CSU is proud to announce Lori Stoney, the first and only female fire lieutenant with Homewood (Ala.) Fire and Rescue Service, as the winner of the Forney Howard Hero Behind the Hero Scholarship.
The scholarship honors CSU graduate and former fire chief at Orange Beach Fire Department Forney Howard. Howard retired recently with more than 40 years of service in the fire service industry. The scholarship is for the spouses and children of active-duty public safety personnel (firefighters, law enforcement officers, EMTs and dispatchers) and military men and women. Stoney is married to Andrew Stoney, a firefighter/paramedic in Irondale, Ala.
Stoney received the online scholarship based on her entry in the Hero Behind the Hero Scholarship essay contest sponsored by CSU. The scholarship covers tuition for up to 24 months for one specific degree program.
In her essay, Stoney said: “The fire service of today requires excellence from its leaders. At no time in our history has the educational expectations from our city leaders and citizens been greater. To continually seek to advance my contribution to the citizens of Homewood through lifelong learning is a necessity not for professional excellence, but career advancement as well.”
She plans to use the scholarship to pursue an online master’s degree in business administration with a focus on public administration.
“I would like to end my career as a fire chief. I was the first female fire fighter in the Homewood Fire and Rescue Service, the first female lieutenant, and would like to end up as the first female fire chief. This degree will help prepare me for the challenges of that position,” she said.
Stoney truly loves working in the fire service industry, which she has done for more than 20 years. “I enjoy being in the unique position of being a part of a profession that reaches out and serves others during their greatest time of need,” she explained.
“Even though much of what we do may not seem like an emergency to the responder, to the person asking for help, we are the only one they know to call. I feel honored that they call us,” she said.
She went on to say that the Hero Behind the Hero scholarship will help her stay competitive in her career. “More importantly, it provides me an avenue of educational opportunity that can be shared with my coworkers,” Stoney said. “Hopefully, my example will encourage them to seek out educational opportunities for their personal and professional advancement.
To learn more about the Hero Behind the Hero Scholarship, please call 888-785-3006 or send an email to hero@columbiasouthern.edu.
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