Although they came from different backgrounds, three women began their college careers with the same important attribute: the determination to pursue a degree while juggling the demands of single parenthood.

Amanda Hampton became a single mom of two daughters after her husband Jesse died by suicide in 2020, while LaVern Crump has seven children, ranging in age from 12 to 32. Mercedes Lopez also is raising her 7-year-old son alone.

Besides persistence and single motherhood, the trio has something else in common. They recently received scholarships from the Oklahoma Single Parent Scholarship Program. The nonprofit program, which began in 2016, provides funding for single parents to help pay for school or life essentials like food, housing and childcare.

"My life was completely shattered a

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