The Community Foundation for Crawford County is pleased to introduce Jaylah Westberry, a 2021 recipient of one of the 19 Doug and Renee Leuthold Scholarship awards and one of the 19 Margaret and Donald Wenner, MD Scholarship awards.
Jaylah, the daughter of Juan and Kelly Westberry, is a 2020 graduate of Wynford High School. She will be entering her second year of a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Tiffin University this fall.
What is your favorite aspect of college life?
“My favorite aspect of college life is meeting people that will forever be in my life. In high school, I had friends, but as we started to graduate, our friendships slowly came to an end. Tiffin University allowed me to meet girls who had a passion for cheering like myself. Due to me being a chemistry major, I got to be involved with people who loved science as much as I do. Tiffin University helped me to grow out of my shell and create friendships with amazing people.”
What new interest or courses of study have you discovered at college?
“Tiffin University has a large variety of clubs. With it being my freshman year and being a chemistry major, I tried hard to focus on my studies. Towards the end of my spring semester, I got involved with an MHA. MHA stands for Mental Health Association. In this group, we created activities for students around campus to get involved in and work on themselves. Before college, I never worried too much about my mental health or the mental health of others, but through this group, I learned so much more.”
In what ways has the college experience changed/improved you?
“My college experience helped to improve my mind drastically. College life opened my eyes to be more accepting. I consider myself as someone who is very open-minded and supportive of everyone, but college enhanced my mind in that sense. When you get to college you don't know many people, so you have to make friends. The friends you make at college can be of any race, religion, have different interests, and overall be different from you.”
What advice would you give an incoming college freshman?
“My advice to incoming freshmen is to try everything and work hard. As you go through your freshman year, you're going to want a group of friends. So try new things, whether that be a new sport or a new club. Whatever you chose to do, put your all in it then you will get the best results. College is supposed to be a good experience, but that is ultimately up to how you make it.”
Congratulations and good luck in the future, Jaylah!
To learn more about the scholarships offered through the Foundation, visit www.cfcrawford.org/scholarships.
