Here at Scholly, nothing motivates us more than making a difference in a student’s life. We are fortunate to be able to provide students with the resources they need for higher education every day and love hearing about your stories!

Recently, Priya Pillay of Folsom, California wrote to us, and we wanted to learn more about her — her goals, and her journey with Scholly.

“Thank you so much allowing students like me to discover extra money for school. From the bottom of my heart thank you.”— Priya

As part of our goal to keep students at the core of our work, Priya is this week’s Scholly Guest Blogger, sharing a bit about her background and her educational goals to inspire more students like her to chase their dreams, pursue higher education, and become a part of the Scholly Family. Read below for Priya’s story and click here to learn more about Scholly.

My name is Priyadevi Pillay. I am a computer science major at Folsom Lake College in sunny Northern California. I am so grateful for the Scholly app and its impact on my life thus far. I was matched with scholarships based on characteristics unique to my life, and the results I garnered were more than I ever anticipated. One of the scholarships I was matched with was the “Community College Scholarship.” I applied and was floored to receive an email from the donor stating that I won! To see this achievement while looking back at the day I registered for Scholly, simply expecting to see what the app offered is absolutely incredible.  

I am a caregiver for both my parents, due to chronic illness, and do not have supplemental income from a job outside of school. Because of the Scholly app, I am now able to spend more time towards my goal of transferring to Sacramento State University and specializing in Engineering Cybersecurity Software because I am not worried about how to pay for college. As a precedent to my academic goals, I have held classes in my city for seniors that help them identify scammers and what to do if they have already fallen victim, and providing such skills to those who may not know about technology has been very rewarding and I hope that with the help of Scholly, I am able to continue to help such individuals. I am honored to have the opportunity to serve my community while doing something I love.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making your app so easy to use and providing a credible database to find extra money for school. I truly appreciate that now I have reduced my financial burden and I can take care of my family as well as work towards my academic goals.  Life seems to fall into place when you find what you are genuinely passionate about, and I am humbled by receiving money to follow it and excited for what the future holds for me.

Thanks, Scholly!