(Courtesy/Missouri Southern State University)
For Kali Johnson, the evening was a family affair.
She was joined by her husband, Gil, and their three children – Addie, 10, Isaac, 8, and Lilah, 4 – for the Scholarship Donors & Recipients Dinner held earlier this month at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Missouri.
For many years, Liberty has partnered with the Missouri Southern Foundation to fund annual scholarships for eight students who live in the utility’s service area. This year, dozens of scholarship recipients and donors packed Young Gymnasium on the MSSU campus. Johnson, one of the 2023-24 Liberty scholarship recipients, was recognized during the dinner as being emblematic of the type of students for whom the Foundation scholarships can make a difference as they pursue an academic degree.
“The scholarship dinner is one of our favorite events every single year,” said Kevin Greim, Associate Vice President for Development at MSSU. “The purpose of this event is to facilitate connections between our supporters and our students. We want to build a bridge between philanthropy and the folks who need it as they continue on their way toward graduation.
“So, I would ask, what is one of the best ways to make a connection with someone? It’s to talk to them.”
A non-traditional student, Johnson said she waited almost 20 years after high school to begin college.
Congratulations to Our 2023-24 Liberty Scholarship Recipients
Abisheka Ajith
Joplin, Missouri
Pearson James
Joplin, Missouri
Kali Johnson
Seneca, Missouri
Colton Long
Diamond, Missouri
Drake Reese
Joplin, Missouri
Emma Vilela
Columbus, Kansas
Hailey Williams
Carthage, Missouri
Pachia Yang
Granby, Missouri
Darin Gordon
Joplin, Missouri
Her husband – who also received Foundation scholarship support while a student at MSSU – is wrapping up his fourth year of medical school at the A.T. Still University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, Missouri.
“We were discussing it, and the end goal is for him to have his own practice here in the area,” she said. “I decided to get a general business degree. I can run the business end of the practice, and he can do the doctoring.”
Going to school while raising three young children as her husband wraps up medical school has taken a lot of hard work, she said … and lots of Dr Pepper.
“It’s meant a lot of late nights, staying up after they go to bed trying to get schoolwork done,” she said. “It’s difficult, but it’s all worth it. Our kids have learned from us that hard work and determination pays off.
“I am profoundly grateful for the Liberty scholarship and the remarkable generosity of the donors who make them possible. The support provided by this scholarship will leave a lasting and positive impact on my future.”
For more about the Missouri Southern Foundation scholarships, click here.