Ashley Switalski ‘19 and Aubrey West ‘19 were drawn to Kettering University because of their passion for the sciences.

“I always liked math growing up. It was my favorite subject,” West said. “I liked physics too. That’s definitely what I wanted to do.”

Despite their passions, finances were a limiting factor for their education since both Switalski and West are responsible for their own schooling. A burden was lifted when they each received support from the Keep Me Kettering Scholarship Fund.

“Without the help of donors, I wouldn’t be able to do everything that I’ve done,” Switalski said. “I’m 20 years old and I’ve worked for two different companies and lived in Indianapolis, Boston and Midland. It’s crazy how much experience I’ve gotten. I couldn’t have done that at any other school and I couldn’t have gotten here without a scholarship.”

Switalski is majoring in Chemical Engineering and completing her co-op at Dow Chemical in Indianapolis. Dow has allowed her to rotate to different locations across the country.

The Keep Me Kettering Scholarship Fund provides scholarships to students in time of need. Gifts of all amounts are put to immediate use and cumulatively make an important difference for families of incoming students as well as sophomores, juniors and seniors who struggle to complete their degrees because of financial constraints.

“I’m financially independent. I’m paying for school 100 percent on my own,” West said. “I might not be able to come here if it wasn’t for the scholarship.”

West combined her passion for math and physics by majoring in Mechanical Engineering at Kettering. She’s completing her co-op at Ford Motor Company in Livonia, Michigan. At Ford, she’s had an opportunity to rotate around the Transmission Center.

Switalski grew up in Gaylord, Michigan and is working in research and design at Dow. After Kettering, she hopes to pursue a doctorate degree in food sciences.

“With co-op and the scholarships that I’ve gotten, it looks like I’m going to be able to pay off my loans by my junior year of college,” Switalski said. “I don’t have any friends who are in this position.”

The KMK Scholarship was started in 2014. Since its inception, the scholarship has given approximately $1 million in assistance to over 400 students. The number of awards and the total support provided to each student has grown in each respective year of the fund. The KMK Scholarship is vital to allow students to get a truly unique cooperative education at Kettering.

“I can’t imagine going anywhere but Kettering,” West said. “After my first term, I couldn’t believe that I considered anything else. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”

Support the Keep Me Kettering Scholarship Fund by visiting kettering.edu/give