It’s a moment I remember well — standing outside my family’s mailbox on dusty Rural Route 3 in Greensboro.

In my hands was an envelope that would have a huge bearing on my ability to fulfill my first real goal in life, being the first in my family to graduate college.

Inside that large white envelope from the University of Montevallo was a financial aid package that I knew would go along way in determining how realistic that goal was.

I remember taking a few minutes standing alongside the road before opening the envelope, staring at the mailing labels, afraid of the disappointment to come if the aid wasn’t enough to get me to college.

A deep breath and a few minutes of crunching numbers thankfully revealed enough scholarships, grants, work-study and a small amount of student loans to get me to college.

Earning more scholarships and working in the summer, I was able to put my way through college with virtually no debt. More than a decade later, it’s one of the things I’m most proud of.

Navigating the complex world of college financial aid can be overbearing to 17- and 18-year-old kids.

The seventh annual Gearing Up For College seminar Thursday made that process a little less daunting for approximately 50 students and their parents.

Representatives from Wallace Community College Selma, the University of Alabama, the Alabama National Guard and other colleges and universities helped students learn more about enrollment and financial aid at the Carl C. Morgan Convention.

Selma City Council President Corey Bowie hosted the event, one that is important to him.

Without a doubt though the highlight of the night was the presentation of two scholarships in memory of Dr. Geraldine Allen and Selma High School student Alexis Hunter.

It’s great to see scholarships honor these two special women.

Allen is a former Selma City Council President and died in 2010, while Hunter was tragically shot and killed in a senseless act near Selma High School in 2013.

Hunter’s mother, Joann Hunter Walker, said she was proud to see her daughter’s memory kept alive thanks to the scholarship.

“We know our daughter is smiling in heaven for this honor,” Walker said as the $1,000 scholarship was presented to Angelica Shears, a senior at Selma High School.

The Dr. Geraldine Allen Scholarship was awarded to Royale Fikes of Robert C. Hatch High School in Uniontown.

Congratulations to these two young women on their scholarships. I know they will remember, honor and do great things in the memory of the women they will represent during their time in college.