The end of June not only marks the completion of high school for many students and for many, but it also kicks off conversations of their next educational journey.

Often when people think of post-secondary education, they picture bright-faced young adults, but in reality, many adults in the workforce look to college and university to grow and improve their lives.

Winkler resident Oxana Kilikova is a single mother of four who will be taking classes at Red River's Winkler campus for Early Childhood Education Workplace. Kilikova will be the first recipient of the Bill & Linda Fehr Scholarship.

"It's an amazing feeling. Never before have I gotten a scholarship or won the lottery, I feel on top of the world," says Kilikova.

Previously a teacher before moving to Canada, Kilikova lacked the necessary credentials to teach in Canada, so she worked as an Educational Assistant at Western school Division in the childcare program at Morden's Adult Education Centre. Getting a job at the Northland Childcare Centre, Kilikova says it led her down the path to pursue further education to create more opportunities for herself and her family.

Created five years ago, in memory of Bill L. Fehr, the Bill & Linda Fehr Scholarship gives $500 per year to one mature student or past graduate pursuing further education at a post-secondary institution. Linda Fehr says the reason why the scholarship is for adult students is because of both her and her husband Bill's experiences with education.

"Both of us went back to the classroom to further our education much after high school. I was also instructing at Red River and just realized that there are a lot of students that return to the classroom, but their plates are full with just life."

Being a single parent, Kilikova says this scholarship goes a long way in helping her achieve her educational goals.