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 570 scholarships totaling $1,276,250 to date – empowering students connected with RTO to pursue college degrees, technical credentials, and successful futures.
Miranda Stone of Galion, Ohio, is one of the 47 deserving 2025 APRO Scholarship recipients, sponsored in part by the Ohio Rental Dealers Association. Valedictorian of her high school (with a GPA of 5.33!), Miranda expertly balances her studies, athletics, and other responsibilities.
“I’ve got a personal promise that I never settle for less than my best,” Miranda says. “In high school, I was involved in student council, National Honor Society, and was selected to represent my school at the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Seminar. I earned honors in swimming and track & field, and performed more than 150 hours of community service as a youth mentor and assistant swim team coach.”
Additionally, Miranda launched her own business, Miranda’s Custom Crafts, which feeds her passion for design. She creates meaningful, unique pieces like cards, magnets, and stickers, customized for individual customer preferences. Miranda showcases her products via social media, and in person at a local market, The Stalls at Pickwick Place.
High-achieving Miranda gained not only the opportunity for an APRO scholarship, but also some important life insights through her stepfather, Nathan Teeters, who is currently General Manager of Showplace Inc.’s Bucyrus, Ohio, store.
In 2022, Teeters – then engaged to Miranda’s mom Mandy – packed up and moved in with their family, without a job and with a lot of uncertainty about his future.
“Watching my stepdad leave behind everything familiar – his hometown, his job, and the life he knew – didn’t seem like a brave leap at first; it looked more like a fall,” says Miranda. “But over time, it became one of the clearest examples I’ve seen of courage, growth, and resilience.”
As Teeters job hunted without success, Miranda witnessed the weight of unemployment wearing him down. Then came Showplace.
“Nate didn’t find just employment there; he found a new version of himself,” Miranda says. “He reconnected with the confident, driven man he had been, and I got to witness that transformation firsthand. He built lasting friendships, developed new skills, and quickly rose through the ranks. What he found at Showplace wasn’t just a job; it was a second chance.”
Miranda began her college career at Duke University, maintaining a 4.0 GPA in a highly rigorous academic atmosphere. But because of Nate’s experience, Miranda recognized that Duke wasn’t quite the right fit for her, and transferred to Ohio’s Ashland University following her freshman year.
“Ashland offers a more focused, supportive academic environment,” says Miranda, “where I feel encouraged to grow both personally and professionally. With smaller class sizes and closer connections to faculty, Ashland aligns better with my goals.”
Miranda is now studying accounting at Ashland, with an ultimate career objective of becoming a company’s Chief Financial Officer. She enjoys working with numbers and analyzing data, and using that information to help guide strategic decisions. So Miranda feels she’s now on the right path, thanks in part to her stepdad, Nate.
“Watching his journey, I learned that starting over is hard, but sometimes necessary,” she concludes, “that finding the right community can reignite a person’s spirit, and above all, that real strength doesn’t always look like boldness – it often looks like quiet persistence in the face of uncertainty.”
APRO Scholarship applications are open through March 31, 2026 – just click here: https://www.rtohq.org/apply-for-apro-scholarship/.
Miranda’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.
