The ISS Scholarship Winners

They are dedicated, driven and deserving: the five winners of the Inside Self-Storage scholarship program for 2005. This annual competition encourages the educational pursuits of students affiliated with the self-storage industry. It awards $2,000 to each chosen candidate to apply toward tuition at any accredited college or university. Recipients must work directly in the industry or have immediate family members employed by self-storage companies.

This years winners have an outstanding commitment to higher studies and a determination to succeed:

• Aunya BrownAAA RV & Mini Storage of Hutchinson, Kan.
• Jennie GordonThe Rabco Corp. of Ocoee, Fla.
• Meghan MarmorBest Little Warehouse of Glendale and Tempe, Ariz.
• Sandee MillerLock It Up Self Storage Centers of Layton, Ogden and North Ogden, Utah
• Kristin RossCutting Edge Self Storage Management & Consulting of Salt Lake City

Aunya Brown

Age:

18
Major/Field of Study: Pre-Medicine
College/University: The University of Kansas

During high school, Aunya has been involved in multiple clubs, athletics teams and community-service projects in keeping with her goal of being a positive leader and role model for peers. She participates in various organizations including the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), where she has served as an officer for the past two years and worked as part of the clean-up committee, which tidies the high school bleachers after home games. In addition, she works with a local thrift store, a youth group, Reigns of Hope and Adopt-a-Family. Aunya also supports D.A.R.E. and Youth Friends, where she serves as a role model for a young student in need.

Involvement in so many activities has not prevented Aunya from maintaining a 4.0 GPA, placing her in the top 10 percent of her class. Because she has always admired the work of doctors and other healthcare providers, her dream is to become a physician. Her devotion will help her persevere through four years of college and prepare for medical school.

Jennie Gordon

Age:

20
Major/Field of Study: Undeclared
College/University: Florida Southern College

A sophomore at Florida Southern College (FSC), Jennie graduated in the top 15 percent of her class at Apopka High School, where she was continually enrolled in honors and advanced-placement/dual-enrollment courses. During high school, she participated in varsity softball, cross-country and track. She was also a member of Mu Alpha Theta, Beta Club, National Honor Society, National Art Honor Society and Senior Class Council. Her involvement in academic societies continues in college, where she is a member of Phi Eta Sigma (the freshman honor society), Sigma Rho Epsilon (a Christian service organization), Kappa Delta sorority and Best Buddies.

While in high school, Jennie participated in several community efforts including her fathers Rotary Club, Adopt-A-Road and Daily Bread. She has continued this involvement at FSC, working as a volunteer for Central Florida Human Services, a nonprofit organization that assists children with emotional and behavioral disorders. Through Kappa Delta, she is involved with the local Girl Scout troop, Healthy Families of Polk County, the Childrens Hospital of Richmond, Va., Prevent Child Abuse America and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons Research Award.

Although Jennie has yet to declare her major, she wants a career that will challenge her and allow her to reach her full potential. Her interests are history, genetics, English and business. While working at Rabco Corp., she developed communication techniques and people skills that added to her educational foundation.

Meghan Marmor

Age:

18
Major/Field of Study: Mathematics
College/University: University of Arizona

Meghan is a senior at Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix, where she maintains a 4.0 GPA and takes several college-level classes through Rio Salado College and Phoenix Community College. Meghan aspires to become a teacher. Her interest in a career in education led her to begin a two-year, college-level program called Aspire to Teach. The program, of which she is now president, will allow her to intern at various elementary schools, helping under-privileged and special-needs children.

While on a foreign-exchange program to the Czech Republic last summer, Meghan met with students from a school for the blind. She gave a presentation on the U.S. public-school system to the director, students and administrators of the Secondary Technical School of the City of Prague.

Meghan has many other notable achievements. She helped arrange a local drive to provide diapers to poverty-stricken families. She also took first place in a competition at a national Future Teachers of Americas conference with a speech regarding recent education legislation. In 2004, she was a semi-finalist for Most Outstanding Young Woman in Phoenix, based on her academic performance. And she was one of only five students in the United States to appear before Hon. Susan Sclafani, U.S. assistant of education, to present a students perspective on reform in high school education.

Sandee Miller

Age:

19
Major/Field of Study: Nursing
College/University: Weber State University

Sandee was born missing her left hand and forearm. She got her first prosthetic when she was 8 months old and, as she grew, she frequently visited the Shriners Hospital in Salt Lake City to be fitted with new arms. Seeing other children with disabilities and illnesses, and witnessing how nurses and doctors helped them, Sandee was inspired to become a nurse. She chose Weber State University in Utah for its excellent nursing college.

When she was 14, Sandee served as a counselor at a childrens diabetes camp. In high school, she was a member of the senior council, participating in a nationwide organization called Take Ten that registers people to vote. During her time working in self-storage, she noticed many similarities between that industry and nursing. Her work experience taught her how to work well with the public, a skill she will need in the medical field. Never one to let her disability limit her activities, she likes to do crafts, cook, travel and read. Spending time with family and friends is also important to Sandee.

Kristin Ross

Age:

22
Major/Field of Study: Apparel and Merchandising
College/University: Colorado State University

The fashion industry calls Kristin, a junior at Colorado State University, where she is studying apparel and merchandising. She intends to pursue a career based in customer service.

Apart from her studies, campus and community life keeps her busy. She is involved with Pi Beta Phi sorority and assists with its various community-service projects and philanthropic programs, including Champions are Readers (CAR). As part of CAR, Kristin works with local under-privileged children, motivating them to read, and their parents as well. She volunteers in a campus-wide program to raise money for St. Judes Childrens Hospital and is working part-time at a local elementary school where she tutors second- to fifth-grade children.

Kristins parents worked their way up from being managers of self-storage facilities to owning their own management company. She has spent her entire life in the industry, and her experience gave her an early introduction to the value of customer service. She has managed and worked at her own storage facility, honing skills that will be invaluable in her career.