2008 Scholarship Competition Winners

Linda Lael Miller’s Scholarships for Women
Fund Pursuit of Ten Winners’ Dreams

SPOKANE, Wash. - Linda Lael Miller loves to create women who make their own dreams come true against all odds in her novels. This year, the New York Times bestselling author has given 10 real-life women the opportunity to do the same with her Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women.

In the 8th year of Miller’s contest, 1884 applications were received from women hoping to further their education with the help of these $1,000 scholarships. From working with children as a grade school teacher to helping women as a midwife nurse, the goals of these inspiring ladies are as diverse as the women themselves.

The winners in the 2008 competition range from a 26-year-old majoring in dental hygiene to an American Sign Language major hoping to improve communication abilities with an ill sister, just two examples of the incredible women selected for the scholarships.

"My philosophy is, 'Educate a woman, impact endless future generations,'" Miller said, from the horse property outside Spokane where she writes novels set in the west of today and yesterday that are published by HQN Books.

Miller hopes to see generation after generation impacted by women who may not have otherwise completed their education without the help of her scholarships. Her vision for the program may be realized sooner than she expected, as many of this year’s winners are mothers, whose children and future grandchildren will learn all the things that can be achieved through education against all odds.

To be eligible for the scholarship program, a woman must be a U.S. or Canadian resident older than 25 years and enrolled in an accredited institution of learning. Winners may use the funds for books and tuition but also for daycare, transportation and other expenses not usually covered by scholarships.

The winners are selected based on essays written by the applicants, explaining why they need the scholarship and how their lives and families would be impacted by receiving it.

Miller knows firsthand the hardships these women have endured. Before she was known as the First Lady of the West for her bestselling novels, she experienced her share of discouraging setbacks. Now, after writing more than 70 novels, Miller is an acclaimed author with her latest bestseller, Montana Creeds: Logan, flying off the shelves.

The 2008 winners of Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women are:

Kim Anderson*, 41, Louisville, Ky. As a resident at The Center for Women and Families, a shelter for domestic violence victims, Anderson knows all about life’s struggles. After distancing herself from the man who injured her, she decided it was time to claim her independence and finish her education.

Achieving her goal hasn’t been easy. In June, Anderson’s son, 21, underwent his third surgery due to spina bifida. She was forced to work twice as hard in order to care for her son, pay the bills and attend class, but she was able to maintain all As and Bs in her classes.

“After all he has been through,” she said, “I hope that by watching me, he’ll never give up, and he’ll know he can do anything.”

Anderson will use her scholarship funds for a new computer for schoolwork at Spencerian College.

Linda Davis, 45, Wheeling, W.Va. Just one year ago, Linda Davis faced homelessness, an abusive, unfaithful spouse, and a life-threatening thyroid disease.

Today, she is healthy, raising her children single-handedly, living in public housing, and well on her way to becoming a surgical nurse at West Virginia Northern Community College. Though her kids still worry about her health, they are still confident and supportive of their mother’s goal to complete her college degree.

After all she has been through, Davis has learned to appreciate her family’s growth.

“I felt like I was on a treadmill that went nowhere, no matter how much I walked,” Davis lamented of her past. “Now, it is like I have become another person. I am no longer a doormat for anyone.”

Davis will use her scholarship funds for her uniform for clinicals, gas and daycare.

Melissa James, 35, Taylor, Texas Coming from a family of 16 children, most of whom had children by the age of 15, and none of whom have a high school education, James made it her personal goal to break the cycle of her family tree. Her first step after getting her GED was to join the U.S. Army and begin online college classes. However, after serving two months in the Middle East shortly after 9/11, she learned her mother was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. So James returned home with an honorable discharge to take care of her five-year-old son and eleven-year-old brother.

Now that her son has graduated from high school and plans to attend college, she has set a deadline on her goal—to complete college before her son.

Now that she is paying tuition for her son, her younger brother and herself, she will use the scholarship funds to finance for the last 12 credits of her degree at Temple College.

Lisa Leyn, 42, of Blanchard, Okla. When her grandmother began needing full-time care, Lisa Leyn knew she was the right person for the job. She has been so inspired by caring for her grandmother that she hopes to work for a nonprofit organization caring for the elderly and disadvantaged youth after graduating from the University of Oklahoma.

