Granite Edvance Scholarship winner Heather McCurdy: ‘This scholarship took a lot of weight off my shoulders’

Eight years ago, Heather McCurdy and her family of five lived in a NH campground for a few weeks while searching for a permanent home. She had no idea that this brief brush with homelessness would change the course of her life.   
 
As she chatted with her neighbors in the campground, Heather, who had moved to NH to help start a church with her husband, began suspecting that many of them were not there on vacation. “You had to read between the lines,” she said. 

In this hidden pocket of homelessness, “I was also starting to see undercurrents of domestic abuse and violence,” said Heather, who now lives in Manchester and is pursuing a marketing degree at Manchester Community College. “It really got me thinking. If nobody’s talking about the fact that they’re homeless, it also stands to reason that if you’re a victim of domestic abuse, you’re not going to talk about that either.”  

Little by little, Heather became a voice and source of support for women escaping abusive relationships and getting back on their feet. She now serves as Deacon of Trauma and Crisis Care at her church, volunteers at the women’s shelter in Manchester, helps organize events and workshops, and continuously seeks ways to better support women in crisis, “so they don’t feel alone,” she said.  

Recently laid off from her marketing job, Heather decided to go back to school for her associate degree and possibly continue on with a four-year degree. Starting with 12 credits this summer, she quickly gained an appreciation for some of the women she’s supported over the years – juggling jobs, families, and classes – but, unlike her, without a partner.  

Heather, winner of a Granite Edvance Community Service Scholarship, is also hoping she can apply her learning to her volunteer work. “I can utilize my skills in a way that those nonprofits don’t have the time or money to invest in,” she said.  

With two of her children also in college (both at UNH Manchester), Heather is grateful for the boost provided by the Granite Edvance Scholarship during a time of financial uncertainty. “This scholarship took a lot of weight off my shoulders,” she said. “This is that cushion that allows me to just focus on my studies.” 

Stay tuned for more scholarship winner stories!