We were happy to receive a letter from the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority, asking us, as a very early customer, to reflect on this program and the meaning and value it has had for our family.
It’s easy to look back and have positive feelings on good financial decisions that we made. We were excited when the State of Ohio made this college savings program available because, with four children under the age of 12, we knew college costs were going be a big number the future. The program made it easy to save, a little bit at a time, for each child. From the start of our investing in the program 1990 through 2005, we contributed regularly to the program and we encouraged the children to make deposits, when possible, through earnings from their part-time jobs.
Our four children are all now grown and each of them a college graduate, and three of them with master’s degrees. We are a very traditional, middle-class family, who places great trust in the value of education. Even though the money invested in the OTTA was only able to fund a portion of college expenses, it was vital in making our college dreams a reality and was able to keep our children’s college debts reasonable.
Our oldest daughter, Janet, used her funds to attend Gannon University in Erie, PA, to obtain her degree in physician assistant studies. It was wonderful that our Ohio savings was able to be used in a private, out-of-state college. She has subsequently obtained her master’s degree and is employed as a pediatric surgical physician assistant at Mercy Health in Toledo.
Our next two daughters, Carolyn, and Jill, both attended Wright State University to obtain their bachelor’s degrees. Carolyn has her degree in early childhood education and is currently a stay-at-home mom, using her education to raise two of our perfect grandchildren. Jill, who earned a bachelor’s degree from WSU in business administration, is currently an admissions and communications coordinator at Wright State University Lake Campus in Celina. She also obtained her MBA from Wright State.
The youngest member of our family, David, is a graduate of the University of Toledo with his bachelor’s and master’s degree in recreation and leisure studies. He is a senior program director and teen director at the Wolf Creek YMCA in Maumee, Ohio.
Our family and the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority have had many changes in the past years. But the fundamentals remain the same; there is great value in education and investing in a child’s future is rewarded. We are so grateful, that through their hard work, and our financial help our children are all skilled and productive members of society. Our trust in the CollegeAdvantage program continues and we are currently contributing to CollegeAdvantage accounts to each of our eight grandchildren. These little ones may not be excited about receiving a notice on their birthdays and Christmas time that grandpa and grandma put money is their accounts, but eventually they will understand what a great gift this can be!
We would encourage all Ohioans to learn about the opportunity and ease of using the CollegeAdvantage program and that making small, regular investments in a college savings program can make a big, rewarding result!
Elmer and Karen Klepaski
Coldwater, Ohio
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