Lara Wrightson

Political Science Instructor, Arts and Sciences Division

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Mars Hill University

Master of Arts in Political Science, Appalachian State University

MLIS, University of Alabama

Lara Wrightson maintains that she wouldn’t be where she is today, in her 19th year of teaching at TCTC, if not for the six scholarships she received which enabled her to attend and graduate from Mars Hill University debt free.

During her teenage years, Wrightson and her brother lived with their mother who worked three jobs to support the family after their parents separated.

Her mother and grandfather knew the value of an education and supported her desire to go to college, but the question was always – how?

Her senior year she applied for and received a combination of six academic and civic scholarships that opened the door for her to attend Mars Hill, a private university. She maintained the scholarships for four years and earned a bachelor’s degree – the first in her family. “My mother and I were thrilled. To this day, I’m still so grateful it worked out so well,” said Wrightson.

One scholarship required service-learning experiences and Wrightson spent time tutoring in an elementary school, working at the Western North Carolina AIDS Project, or WNCAP, at Habitat for Humanity sites and a domestic violence shelter restore.

“These experiences opened up doors to opportunities I didn’t even know existed,” said Wrightson. “These scholarships provided access and opportunity I never would have had.”

One donor was a North Carolina couple, Burgess and Mary Jane Marshbanks, who are Mars Hill alumni. “They are like family and we are still in touch today,” said Wrightson. During her undergraduate years, she met them for dinner when they were in town, and they would accompany her to the university bookstore to purchase needed supplies, she said. Wrightson remembers the day they bought her a cord, that cost $100, for her computer so she could access the internet from her dorm room. “No more late nights in the lab for me,” remembers Wrightson.

“To have someone choose me surprised me back then. They were very involved.”  She cherishes the relationship to this day. “We still exchange Christmas cards. They were more than mentors, they are like family. They attended my wedding. I regularly give them Kate updates.” (Wrightson and her husband, Josh, have a seven-year-old daughter, Kate.)

Another mentor was Mars Hill Campus Minister Paula Dempsey, “who helped me feel like I belonged in college. Paula and I are good friends to this day,” she said, adding that Dempsey officiated at her wedding.

Looking back, Wrightson says, “Without college, I would have acquired skills and had success in my own way, but I wouldn’t be here at TCTC doing what I love. The scholarships made that happen,” she said.

“I worked hard and today I pay it forward. I do what I can as often as I can because I know the difference it can make.”