Update 1/14/26 – The Storage Center announced the three most recent winners of its “Space to Succeed” college scholarships, which are now being offered twice per year. The fall 2025 recipients are Anthony Brantley, Emma DeRuyter and Lauren Forney. All were chosen for their service-minded efforts that align with the scholarships’ intent, according to the company website.
Brantley is a finance student at The Ohio State University. His leadership skills and passion for service were shaped by supporting his family through his father’s battle with brain cancer. He founded Freedom Through Finance in 2024, a community-based organization dedicated to improving financial literacy for low-income and underserved families. Through financial education workshops, one-on-one budgeting and investment support, and youth-focused after-school programs, he’s helped more than 80 families across Atlanta and Columbus, Ohio, while training high-school students to teach financial fundamentals to hundreds of elementary students. Brantley plans to use his education to help families achieve long-term financial health and independence.
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DeRuyter is a psychology and criminal-justice student at Iowa State University. Her commitment to service is grounded in her belief that strong, supportive communities create opportunities for young people to thrive. She founded A Chance to Dance – LeMars, a charitable organization that provides full-tuition dance scholarships, costumes and dancewear to children with limited resources. Through community partnerships, fundraising events and local outreach, she has helped raise more than $8,500, collected hundreds of donated dance items, and ensured that every applicant was enrolled during the organization’s first three years. She plans to pursue a career as a forensic psychologist while continuing to teach and perform dance.
Forney is a health-science student at Spelman College in Atlanta. A Katy, Texas, native, her commitment to service began at nine years old with her first canned-food drive. When she was 12, she founded Lauren’s Community Service Academy, a nonprofit that has helped hundreds of young people across Texas launch service projects. To date, she helped collect more than 32,000 food items for local charities. A sought-after speaker on youth leadership and service, she continues to lead community initiatives while pursuing a career in dermatology.
Source: The Storage Center, The Space to Succeed Scholarship
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Update 7/28/25 – Storage Center announced the three winners of its “Space to Succeed” college scholarships. They are Frank Clavelle III, Charles Pittner and Brittanie Reynaud. All were chosen for their service-minded efforts that align with the scholarships’ intent, according to a press release.
Clavelle is a presidential-student ambassador and architecture student at the University of Louisiana. As the founder of several community-led initiatives, he’s mentored youth through Big Brothers Big Sisters and built homes with Habitat for Humanity. Clavelle has also led diversity, equity and inclusion efforts as vice president of the National Organization of Minority Architecture Students. He serves as a college senator and participates in cultural outreach for his university. He’s an intern with a civil- and human-rights organization and hopes to become his university’s first Rhodes Scholar.
Pittner is an agribusiness major at Texas A&M University. He’s the founder of Charlie’s Kids-4-Kids Coat Drive, a grassroots project he started at age 6. Over the past 13 years, his initiative has collected and distributed more than 9,500 coats to families across several Texas communities.
Reynaud is a nursing student at Louisiana State University Eunice and a mother of four. She volunteers for various community charities and organizations and helps sonography students and new nurses through clinical demonstrations. She plans to pursue a career in critical care or community-health nursing.
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Update 5/22/25 – The Storage Center, which operates 67 self-storage facilities in seven states, is accepting applications for its “Space to Succeed” scholarship program for college students. The initiative will award three $5,000 grants to students who’ve shown exceptional leadership, personal growth and a strong commitment to community service, according to a source.
The program is open to students 18 years and older who’ll be enrolled in an accredited college or university this fall. Those interested in applying should submit a 500- to 800-word essay that highlights their commitment to community service and explains how their education will help them continue and expand their impact. It should provide specific examples of how they’ve contributed to their community and reflect on how their efforts can positively influence others.
Applicants should also submit a photo, which will be used when winners are announced online and on social media. The deadline to apply is May 31, the source reported.
“We created the ‘Space to Succeed’ scholarship because we want to nurture the leaders of tomorrow who volunteer, uplift their peers and neighbors and look for ways to give back. That could be anything from tutoring their classmates to volunteering for a local nonprofit or mowing a neighbor’s yard when they need help,” said Robby Piper, principal. “As a Louisiana-based business, we are committed to making our community a better place, and the ‘Space to Succeed’ scholarship allows us to recognize students who show dedication, initiative and a vision for the future.”
Headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, The Storage Center has offered climate-controlled, vehicle and business storage since 1986.
Source:The Biz New Orleans, The Storage Center Offers $5,000 ScholarshipsThe Storage Center, The Space to Succeed Scholarship
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