Ilkay's Story: Branford Rotary Nontraditional Student Award Winner

BRANFORD, CT — Reaching out to help the “nontraditional” student, many working parents who have struggled to find financial aid, have found a friend, and benefactor, in the Branford Rotary.

In 2023, it created the first dedicated nontraditional student scholarships at CT State Community College at Gateway in New Haven.

Begun last fall, Branford Rotary awards $5,000 a year to Gateway — the largest campus of the state’s recently combined 12 community colleges. The money will be used to help nontraditional students from Branford aged 26 and older, and can be awarded to multiple students seeking degrees or technical certificates.

“It’s not easy for nontraditional students to juggle work, school, family and finances,” said Branford Rotary Past President Sandy Carter. “Our scholarships are directly aimed at these folks, not just for tuition, but to buy textbooks, or cover licensing fees, or purchase tools of their trade.”
“The Gateway Foundation is thrilled that Branford Rotary has recognized how great the need is, and how big an impact its scholarships will have,” said Gateway Foundation Chair Thomas Beirne III. “This is Gateway’s first scholarship program exclusively for nontraditional students, and we hope it’s the first of many as other communities come to realize what a difference these programs can make.”

Nontraditional students are generally 25 and older, nontraditional students are primarily working people, many of them parents with young families who are paying for school themselves while also holding down jobs. Others are veterans attending school during or after their service. These undergrads often want to change careers, or finish their education after time off, and seek not just two- or four-year degrees, but certificate programs to pursue careers in fields like electronics, automotive repair, water management, firefighting, and countless others careers.

Now, with scholarships awarded, Branford Rotary is sharing those students' stories.

First up is Branford’s Ilkay Ozdemir Sen.

Her first day was frightening.

“It was so scary because I see all these young kids, and they’re all teenagers, and I’m 45!”
recalled Branford’s Ilkay Ozdemir Sen, of her first day at community college two years ago. “I’m
thinking, ‘Most of my teachers are the same age as me. It’s embarrassing.’ But I had to do it. I had to do it for my kids.”

Now enrolled at CT State College Gateway in New Haven, Ilkay is one
of the first recipients of Branford Rotary’s new “Resilient” scholarships.
For Ilkay, enrolling at Gateway was a first. The mother of two had never been to college before. Growing up in Turkey, she attended a technical high school, but education beyond that was expensive. When her family moved to America, to Minnesota, she didn’t have the English, or the money, for higher education.

“When you go to a new country, you have to be able to support yourself,” she said. “So there
was no school. I had to work. A lot.”

Eventually she moved to Connecticut, married her husband Serkan, became a U.S. citizen, and
had children - a boy and girl, now eight and 10. And she continued to work. Between parenthood, her job with the postal service, and the cost of living, college still wasn’t on the horizon. But it was on her mind.

“I’ve been telling my kids they need to make sure their grades are great so they can get go to
college and get scholarships,” she said. “But I had to have a Plan B. I had to make sure that even
if they don’t have scholarships, they can still go to college and I would be able to financially
support them.”

What finally inspired her decision? Piano lessons.
Her son Arda and daughter Ayza were taking piano, but Ayza also wanted to do gymnastics. It
was all too expensive. Ilkay told them they had to choose.

“It was breaking my heart to tell them that they had to pick one,” Ilkay said. “So I told myself, ‘I
know it’s going to be hard, but I have to go to college.’”

She enrolled at Gateway in 2022, and is finishing her Associate’s Degree in cybersecurity. She
takes classes after her shift at the post office, from 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Her husband also works
full-time. It makes for a difficult balance.

“It’s hard because there are days when I get off work, pick the kids up from the babysitter, but I
have to study till midnight,” she said. “They’re kids. They want attention.”

Fortunately, her children have been understanding.

“At my daughter’s school, the students are encouraged to tell stories about their families. Ayza
always mentions about me, how hard I work, and I’m really proud of that,” Ilkay said, then
paused. “She makes me cry sometimes.”

Stories like Ilkay’s are why Branford Rotary launched Resilient scholarships.

There are thousands of older “nontraditional” students in Connecticut, and millions across America. While they are eligible for financial aid, the vast majority of scholarships in the United States are geared toward high school seniors, and most of those are for four-year universities, and not certificate programs in fields like electronics, automotive repair, and water management.

“We wanted to do something about that,” said Branford Rotary President Ellen Carucci. “These
people have jobs. They pay their own way for housing, utilities, textbooks. They’re feeding their
families, and they’re studying late into the night. In a word, they’re resilient, and we feel we
have an obligation to support them.”

If you want to help Branford Rotary help these students, or if you want to learn more, drop anote to [email protected]

“We all want to change lives, but this is a program that actually does,” added Andy Marlatt,
Rotary’s Resilient Scholarship Chair. “We hope other organizations take a look at this and include
adult students in their scholarship programs.”

CT State – Gateway shares that vision.

“The Gateway Foundation is thrilled that Branford Rotary has recognized how great the need is,
and how big an impact its scholarships will have,” said Gateway Foundation Chair Thomas Beirne III. “This is Gateway’s first scholarship program exclusively for nontraditional students, and we hope it’s the first of many as other communities come to realize what a difference these programs can make.”

What does it mean for Ilkay to be one of Rotary’s first Resilient Scholars?

“It’s incredible because it means I don’t have to worry if I’m going to be able to finish school,”
she said. “I only have to worry about passing my classes, taking care of my family. If I don’t have
the money, if I have to choose, then I’m going to put my kids first. I won’t be able to choose for
myself.”