Statewide nonprofit Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund (ASPSF) welcomed a new team member on June 10.
Brianna Otero is now the Program Manager for the ASPSF Ouachita Region, covering Clark, Dallas, Garland, Grant, Hot Spring, Howard, Montgomery, Pike, and Polk counties. In this role, Brianna will not only help local single parent students on their educational journeys but also manage volunteers and conduct fundraising activities.
“From student interactions and workshops, to community tabling events, to maneuvering systems and applications, Brianna is no stranger to the type of work we do to support our single parent scholars.” ASPSF Program Director LaCresha Newton said.
Brianna has over five years of experience working in student support services in higher education. Most recently, she was the graduate assistant for Internship Experience and Study USA at the University of Mississippi’s Office of College Programs. She earned her Master of Arts in history from Ole Miss and her Bachelor of Arts in English and history from Ouachita Baptist University.
Thanks to her background in history, Brianna fully believes in the mission of ASPSF of empowering single parents to lift their families out of poverty through higher education.
“As a historian, I extensively research the institutional causes of marginalization in the South and broader United States,” she said. “I believe that community outreach and local organizations are an essential solution to the problems that many single parents face. I am eager to help low-income families uplift themselves through higher education.”
Born and raised in Texas, Brianna moved to Arkansas in 2018 to attend OBU. She’s lived in Hot Springs since 2021. She and her husband, Robbie, the head coach of Team Conquer Wrestling, are involved in Arkansas Youth Wrestling’s state organization.
For more information about Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund — which has awarded more than $50 million in scholarships across the state to low-income single parents since 1990 — contact ASPSF Communications Director Jen Para at [email protected] or 501-550-6304.