Sara Killackey wanted it all.
Late-night laughs with suitemates over a cup of tea. Deep discussion with a polisci professor about how she might help shape the future. A busy, frenetic schedule filled with classes, jobs, and campus leadership activities.
Sara saw it all; she just couldn't see how.
"It's been a wild journey," said the former class president in advance of graduating summa cum laude with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and History. "But I feel incredibly lucky that I was able to go away to college because that has always been my dream. I've always loved education, and I've always known I wanted to go away to school. But it was never a guarantee.
"I'm the youngest of four children and the first to go away to college. My parents never went to college. All of my siblings either went to community college or took the commuter route to a degree."
A combination of Federal work study jobs, campus jobs – and especially SAU scholarships – helped make an education at SAU affordable and attainable.
Sara Killackey '20
A combination of work study jobs, campus jobs, and especially scholarships made a degree from SAU accessible and affordable.
"I had a work study job with the Political Science Department as a research assistant, and I had my paycheck deposited directly into my student account so that it would automatically be paid towards my tuition," she said. "I also worked for Campus Security for a couple of semesters and then worked for Sodexo Catering as a bartender. These jobs really helped because I made more money and could work more hours than a federal work study job. They were also incredibly convenient because I didn't even have to leave campus to have additional forms of income.
"I received scholarships through endowments, grants, and as an Executive Board member of the Student Government Association. I would encourage students to look for scholarship opportunities that the University offers because I found these more rewarding and more attainable than outside scholarships."
Sara's experiential learning opportunities included a summer internship in a district office of her home state's junior U.S. Senator. Now, the sum of her SAU experience may lead a future-shaping, life-enriching career in leadership all her own.
"As a first-gen college student, my education meant everything to me and I was really lucky I was able to thrive at St. Ambrose," she said.
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