Former retail employee overcomes obstacles to earn scholarship
June 28, 2019
While working in the retail industry for more than a decade, Juanita Meunier dreamt
of one day returning to school to continue her education and create a better life
for her and her family, but something always stood in her way.
Once she cleared those hurdles, the 44-year-old Chepachet native flourished and is
now beginning to realize her full potential at the Community College of Rhode Island.
When the youngest of her four children turned four, Meunier enrolled at CCRI and completed
her first full year this past semester with a 4.0 grade point average, becoming one
of only 12 recipients in the United States to earn the Dr. Andrew V. Stevenson International
Merit Scholarship from Kappa Beta Delta, the international honor society for associate
degree business schools.
According to CCRI business professor and Kappa Beta Delta advisor Joanne Orabone,
Meunier is the first CCRI student to earn the $1,000 scholarship in the three years
she’s sat on the board and the first in recent memory. The scholarship, which is considered
by Kappa Beta Delta as the highest honor any member can receive, will allow Meunier
to increase her course load in the winter and attend conferences to help sharpen her
skills.
“I was shocked,” Meunier said. “I wasn’t expecting it at all.”
Having dropped out of high school as a teenager when she became pregnant with her
first child, Meunier never envisioned a future in which she’d return to school in
her 40s, never mind earn a prestigious scholarship. When times were tough, or she
couldn’t see that light at the end of the tunnel, Meunier relied on the belief that
she, too, could eventually achieve her goals, even with so many obstacles to overcome.
Next spring, she’ll become the first in her family to graduate college with an associate
degree in finance before pursuing her bachelor’s in E-commerce Management Information
Systems. She plans on earning her MBA as well and hopes to land a career in accounting,
preferably working for a non-profit organization.
“I was always hopeful,” she said. “You always have to have hope that you will meet
all your goals. I just had to take a long, crooked path to get here.”
After completing her GED, Meunier began working in retail, climbing the ladder over
the next decade to earn a management position. In 2011, she shattered her ankle and
suffered a broken leg in a bicycle accident, which required multiple surgeries and
left her confined to a wheelchair for the next three years. Shortly thereafter, Meunier
gave birth to her fourth child, but still dreamt of returning to CCRI, so she waited
until her daughter was old enough before enrolling in the college’s business administration
program last summer.
The college lifestyle brought her out of her shell. She wanted to fully embrace the
experience, so she joined DECA, a nationwide organization for students with interests
in marketing, entrepreneurship and finance, and became the vice president of the local
Knight Chapter, winning two awards at regional role-playing competitions. Meunier
also exceled in the classroom and was invited to join both the Phi Theta Kappa and
Kappa Beta Delta Honors Societies. The former named her vice president while the latter
awarded her the scholarship thanks in large part to Orabone, who nudged Meunier to
apply toward the end of the semester. The application process included a biographic
essay, a faculty recommendation and a separate essay on Meunier’s goals.
“She just took this opportunity and ran with it,” Orabone said. “She’s very positive
and upbeat, and she’s always looking to do more. She just loves learning, and she’s
able to figure out a way to balance it all while still doing a great job. It’s not
like something slides off; she has the time management down to a science.”
In addition to her studies, Meunier is an active member of the college’s Emerging
Leaders program and is participating in both the college’s Honors Program and a work-study
program in CCRI’s accounts payable department. Her 18-year-old daughter – the second-oldest
of her four children – recently graduated high school and is narrowing down her choices
for college. Though she’s thankful for the experiences that have helped shape her
into who she is today, Meunier doesn’t want her children to travel the same path she
did, so she’s working harder than ever to finish school and set the right example.
The hard-working mother of four is proof no obstacle is too big to overcome, a perfect
role model for her children and fellow students at CCRI working to achieve their dreams.
“I love school,” Meunier said, “and I’m appreciative of everything I’ve learned here
and all the opportunities CCRI provides.”
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