Published Feb. 10. 2022
The Aspiring Gerontologist Education – or AGE – Scholarship has been established to
assist students in the University of Louisiana Monroe Gerontology program who may
be at risk of leaving the master's degree program.
Anita Sharma, Ph.D., Gerontology Chair, said a number of students often drop out of
graduate programs due to financial problems or personal crises. Such situations have
increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. She noted many graduate students work full-time
and go to school.
Sharma created the AGE Scholarship in honor of her mother, Mrs. Krishna Sharma. From
an early age, Mrs. Sharma instilled in her daughter that advanced education was essential
for her to escape the social and cultural systems of their country, India.
“I established this scholarship as a tribute to my mother, who was a staunch advocate
of higher education for women,” Sharma said. “If she had not stood up for me and fought
a harsh patriarchy that clipped the dreams of young girls, I would have become a school
dropout with a very bleak future.”
The AGE Scholarship provides tuition support to enable a student to remain enrolled
in at least one Gerontology graduate course.
To be eligible, a student must be an undergraduate senior formally admitted into the
Gerontology graduate program or enrolled in the program for at least three credit
hours. Complete details about this scholarship program may be obtained from the ULM
Foundation or ulm.academicworks.com. The deadline to apply for the AGE and other scholarships for the fall 2022 semester
is Feb. 28.
“Amidst the rigid patriarchy that was all around me, my mother gave me two very loud
and clear messages right from my toddlerhood – ‘If you want to be happy, get an excellent
education, and never compromise your self-respect!’ I think I did not disappoint her,
although I did turn her hair gray,” Sharma said.
“Rudyard Kipling wrote ‘God could not be everywhere, and therefore, He made mothers.’
This was very true in my case,” Sharma said. “A good education is a privilege that
millions of young people are deprived of in the world around us. As educators, we
can change our world by making each child a privileged child.”
ULM Gerontology in the College of Business and Social Sciences is the only graduate
program of its kind in Louisiana. For more information, visit https://www.ulm.edu/gerontology/ or email Sharma at asharma@ulm.edu.
