to build my personal business and better serve my community. With my higher education, I plan on teaching young people financial literacy and techniques on saving for retirement. I also plan to embark on an even more fulfilling second career and secure the work/life balance that my family deserves after all the years of military service. A master’s degree will make me more appealing in the job market. Rebuilding after a military move can be daunting, but I am excited for the challenge and eager to make an impact. Earning a master’s degree is an important part of making that happen. If I am blessed to receive the Robert Lawyer Memorial scholarship, it will provide the financial cushion my family needs while I pursue my dreams.

My name I Ramsey Orr. I am a husband, father, veteran, and a college student. I come from humble beginnings but education was always a priority in my home. When I was in sixth grade my mom put me in a school for gifted children even though it created more expenses and meant that all three of her children would be in different schools that year. She did it because she recognized the value of that level of education and knew the impact that experience would have on me. For high school, my siblings and I attended a school that was 40 minutes away from where we lived. My mother put us in that school to take advantage of the scholastic and extra-curricular opportunities that the schools near us didn’t offer. I truly appreciated her sacrifice and became steadfast in my pursuit of higher learning. I graduated high school in May 2000 and decided to attend Southern Illinois University of Carbondale. I was excited to experience college life, then I got my first tuition bill. I hadn’t realized just how expensive college was, especially with out-of-state tuition. I had to leave school and decided to join the Air Force in February 2001. I joined for the education benefits, but on September 11, 2001, my motivation changed. I was in my initial military job training when I saw the Twin Towers fall. At that moment, I completely dedicated myself to my military career and everything else became secondary. College wasn’t on my radar. After deployments, starting a family, and traveling all over the world, I honorably separated from the military in 2013. While stationed with my family in England, I finally had time and energy to devote myself to earning my degree and in May 2016, I received my bachelor’s degree in business administration. It was a long but rewarding journey of hard work, sacrifice, and determination. My family and I made our final move to Tampa, Florida in June 2021 and I decided to coach my kid’s soccer and volleyball teams and joined local community groups. Now at the young age of 42, my focus is on completing my master’s degree. I believe achieving this level of education will empower me to build my personal business and better serve my community. With my higher education, I plan on teaching young people financial literacy and techniques on saving for retirement. I also plan to embark on an even more fulfilling second career and secure the work/life balance that my family deserves after all the years of military service. A master’s degree will make me more appealing in the job market. Rebuilding after a military move can be daunting, but I am excited for the challenge and eager to make an impact. Earning a master’s degree is an important part of making that happen. If I am blessed to receive the Augustus L. Harper scholarship, it will provide the financial cushion my family needs while I pursue my dreams.

My name I Ramsey Orr. I am a husband, father, veteran, and a college student. I come from humble beginnings but education was always a priority in my home. When I was in sixth grade my mom put me in a school for gifted children even though it created more expenses and meant that all three of her children would be in different schools that year. She did it because she recognized the value of that level of education and knew the impact that experience would have on me. For high school, my siblings and I attended a school that was 40 minutes away from where we lived. My mother put us in that school to take advantage of the scholastic and extra-curricular opportunities that the schools near us didn’t offer. I truly appreciated her sacrifice and her dedication to helping us become our own versions of successful. I graduated high school in May 2000 and decided to attend Southern Illinois University of Carbondale. I was excited to experience college life, then I got my first tuition bill. I hadn’t realized just how expensive college was, especially with out-of-state tuition. I had to leave school and decided to join the Air Force in February 2001. I joined for the education benefits, but on September 11, 2001, my motivation changed. I was in my initial military job training when I saw the Twin Towers fall. At that moment, I completely dedicated myself to my military career and everything else became secondary. College wasn’t on my radar. After a successful Air Force career with deployments, starting a family, and traveling all over the world, I honorably separated from the military in 2013. While stationed with my family in England, I finally had time and energy to devote myself to earning my degree and in May 2016, I received my bachelor’s degree in business administration. It was a long but rewarding journey of hard work, sacrifice, and determination. It may not have been the traditional way, but I was successful in my endeavor just the same. My family and I made our final move to Tampa, Florida in June 2021 and I decided to coach my kid’s soccer and volleyball teams and joined local community groups. Now at the young age of 42, my focus is on completing my master’s degree. To me, success looks like a happy family, a thriving community, and a career I can be proud of. I believe achieving this level of education will empower me to build my personal business and better serve my community. With my higher education, I plan on teaching young people financial literacy and techniques on saving for retirement. I also plan to embark on an even more fulfilling second career and secure the work/life balance that my family deserves after all the years of military service. A master’s degree will make me more appealing in the job market. Rebuilding after a military move can be daunting, but I am excited for the challenge and eager to make an impact. Earning a master’s degree is an important part of making that happen. If I am blessed to receive the Redefining Victory scholarship, it will provide the financial cushion my family needs while I continue my pursuit of success.

My name I Ramsey Orr. I am a husband, father, veteran, and a college student. I come from humble beginnings but education was always a priority in my home. When I was in sixth grade my mom put me in a school for gifted children even though it created more expenses and meant that all three of her children would be in different schools that year. She did it because she recognized the value of that level of education and knew the impact that experience would have on me. For high school, my siblings and I attended a school that was 40 minutes away from where we lived. My mother put us in that school to take advantage of the scholastic and extra-curricular opportunities that the schools near us didn’t offer. I truly appreciated her sacrifice and became steadfast in my pursuit of higher learning. I graduated high school in May 2000 and decided to attend Southern Illinois University of Carbondale. I was excited to experience college life, then I got my first tuition bill. I hadn’t realized just how expensive college was, especially with out-of-state tuition. I had to leave school and decided to join the Air Force in February 2001. I joined for the education benefits, but on September 11, 2001, my motivation changed. I was in my initial military job training when I saw the Twin Towers fall. At that moment, I completely dedicated myself to my military career and everything else became secondary. College wasn’t on my radar. After deployments, starting a family, and traveling all over the world, I honorably separated from the military in 2013. While stationed with my family in England, I finally had time and energy to devote myself to earning my degree and in May 2016, I received my bachelor’s degree in business administration. It was a long but rewarding journey of hard work, sacrifice, and determination. My family and I made our final move to Tampa, Florida in June 2021 and I decided to coach my kid’s soccer and volleyball teams and joined local community groups. Now at the young age of 42, my focus is on completing my master’s degree. I believe achieving this level of education will empower me to build my personal business and better serve my community. With my higher education, I plan on teaching young people financial literacy and techniques on saving for retirement. I also plan to embark on an even more fulfilling second career and secure the work/life balance that my family deserves after all the years of military service. A master’s degree will make me more appealing in the job market. Rebuilding after a military move can be daunting, but I am excited for the challenge and eager to make an impact. Earning a master’s degree is an important part of making that happen. If I am blessed to receive the Debra S. Jackson New Horizons scholarship, it will provide the financial cushion my family needs while I pursue my dreams.