“I kept getting no’s, but I felt like a yes was just
around the corner. And it was. I ran into the
Office of Development and they blessed me with
a $1,500 scholarship last year to get me back
into school.“

When ZA’NIYA MILES visited Texas Southern University in 2018, she had no idea it was a place she would soon call home. Za’Niya was a long way from her hometown of Benton Harbor, Michigan when she and a friend decided to visit TSU during Spring Break. And though it was thousands of miles from home, once Za’Niya set foot on the Tiger Walk, she was sold.

“I fell in love during that visit, and haven’t looked back,” she said. “To me, being a TSU Tiger is everything that I could hope for. I came here pursuing my dreams.”

But being an out-of-state student came with its challenges, especially with the out-of-state tuition fee.

“That, on top of other expenses was nerve-wrecking,” she said. “I just didn’t have the money. I would wake up early in the morning to go talk to people who might be able to help. I worked so hard to maintain a good GPA, I was committed. Still, everyone told me no.”

The family told her to just come home. Friends would ask her how she kept going. Za’Niya said she didn’t have any other choice.

“I just felt like once you move halfway across the country, going home is not an option,” she said. “I kept getting no’s, but I felt like a yes was just around the corner. And it was. I ran into the Office of Development and they blessed me with a $1,500 scholarship last year to get me back into school.”

That scholarship was the push she needed to keep ongoing.

“When people donate to the school, they don’t realize how much it helps,” she said. “It changed my life. The fact that I don’t even have to worry about tuition, I can just focus on my classes, is like a weight lifted off my shoulders. Last semester compared to now is a huge difference.”