Step Up scholarship to a private school 'changed our whole entire lives'

BROOKSVILLE, Florida – Vadin Mankotya played second base for EXP Realty this season, proudly wearing the jersey sponsored by his mom. And Jennifer Mankotya, a sales associate, was equally proud to have sponsored a team in the Hernando Youth League in Brooksville.

“It was,” she said, “a pretty big accomplishment.”

Not long ago, Jennifer scraped by on her salary plus tips while working as a waitress. Life wasn’t easy for the single mother. But Jennifer wanted the best education opportunity for Vadin, and she was determined to send him to a private school.

What changed? A scholarship to a private school, managed by Step Up For Students.

“It’s helped both of us,” Jennifer said. “It’s changed our whole entire lives.

“If I didn’t have this scholarship, I don’t know what I’d do. I would make it happen, but it would be extremely hard for me. Financially, it helped me a lot, and it’s also given Vadin the opportunity to have the best education he can possibly have. I’m so grateful it is there.”

Vadin, now a seventh-grader at Entirety K-12 private school in Brooksville, began receiving the Step Up scholarship during the 2016-17 school year. With a large portion of her salary no longer going toward Vadin’s education, Jennifer was able to afford the 63-hour class necessary to pursue her real estate license and the yearly fees required of all real estate agents.

Working in real estate was always her passion, Jennifer said. She went to real estate school after high school, but injuries sustained in a car accident prevented her from getting her license during the mandated time frame from when she completed her course.

Then, she said, life came at her fast. A marriage, a baby, a divorce. To carve out a living for herself and Vadin, Jennifer worked various jobs – in a bank, in medical billing, as a waitress.

“It was kind of me getting my life back together after that,” she said. “So that kind of stopped me from pursuing my dreams initially.”

Jennifer worked the late morning/afternoon weekday shift at a restaurant. She didn’t work nights or weekends (shifts that earn better tips) because she didn’t have anyone who could watch Vadin. She would take a break to pick him up from school, and he would sit at an empty table and do his homework until her shift ended.

“My mom was busting her butt every day,” Vadin said.

Jennifer sent Vadin to a private school even before she learned of the Step Up scholarship.

“I am a single mom, and education for Vadin is really important to me,” she said. “I’ve always taught him you can never take away education, and nobody is going to be able to take away your manners. Those are the things I really focus on.”

It was the Step Up scholarship that allowed Jennifer to pursue both the dream of a quality education for her son and for her to, as she said, “reach for what I love.” And because she reached, Jennifer now owns a home. She no longer drives a car that routinely broke down and didn’t have air conditioning. She can afford presents for Vadin at Christmas. The scholarship, Jennifer said, allowed her to pursue a dream that has given her both confidence in herself and independence.

“The scholarship helped my mom get back on her feet,” Vadin said. “She has a career in real estate. That’s always been what she wanted to do. I’m proud to say that my mom is a real estate agent.”

The scholarship also allows Jennifer to pursue another goal: a quality education for her son. Vadin recently received a report card where his lowest grades were a pair of B’s. He apologized to his mother for those low scores.

“I said, ‘You did great.’ He said, ‘I could have done better,’” Jennifer said. “It was a proud mom moment.”

Entirety K-12’s motto is “Learning fueled by imagination.” Students attend school for four weeks, then have a week off. They take core classes Monday through Thursday. Fridays are reserved for a full day of an elective class, which include architecture and engineering, culinary, dance, video production, art, forensics, and acts of service.

Last year, the entire student body went camping for four days in Ocala. The middle school students read the book, “Tarzan of the Apes,” and Principal Penny Bryson wanted the students to experience what it might be like to live in a jungle. This year, the school trip is to Busch Gardens, where they will spend four days embedded with the zoologists.

“This is really different from other schools,” Vadin said. “We do a lot of things different here. My goal is to go to college and have a career, and I don’t think that would be possible without Miss Penny. She supports me in everything I do.”

Jennifer said it costs $250 to sponsor a team in the Hernando Youth League. That’s something she would have never been able to afford working as a waitress.

“It made me feel proud that I was able to do it,” she said. “You know when you have a check list in your head of what you want to do? I checked that box, and I hope to check that box every single season.”

Roger Mooney, manager, communications, can be reached at [email protected].