With two siblings in college at the same time as her, Annie Skorupa has had many family discussions about money. Debt and managing finances are frequent topics with Skorupa’s friends and roommates too.

“We talk about having debt — it’s not a bad thing, especially educational debt, but just the fact that you can seek out opportunities to try to limit that debt — we talk about that all time. We’re telling each other about scholarships and opportunities, and jobs too,” says Skorupa.

A computer science major, Skorupa originally had her sights set on a career as a zookeeper. But, thanks to an encouraging middle school teacher, she became interested in computers and now dreams of a career in computer gaming.

“I think it’s a very creative medium for information technology and computers in general,” says Skorupa, a sophomore who spent her summer as an IT intern for a building supply company.

Having a scholarship has been especially meaningful, she says, because it’s given her confidence in her decisions and plans for the future.

“(Receiving a scholarship) really meant a lot to me financially, but just the fact that I know someone was looking at what I was doing and they thought, ‘Wow I like this, and I can fund this’ — just to know there’s someone behind me and someone who’s got my back really meant a lot to me,” she says. “It motivates me to keep going and it means so much, words can’t really describe.”