Leyn’s two children, 13 and 17, are sure to be equally inspired by their mother’s work.

“I wanted to be an example for them, not just tell them to do something without doing it myself,” Leyn said.

She will use her scholarship funds to cover the costs of books and school supplies for her remaining semesters in school.

Jenelle Martin, 38, of Denver, Colo. After working in the nonprofit world for 12 years, Martin decided it was time to follow her secret passion—American Sign Language.

“I love the idea that anything you think of can be communicated with your hands,” Martin said. “I’ve been in awe of how my deaf professors and mentors can actually paint a picture with their hands.”

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of her studies is the help ASL provides for communication with her older sister, who has a neuro-muscular degenerative disease that keeps her from comprehending complex information and inhibits her verbal communication. ASL has helped enhance Martin’s communication abilities and keep her sister involved in the decision-making for her care.

After graduating from Front Range Community College, Martin hopes to study Spanish in order to become a trilingual interpreter and complete a Master’s degree in health communications. She will use her scholarship funds for tuition.

Jamie Smith*, 27, of Barstow, Calif. When Jamie Smith was pregnant with her daughter, she felt ill on a daily basis, lost 30 pounds and felt she was not receiving the support she needed from her doctor. After her five-month mark, Smith tried a different route—a midwife practice. She said her pregnancy experience turned around the moment she stepped into the office.

It is because of her experience that Smith decided to become a midwife nurse herself.

“I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t found my midwives,” she said. “I felt like I was coasting, but now that I’ve had my baby, I’ve figured it out. This is what I should be doing.”

Leyn will be using her funds to provide childcare for her daughter while she attends class at Barstow Community College.

Shavon Parker, 28, of Blue Island, Ill. Shavon Parker certainly has a lot on her plate. Not only is she a single mother of two young girls, 7 years and 16 months old, but she also teaches Pre-K classes full time and maintains a 3.1 GPA at DePaul University.

After getting her Bachelor’s degree from DePaul, she hopes to go into a Master’s program. Ultimately, she wants to become a public school teacher in an inner city school district.

“I’ve always been the type of girl to try to help people on a positive level,” she said of wanting to become a teacher.

She will use her funds to pay the tuition and books for her remaining classes.

Lori Tisdale, 29, of Ladson, S.C. Three years ago, Tisdale tragically lost her infant daughter, Rachael, to Spinal Atrophy Type I. Her experience with her daughter’s hospital stays in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, however, opened Tisdale’s eyes to the world of nursing. Now, she is studying at the Medical University of South Carolina to become a NICU nurse and lead bereavement groups in hospitals.

“Rachael taught me incredible patience, understanding and love, as well as how to react quickly and correctly in a life or death situation,” Tisdale said. She knows that her experiences will help her comfort other parents in similar situations.

Last year, Tisdale adopted a baby girl, Isabella, and hopes her new daughter will see through her mother how strong a woman she can be.

Tisdale will use the scholarship funds to assist with the costs of books and nursing supplies.
Melissa Usleaman, 40, of Brooksville, Ky. When her husband Ray’s lupus symptoms worsened three and a half years ago, Usleaman had a house full of kids to care for—with her four children, 17, 14, 9 and 6, and Ray’s two young cousins, 14 and 12. Then there were bills to pay, a part-time job and a full college course load. She is so close to finishing both an Associate’s in Art degree and an Applied Science with Business Management degree from Maysville Community and Technical College, that she knows she must push through her last few classes so she can work full time.

Usleaman plans to pursue social work after graduating, preferably in a women’s crisis center, simply because she enjoys helping other people.

After all of her family’s hardships, she hopes getting her college degree will help turn things around.

Usleaman will use her funds to help pay for tuition, books and gas.

Mary Wilson*, 26, of Fayetteville, N.C. After divorcing an abusive husband, Wilson decided it was time for a change, so she joined the work study program at Fayetteville Tech Community College. She has decided to become a dental hygienist, so she will be able to provide for her two children.

“I want them to learn that it’s never too late to accomplish their goals,” Wilson said of her children. “I want them to see that with hard work, you can accomplish anything.”

Wilson will use her funds to provide daycare for her children, so she can take more hours of class and work without having to worry about her children’s safety.


The 2009 Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women contest will launch in the spring. The rules and application forms will be posted on www.LindaLaelMiller.com.