Twenty-six year old Meagan Cauley of Valley, Alabama will soon be adding a much-needed $250 to her education expense account. That’s because Cauley is the latest Columbus Technical College dental hygiene student to win the Emile T. Fisher Foundation Scholarship. As part of her application requirements, Cauley had to write an essay explaining her commitment to the dental hygiene field and what she hopes to do in the future. She wrote of how she found her lifelong career dream five years ago in an unusual fashion and hasn’t considered changing her path since.

“I had the opportunity to participate in a Red Cross Dental Assisting program on post while stationed with my husband overseas. I never really saw myself having a career that involved being in people’s mouths everyday all day,” Cauley wrote. “However, as soon as I started working in the clinic, I fell in love…I started looking into the world of dental hygiene and was absolutely fascinated.”

Cauley and her husband are both full-time college students and money is tight. She considers the Fisher Scholarship a Godsend and says it will make a huge difference in their educational efforts.

Once she completes her program next year, Meagan Cauley plans to work for about a year and then continue her education in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree. She hopes to one day “practice in a state that allows either general or direct access supervision and would love to offer her services to homeless veterans.”