\nTylar O\u2019Neal,
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/TartanSpotlight-e1435193588842.jpg\")
a college student who is majoring in Rehabilitation Services and minoring in Psychology at Wright State University. With plans on graduating with her Bachelor\u2019s degree this upcoming winter, she reflects on the obstacles and setbacks she experienced on the path to becoming the first college graduate in her entire family.\n
\nWhy she\u2019s interesting….Born and raised in Dayton Ohio, O\u2019Neal graduated from Wayne High School in 2011 with a 4.2 GPA. She is the oldest of six and looks to set the academic bar pretty high for the rest of her brothers and sisters.
\n\u201cHigher education was always the plan for me. Regardless of my circumstance, of what life threw at me, I was going to graduate from college,\u201d said O\u2019Neal.
\nFor O\u2019Neal, who lives with her mother and newborn baby brother, coming up with tuition money was a difficult task. O\u2019Neal worked two jobs with hopes of saving up enough money to afford Sinclair\u2019s tuition out of pocket.
\nAfter two years at Sinclair, O\u2019Neal had hopes of transfering to a four-year institution and attaining her Bachelor\u2019s degree.
\n\u201cI probably filled out around 150 applications that year alone. There was no way I was stopping with my associate degree. If I\u2019m going to do this college thing I\u2019m going all out,\u201d said O\u2019Neal.
\nDuring that summer of transitioning to Wright State University, she got a letter informing her that she would be receiving the Paul Lawrence Dunbar Scholarship. This alone would give her $2,500 each year for up to four years for her time at Wright State. In her two years at Wright State, she has received over $9,000 in scholarships and grants. O\u2019Neal said she looks forward to graduating this upcoming winter with little to no debt.
\n\u201cI feel that this is something very doable for all students,\u201d said O\u2019Neal. \u201cThere are tons and tons of scholarships out there that people qualify for and don\u2019t know it. There are websites that help you find money for school and the only thing you have to do is apply for it. My younger brothers and sisters will definitely know about these techniques when it\u2019s their time for college if they choose that route.\u201d
\nWith graduation right around the corner, O\u2019Neal plans to take a short break from college life and start working in her field. She is excited to begin this journey and hopes to get her Master\u2019s degree in Rehabilitation Services the following year.
\nThis hasn\u2019t been a short road at all for O\u2019Neal, and there is still a long journey ahead, but O\u2019Neal said this experience has been gratifying and eye opening.<\/p>\n