The Osher Reentry Scholarship Program (http://bit.ly/2zcvBrA) – which awards financial assistance to returning adult students – provided assistance to a record number of students this fall. The program was initiated in 2012 and is now serving 29 students.

Wichita State is the only university in Kansas that provides assistance to returning adult students through the Osher Scholarship. The program is designed to help offset the cost of returning to school. It enables a greater number of adult students to continue their studies and see their education through to graduation.

The scholarships are available to help undergraduate students who have experienced a five-year cumulative gap in their education finish their degree.

While the scholarship program primarily exists to provide financial assistance, it is not all Osher offers.

The Office of Adult Learning provides Osher scholars with a support system and interactive community throughout their college experience.

“There’s a lot of good resources here that make your experience a little better,” said Brandon Reyes-Turcios, an Osher scholarship recipient. “The Osher program is one of them. There are people here I can relate to. They’ve walked a mile in my shoes and I’ve walked a mile in their shoes. The program really supports you. They understand we might need that extra motivation and sense of belonging.”

Scholarship recipients attend two meetings a semester and come together for an annual banquet.

“We want our scholars to know there is someone else here like them, going through the same stuff,” said Susan Norton. “This program gives us the opportunity to talk about adult learning and what we can do to support them.”

To learn more about the scholarship program, go to www.wichita.edu/osher