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Student Scholarship Nightmare
Ann Jambi wants to be a doctor. Benson Macharia wants to be an electrician. Francis Kangere wants to be so many things he can't name them all. All three are natives of Kenya who arrived in Michigan this fall with practically nothing. "I had seventy dollars," Jambi says. To here them tell it, they each arranged student visas, applications, and flights with a group called Kenyan organization called "Shelter 2000," thinking tuition, books, room and board, were all paid for here in the U.S.. "I'm the kind that believes in God," Kangere says, "so I just knew it would work out." Instead, Jackson Community College's international students specialist Kimberly Seaburg says, "They were left here, with nothing." Seaburg learned about all eleven only after a Jackson family--native to Kenya--had taken them in.
Study finds that rich retirees are the main losers from inflation
How would distribution of wealth change if the United States were to enter a period of inflation? A study from the December issue of the Journal of Political Economy finds that even mild inflation can lead to substantial redistribution of nominal assets from lenders to borrowers, specifically, the transfer of wealth from older, wealthier households to younger, middle-class households. "Inflation affects all nominal asset positions, not just cash positions," write Matthias Doepke (University of California, Los Angeles and National Bureau of Economic Research) and Martin Schneider (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and New York University). "As a result we find that even moderate inflation leads to substantial wealth redistribution." Young, middle-class households have the largest ratios of net debt to net worth.
OSU Notebook: Healing time
OSU freshman basketball player Obi Muonelo did not make the trip to Nashville because he sustained a fractured fibula in his left leg during a Saturday practice. Muonelo had surgery Sunday at Stillwater Medical Center and returned home in time to watch the OSU-Tennessee game on television. Muonelo, OSU's third-leading scorer, said he hurt himself when he slipped on a wet spot in the practice gym and "came down wrong." He said the Cowboys were working on drills to combat Tennessee's press. "Everything happens for a reason," Muonelo said in a Monday telephone interview. "Surgery went great and I'm expecting a full recovery." Muonelo is expected to be out two and a half months. He did not rule out a return this season. "Whenever I get to 100 percent is when I am going to play," he said.
Ducre in Spartans' equation: Former walk-on plays critical role for hobbled team
EAST LANSING - Theorems, proofs and thick statistical analyses have clogged DeMarcus Ducre's brain the past three months. When you take three upper-level math courses in the same semester, things tend to run together. And Ducre, a Michigan State senior guard and math major, has three more next semester. All of which has to make MSU's offense seem like basic algebra, right? .
Commitment to the future
TRAVERSE CITY Rebecca Walton is an actress, an Old Town Playhouse volunteer and a top theater student at Northwestern Michigan College. She's also the first generation in her family to go to college a fact that helped the Bellaire High School graduate earn a free ride as an NMC commitment scholar. Since it began in 1993, the Commitment Scholarship Program has inducted more than 600 first-generation college students from the five-county Grand Traverse region. Students are selected by school counselors and principals while in the eighth grade, "coached through high school and invited to participate in cultural enrichment opportunities like field trips and campus visits. After high school graduation, those who have met all requirements receive scholarships to cover NMC tuition and fees.
After life rebuilt, she wants to help others
Nearly 12 years ago, a terrible car crash left Sandee Rodriguez with no memory, a broken body and the challenge of rebuilding her life. Now Rodriguez, 36, who graduated from Eastern Michigan University last spring, wants to help other students with disabilities as they navigate their distinct challenges in college. She has set up a scholarship in her name, the first such program created through EMU's Access Services Office. "It's amazing follow-through to actually make this happen,'' said Don Anderson, director of Access Services. Those who've worked with Rodriguez, formerly named Sandee Rager, say she's engaging, determined and smart. They say she's not only surviving but thriving after her ordeal. "She is one of the success stories of the southeastern Michigan community,'' said Milt Jackson, major gifts officer for EMU.
Scholarship to carry Robin Roberts' name
Robin Roberts and a Pass Christian High School student both got a Christmas present Tuesday from Diane Sawyer, Roberts' co-anchor on "Good Morning America." Sawyer was Roberts' Secret Santa and decided her gift would be a four-year scholarship to Southeastern Louisiana University, Roberts' alma mater. The scholarship will be given to a Pass High student. "I've been carrying on so wildly about not giving 'things' anymore," Sawyer said in a transcript provided by "GMA." "So I'm not going to give a 'thing.' This is for you." Sawyer's gift moved both women to tears Tuesday morning during the gift exchange that included weather anchor Sam Champion. News anchor Chris Cuomo was on assignment. "Education is so important to my family," Roberts told Sawyer.
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