Three MTSU students with big dreams and big obstacles to overcome now have a big financial benefit to help them pursue their goals.

The June S. Anderson Scholarship Foundation presented stipends to Jennifer Griffith, Clelie Peacock and Tabatha Wadford at a May 10 luncheon in Murfreesboro.

The Anderson Foundation awards full tuition scholarships to full-time MTSU undergraduate women age 23 or older who are preparing for careers in nontraditional fields for women.

Officers of the June S. Anderson Foundation pose with the 2017 student recipients of the foundation scholarships. From left are MTSU exercise science major Jennifer Griffith, anthropology major Clelie Peacock, anthropology major Tabatha Wadford, foundation vice president and chemistry professor Andrienne Friedli, and foundation president and philosophy professor Mary Magada-Ward. (Photo by MTSU News and Media Relations)

Overwhelming medical issues hampered Griffith’s college ambitions, as well as her work and home life. However, the Murfreesboro senior’s sickness led her to a new direction in life.

“I had a lot of chronic illnesses,” she said. “I had fibromyalgia, two sleeping disorders, chronic fatigue, vertigo and migraines, and all of that just kind of consumed me and took over my life.”

Griffith had been out of work for four years when a trip to the YMCA inspired her to choose exercise science as a career. The positive impact of exercise was transformative.

“With proper maintenance, proper nutrition and proper exercise, I can maintain my health so much better now,” said Griffith. “I’m able to get out of bed. I’m able to do things I couldn’t do 10 years ago.”

Griffith intends to work either in cardiopulmonary rehabilitation or physical therapy after she graduates.

For Peacock, the future is all about inclusiveness. The rising senior from Bellevue, Tennessee, said she chose an anthropology major because it “focuses on both the sciences and the humanities. It helps people understand the world around them and other humans, other cultures and how we all work together.”

Peacock, a newlywed, said her scholarship will enable her to quit her full-time job and become more involved in campus life. After graduation, she wants to go to graduate school and to travel.

“I plan to work in archaeology in Europe and help people understand their past and the past lives of those who weren’t included in the written record — you know, just the everyday kind of people who didn’t get a chance to be represented in history,” said Peacock.

Thanks to its veteran-friendly environment, Wadford found a home at MTSU following a stint in the U.S, Army. Wadford served from 2004 to 2011 before becoming a civilian intelligence analyst for the U.S. State Department and Department of Defense in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The senior from Estill Springs, Tennessee, also chose anthropology for her major, but after spending so many years abroad, she plans to work closer to home.

“I’m focusing on southeastern archaeology and the Native American peoples of the area,” said Wadford. “I hope that I can use that, whether through one of the Tennessee state archaeological services or one of the museums.”

Dr. Mary Magada-Ward

Dr. June S. Anderson

Each applicant for an Anderson Foundation scholarship must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0, be paying in-state tuition and demonstrate financial need.

“All three are certainly examples of overcoming adversity and pursuing their goals and doing really well,” said Dr. Mary Magada-Ward, foundation president and an MTSU philosophy professor.

Dr. June S. Anderson, a chemistry professor at MTSU for more than 25 years, advanced the causes of women on campus until her death in 1984. The Ripley, Tennessee, native founded Concerned Faculty and Administrative Women in 1975 at MTSU as an academic support service for women, and in 1977, she established the Women’s Information Service for Education, which now is the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students.

In the early 1980s, Anderson founded the university’s first day care center, established MTSU’s women’s studies program and created the June S. Anderson Foundation. At the state level, she was the founder and first president of Women in Higher Education in Tennessee.

For more information about scholarships for nontraditional women students, visit http://capone.mtsu.edu/jsa or send an email to jsaapplication@yahoo.com.

— Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)