Rachel Cozens ‘20 wiped away tears as she walked up to NWTC President Jeff Rafn at the Grad Bash graduation celebration in June.
She could no longer hold back the emotions from years of not knowing if her dream of graduating from college would come true.
No one in Cozens’ family had graduated from college. Growing up with a single mom, the family wanted to save for college, but it was never in the budget.
The Bay Port High School graduate enrolled at NWTC in the Design and Graphic Technology program. In order to make college possible, Cozens applied for federal financial aid and a scholarship through the NWTC Educational Foundation.
“When I received my scholarship and financial aid, for once in my life I felt that one of my dreams was going to come true,” she said. “All I needed to do was work hard to achieve it.”
She landed an internship, which led to a full-time job at Belmark Inc. in De Pere.
Cozens graduated in the spring of 2020 with honors and two degrees—an associate degree in Design and Graphic Technology and a technical diploma in Print Technologies.
“Simply put, without scholarships, I wouldn’t have my college degrees, which means I wouldn’t have my dream job,” she said.
