Our family has a long history of valuing a college education and utilizing CollegeAdvantage as a vehicle to make that possible.
When our twin daughters were born, my husband and I made a decision that I would quit working and become a stay-at-home mother. However, once the girls were about 10 years old, I started working part time. When I got my paycheck, my priority was to fund their Ohio Tuition Trust Authority accounts because our goal was to have four years of tuition covered when they graduated from high school. So over the next eight years, with the help of family and gifts given on special occasions, our goal was accomplished.
Without the benefit of CollegeAdvantage’s 529 plans, our daughters’ attainment of their college education would not have been a reality. They earned their undergraduate degrees at OSU then their master’s degrees. Amanda White Zimmerman earned a B.A. in Speech and Hearing Sciences and then a M.S. in Speech Language Pathology, while Lyndsey White Anderson earned a B.S. in Allied Health Professions and a M.A. in Counseling Education.
Although the expense for tuition those first four years was paid from CollegeAdvantage, the girls were responsible for working and paying for room and board and other expenses associated with going to college. They were also responsible for paying for their master’s degree.
Amanda is now a speech pathologist at Columbus Speech and Hearing Center and Lyndsey is an academic counselor at OSU Mansfield. They and their spouses are proud parents of two children each, all of whom have CollegeAdvantage accounts.
My father, who passed away at age 90, was a strong influence in valuing a college education. Through CollegeAdvantage, he personally funded a generous gift for each of my grandchildren — even for the then-unborn granddaughter — prior to his death. His gift will provide a legacy of values that I trust will transfer to future generations of our family.
Sherry White
Mansfield
