If you are left handed and are looking for left handed scholarships, your search will be a daunting one. Left handed people have had to deal with the stigma and stereotypes of being left handed from the beginning of time.
Stereotypes such as being a little on the slow side when it comes to intelligence compared to right handed people, just being a little ‘off’, or being just plain crazy has been the majority way of thinking for centuries. The majority being right handed people.
Just as left handed people are in the minority, as only about ten percent of the population of the United States are left handed, so too are left handed scholarships.
In fact, there is only one left handed scholarship available in the entire Unites states of America. The college that offers it is Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. The scholarship is open to all left handed students who go to Juniata College who are academically superior and demonstrate financial need.
The scholarship was bequeathed to Juniata College by Frederick and Mary F. Beckley in 1979 in the amount of $24,000 to benefit those students who are left handed. The award is given out in $1,000 to $1,500 increments to those who need assistance with their educational costs and cannot be transferred to another college or university.
Frederick and Mary both went to Juniata College back in 1919 and met when they were in a tennis class together. Both being left handed, the coach did not know what to do with them so they were paired up together for the duration of the class. They fell in love and were married in 1924.
The word left has had a negative meaning for many people for a long time. All the way back to the beginning of language usage. The Latin word for left means sinistra, with the root of that word being translated into the English word sinister. The French word for left is gauche, which means awkward. An abbreviation in medical terminology for the left eye is OS, which means oculous sinister. Other such words or phrases like ‘left handed liberal’ or ‘left handed compliment’ have been a part of American speech for many decades.
There have been many notable left handed people throughout history, in sports, in entertainment and politics who have overcome all the stigma and stereotypes bestowed on them by the right handed majority. Most notably Babe Ruth of baseball fame, Rod Laver of tennis, who incidentally has a tennis arena named after him in Australia, Bruce Willis, actor, Jay Leno, comedian and talk show host, Colin Powell, politician, and don’t forget Oprah, talk show host and humanitarian. Not to mention Presidents George H. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
There are many ways to get money to go to school for right or left handed people. Grants, scholarships, low interest loans, you name it, it’s out there. Do thorough research to find ones that you qualify for and apply for them in a timely manner so you can be sure to get your share. Don’t be too disappointed that there aren’t more left handed scholarships available.