Ryan Braley

Ryan Braley has been a numbers guy most of his life.

He has a bachelor’s degree in math from Penn State, he earned a teaching certificate from the University of Pittsburgh, and he’s been teaching math in public schools for the past seven years.

But he’s always had a dream of one day opening his own accounting firm.

The self-proclaimed “math nerd” and his wife just bought a fixer-upper in Tarboro, and their first child is on the way. As a math teacher at Tarboro High School, there’s not a lot of free time to spend with his wife or renovate his new home.

Plus, there’s the financial aspect of going back to school while saving capital for a new business.

“I had no idea financially how I could go back to school,” he says.

Then one day while on lunch duty at the high school, by chance he overheard a group talking about Edgecombe Community College’s new EDGE Scholarship.

“I’ve been looking for something so I could spend more time with my family, especially with a new baby on the way,” says Braley, 31, who teaches at Tarboro High School.

“We’ve been talking about me going back and eventually getting an accounting degree and opening up my own firm.”

Braley applied for the EDGE Scholarship, which will fund tuition, books, and fees for up to three years as long he meets certain requirements. Awardees must maintain a 2.6 grade point average and enroll in the college for at least half-time, among other requisites.

After receiving word that the scholarship was his, he said he was “really excited” and that he is now a little closer to realizing his dream. This fall he is enrolled in ECC’s Accounting degree program.

“Without the scholarship though, I don’t think I would have been able to do it, especially with a new baby on the way,” he adds.