For more than 15 years, the APRO Charitable Foundation has annually provided scholarships to rent-to-own professionals and their families. APRO members have contributed generously to the APRO Scholarship Fund – awarding 522 scholarships totaling $1,180,250 to date – empowering students connected with RTO to pursue degrees and certifications from colleges, trade schools, and technical schools for successful futures.
Central Kansas native Brooklynn Black – one of the 39 deserving 2024 APRO Scholarship recipients – is a freshman studying Human Biology at Kansas University. Her dad, Justin Black, is a 28-year rent-to-own veteran, who has served as Director of Operations for Rental Concepts West LLC dba RNR Tire Express since 2018. Brooklynn grew up watching her father at his different RTO jobs, and says the most valuable thing she has learned from it is how he treats the people in his community.
“No matter what company my dad has been with, his motto has been The customers always come first,” Brooklynn says. “His interactions with people truly impress me, from greeting every customer by name at the door to having a bowl of lollipops available for their children. He not only fulfills his customers’ needs, but also goes above and beyond, impacting their daily lives and considering them family. It’s really taught me the importance of giving back to the people and community around me.”
Brooklynn has really taken this lesson to heart, and has been involved in many activities in both her high school and her community of Newton, Kansas. At school, she was a member of the Spanish Honor Society, STAND (a group empowering youth to prevent drug and alcohol abuse), Students for Racial Justice, Circle of Friends (an inclusion program supporting students with special needs), HOSA-Future Health Professionals, and Student Council. She was also captain of the cheerleading team, a track team member, a student athletic trainer, and performed with both the choir and orchestra.
Brooklynn says her involvement with the National Honor Society (she graduated within the top ten-percent of her graduating class) and the many service projects it facilitated might have been her favorite high-school activity.
“I served as the Fundraising Committee Chair for our National Honor Society, and participated in many community projects,” says Brooklynn, “including delivering produce to homeless shelters, buying pet food and toys for animal shelters, volunteering at a nursing home, mentoring kindergarten through fourth-grade kids, and cleaning up local parks. These activities have taught me organization, responsibility, time management, and caring for others; I love positively affecting the lives of people around me.”
Once she earns her undergraduate degree, Brooklynn plans to continue her schooling to become a pediatric Physician Assistant – inspired by both her eldest sister, who’s a nurse, and her mom, who’s a second-grade teacher.
“I’m not eligible for FAFSA financial assistance, and I’ll have to have several student loans to pay for my college education,” Brooklynn says. “College tuition and other educational expenses will be a strain for my family, so I’m deeply grateful for the APRO Scholarship. My dream is to help others when they need it most – so thank you, APRO, for helping me right now so I can live my dream!”
Brooklynn’s is one of the dozens of positive stories that generous donations from the RTO community make happen each year. Click here to learn more and contribute to this invaluable industry effort.
