June Student of the Month: Kayla Coady of Ashley County

The Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund is proud to recognize Kayla Coady of Ashley County as our June 2026 Student of the Month as well as congratulate her on her recent graduation from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

The journey to this point hasn’t been easy.

Right before the spring 2026 semester, Kayla’s daughter, Leilani, arrived two months early. For two weeks, Leilani grew in the NICU, and Kayla recovered in the hospital. 

“Giving up wasn’t an option,” she said, adding that her motivation has everything to do with her children.

“I didn’t have a lot growing up,” she said. “I want to be able to not say no as much as I had to hear growing up.”

Growing up, Kayla saw firsthand the impact that the Department of Children and Family Services could have in a child’s life, for the better or worse. Over time, her calling to be that positive force in children’s lives was impossible to ignore.

Now, she has graduated with a degree in social work, a job doing meaningful work at a domestic violence shelter, and a brighter future for herself and her two children.

Her kids can see her resilience. Kingston, her 7-year-old son, was struggling in school, and Kayla could relate. From doing homework together and commiserating about how hard school can be, Kayla supported Kingston, who ended up on the AB honor roll.

After seeing an ASPSF billboard in Monticello, Kayla applied and received a scholarship that she put towards tuition. To our donors at ASPSF, Kayla wants to share:

“Thank you so much. Between trying to figure out how I’m going to pay for school, provide for a newborn, and the child I already have. I could’ve quit, but I didn’t want to. The scholarship from ASPSF got me to the finish line.”