Meet Walden’s Newest Master’s Degree Empower Scholarship Fund Recipients

This winter, Walden University announced new scholarship recipients who demonstrated strong academic success and great financial challenges on their journey toward graduation. Funding is provided by the Empower Scholarship Fund, which receives support from employees across the Adtalem Global Education family of institutions, including Walden.

Here are a few of the recipients’ stories.

Sky Greenwood-Goodwin

Childhood strokes are rare, affecting around 2,000 children every year. In 2018, Sky Greenwood-Goodwin’s daughter was one of them, just two days before her first birthday. Greenwood-Goodwin is a fulltime caretaker for her daughter and a student in Walden’s MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. She’s active in the Girl Scouts and an advocate for pediatric stroke awareness, hosting fundraisers and other activities.

“I chose my career path because I want to help people. I want to help my community to remove the stigma against mental health and show that it’s okay to receive help and you’re not alone,” she says. “Through Walden I have learned the importance of advocating for clients and supplying them with tools to have a successful healing journey.

“Receiving this scholarship allows my family to breathe a bit when it comes to finances.”

Tia Busby

Growing up a first-generation Caribbean-American, Tia Busby wanted to go to college but didn’t see a way to pay for it—until she met with her high school counselor. It was a major turning point in her life, one she wants for others struggling to achieve their goals. That led her to the MS in School Counseling program at Walden and the path to becoming the first in her family to earn a master’s degree.

“I want to be able to advocate for the people in my situation who have the potential to get better at whatever it is they want in life,” Busby says. “I want them to know that they can go for it, no matter what the situation may be.”

She is already helping many in her community through volunteer work in the arts and at community events. That includes promoting socioemotional wellness, inclusivity, and body positivity, as well as helping others celebrate the holidays through gift campaigns.

“I am truly grateful for my very first scholarship award,” Busby says. “It brings me one step closer to my dreams.”

Margo O’Sullivan

Psychology, counseling, and the general well-being of others has interested Margo O’Sullivan from an early age. Now pursuing her Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a specialization in Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling, it’s her mission to help what she deems the backbone of society—the family. She currently serves adolescent mothers and hopes the completion of her MS degree will broaden her scope of practice.

“I wholeheartedly believe that if families are healthy, we will begin to experience positive change in our communities,” says O’Sullivan.

She’s already putting her beliefs to action by volunteering with the Marked for Change Foundation. O’Sullivan spearheaded the sponsorship of the Resilience Award that the foundation gave to two high school students in need. Additionally, she’s credited with developing the structure for a mentorship program that the foundation can use to network with scholarship recipients and young professionals to offer ongoing psychosocial support.

“This scholarship brings me one step closer to realizing my August 2024 goal for graduation, despite financial challenges,” says O’Sullivan. “As I enter the second half of my studies, I look forward to using the added knowledge to impact my community and create an avenue for social change with one client and one family at a time.”