Scholarships Help Paris Kemmer Make the Most of Her WSU Experience
By the time she graduated from Puyallup High School, Paris Kemmer had earned nearly a year’s worth of college credits through advanced placement classes.
College academics didn’t intimidate Kemmer, who is among the first of the women in her family to pursue a four-year degree. But paying for college was up to her, and at first, the financial commitment seemed daunting.
During her freshman year at WSU, Kemmer received two scholarships. Knowing that alumni and friends of the Carson College of Business were investing in her education was a tremendous feeling, she says.
“I realized I wasn’t alone in my struggles with the financial side of college,” says Kemmer, who will graduate in May 2022 with a double major in marketing and management, and career ambitions of working for a Fortune 500 company. “There were people willing to support students like me and recognize our efforts and hard work.”
Opportunities Follow Scholarships
Without four years of scholarship support, Kemmer says she would have worked extra jobs and tried to graduate after her junior year.
“I wouldn’t have added a second major in management,” Kemmer says, “or a certificate in behavioral business research.”
And she wouldn’t have become a Boeing Scholar—a highlight of her WSU experience. Kemmer will spend her senior year working on a Boeing-sponsored research project with a team of business, engineering, science, and communication students.
“It’s an incredible opportunity for students seeking bigger challenges,” says Lynne Cooper, the Boeing Scholars advisor and a clinical assistant professor in the college’s Department of Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship. “I’m glad to have Paris in the program. Besides her academic strengths, she’s articulate, thoughtful, organized, and a team player.”
“There are so many opportunities that follow scholarships,” Kemmer says. “My parents and I are so grateful for the financial support I’ve received.”
Thanks to scholarships, Kemmer will finish her last two years of college with minimal loans.
In addition to a Boeing Scholars scholarship, Kemmer earned the Guy Dissmore Memorial Scholarship, the Steven Kreck Memorial Scholarship, and the Community 1st Credit Union Scholarship. She also receives a Cougs Helping Cougs Scholarship for working as a peer mentor to first-generation college students.
Paying It Forward
Kemmer also works part-time as a Carson ambassador to help pay for school. In that role, she talks to prospective business students, answering their questions and working on digital marketing.
“I enjoy leading and supporting other people and talking in front of groups,” she says. “I knew being a Carson ambassador would be a great way to get involved at WSU.”
Kemmer says she plans to stay involved as a Carson College alumna, giving back financially and through professional mentoring of students.
“If I can help someone else get an education, it would be such an honor,” she says. “And to all the donors who supported me, I say ‘thank you.’ I was able to extend my education with an extra major and get more involved in the Carson College. Without their support, I wouldn’t have had the same WSU experience.”
Please contact the Office of Development to learn more about scholarships.