For more than 15 years, the APRO Charitable Foundation has annually provided scholarships to rent-to-own (RTO) professionals and their families. APRO members have contributed generously to the APRO Scholarship Fund – awarding 570 scholarships totaling $1,276,250 to date – empowering students connected with RTO to pursue college degrees, technical credentials, and successful futures.
Amia Silvers of Warren, Ohio – one of the 47 deserving 2025 APRO Scholarship recipients – is earning her Bachelor of Science in Middle-Level Education (grades 4-8) with math specialization at Pennsylvania’s Slippery Rock University, because her dream job (God bless her!) is as a middle-school math teacher.
“I always enjoyed helping my friends and my little brother with schoolwork they may be struggling with,” Amia recalls. “And my best friend and I used to visit her mom’s kindergarten classroom on our days off to help with her students. Now, during holiday and summer breaks, I work at a school in my hometown, cleaning, coordinating Chromebooks, changing locker combos, and serving as a teacher’s aide substitute.”
Amia thinks her innate inquisitiveness naturally led her to a future career in education. She says she tries to live by four simple words of wisdom she once came across: Replace judgment with curiosity.
“I’ve got a great deal of curiosity,” asserts Amia. “So I’m always searching for ways to keep expanding my mind beyond the classroom. Both online and real-world experiences give me new knowledge about a broad spectrum of subjects every day, and my continuing curiosity helps me stay open-minded, understanding, and adaptable to changes or challenges I might face. I believe being curious has also shaped my personal and professional growth, as I constantly seek ways to better myself, whether through new information or new behaviors.”
Amia played varsity basketball and volleyball throughout high school, and was a member of the pep club and student senate, well known for her enthusiasm, initiative, and ability to organize and engage her peers. But it was her intellectual curiosity and academic dedication that enabled Amia to graduate Summa Cum Laude with a GPA above 4.0.
Amia’s proud papa, Brad Silvers, has been with Aaron’s, LLC, for 20 years, currently serving as a General Manager at the company’s Warren, Ohio, location. No doubt, his two decades in the rent-to-own industry have provided Amia with an excellent example of both perseverance and resilience.
“I believe everything happens for a reason,” Amia attests. “Understanding that helps keep me strong and inspires me to persist. I aim to keep a growth mindset – rather than seeing setbacks as failures, I try to view them as learning experiences. And I keep in mind that I can always be a better version of myself, which helps me keep moving forward whenever I face adversity.
“I truly believe every roadblock in life has a purpose, even when the road ahead is unknown,” concludes Amia. “Each step I take is leading me to be exactly where and who I’m meant to be.”
Amia’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.
