OD Duhu Annual Criminal Justice and Criminology Scholarship

Purpose:
OD Duhu graduated from Metropolitan State University (MSU Denver) with a degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology. In her final year, she applied for and received the John and Tammy Coon Scholarship (Coon scholarship). As a student with no external financial support, taking 12-15 credit hours per semester, and working up to 55 hours a week to support herself and pay for tuition, fees and books, the Coon scholarship helped alleviate OD’s financial burden and was much appreciated.

The intention behind the scholarship is to pay it forward in gratitude for the Coon Scholarship, and for the great education that she received at MSU Denver. One instrumental strength of the MSU Denver Criminal Justice and Criminology program lay in the fact that all the instructors were actively working in the field at the time, and were able to provide current and real-world scenarios and experiences. This gave OD a good foundation with which to start a career that has continued to grow and be successful. The scholarship will provide financial support for students who like OD, have had to overcome adversities to achieve their academic goals.

Criteria:
• Meet MSU Denver’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements and cannot be in default or owe any refund/repayment of federal, state or institutional aid.
• Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.
• Be a U.S. citizen.
• Have a financial need, per the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the MSU Denver Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships
• Be taking 12 or more credit hours during the semesters that the scholarship is received.
• Be a junior or senior at MSU Denver with a declared major in Criminal Justice and Criminology.
• Write a 500 word or less essay describing how they have overcome adversities to get to this point in their life, and what part MSU Denver has played in this journey. (The Donor wishes to emphasize the importance of the essay in selection. Spelling, grammar, and focused responses to the Donor’s question should be considered in rating.)

The scholarship award for one recipient is $5,000 up to the cost of tuition, fees and books to be awarded in the fall and spring semesters only. Each recipient may receive one scholarship (no renewals). Students will have two semesters to use the award. If a recipient does not use the entire $5,000 award, the remainder will be given to the next highest-rated, eligible student from the same selection pool as the original recipient.