MARIETTA—This spring, during the Washington State College of Ohio Foundation scholarship event, The Gary and Sharon Frye Scholarship was awarded for the first time. The endowed scholarship was established by the children of Gary and Sharon Frye to further the community impact made by their mother and late father.
“Our parents have always cared about this community and have served people here for many years. They believed that talented people are everywhere but positive environments and resources don’t always exist,” said Justin Frye, son of Sharon and Gary.
Frye went on to explain that his family sees the establishment of this scholarship as “a way to honor our parents and do some good for others that are trying to change their station in life and impact their own families and future generations.”
Megan Shaw is the first recipient of the Gary and Sharon Frye Scholarship. The single mom of two young boys said, “[This scholarship] helps relieve the stress financially.”
Shaw is a social services major at Washington State whose goal is to “help people who are lost and need a little guidance.” Her career choice stems from her own personal experiences battling addiction. “I was addicted to pain pills and then went on to IV heroin and meth.” Her addiction only escalated from there and ultimately resulted in an encounter with the law.
After serving 18 months in prison, she turned her life around. Today Shaw has been clean and sober since 2015. She works at the Oriana House in Marietta where she daily helps those with similar backgrounds as her.
Shaw said her record has made it difficult to move forward with her life, because “people hold it against me, but getting this scholarship makes getting through this process a little bit easier.”
