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Dana Scruggs
In 1959, Charlie Scruggs looked at the face of his newborn daughter Dana and decided he had to get busy. Charlie was living in Indianapolis and working at a filling station. He set off to improve his life, so he could ensure Dana’s future would be better. And he began his journey at Indiana University.
"My father had no mentor," insists Dana. "He was surrounded by poverty and just did this out of nowhere. I think that is so amazing."
Charlie enrolled in business school at IU. After graduating, he moved the family to Massachusetts, taking a job where he tallied the inventory of Kimberly Clarke products in area stores. He wasn’t satisfied, so he returned to IU and enrolled in law school. He worked nights dispatching fuel trucks and still graduated in two-and-a-half years.
Charlie became a defense attorney because he wanted to help those who had little help. He then became a deputy prosecuting attorney in Indianapolis in 1969. Three years later, he tired of politics and moved to Kokomo, working for a private firm. Still unsatisfied, he opened a private practice.
"He just decided to go out on his own," says Dana. "He didn’t stop to think whether he could. He just did it."
Charlie’s journey inspired Dana. Her father showed her what one can do with the right opportunity. Charlie found his at IU. That is why Dana created the Your Chance Scholarship for IU Kokomo students.
Dana remembers growing up in a different Kokomo than the one she sees today. Manufacturing was still going strong in the 1970s, and people could support their families with good jobs.
Today, Dana says globalization has changed the city. Those stable jobs are gone, and many people find they are embarking on a second career. "I wanted to create something to help people retool their lives," says Dana. "Like my father did."
Dana says the first Your Chance Scholarship recipient is similar to her father. He, too, is seeking a better life, in his case through a secondary education degree. Dana says if she had a chance to talk to him, she would not say much: "I’d just listen. I would just want to hear his story and his dreams. After all, this is his opportunity."