A $5,000 AARP Foundation scholarship is helping a 43-year-old mother of five achieve a dream “;to have an education”; and overcome a traumatic life of drugs, crimes and prison.

“;I was 11 years old my first time in jail (the juvenile detention facility) and I was in and out of the system until I was 33,”; said Rebecca Larsen, one of 108 women nationally who qualified for an AARP scholarship last year.

“;Then, I was almost two years into recovery and they cut me loose from probation,”; she said.

“;1998 was the last time I served time, almost two years.”;

She had finished one semester at Windward Community College when she applied for the AARP Foundation scholarship, offered to women age 40 and older who are seeking new job skills, training and educational opportunities to support themselves and their families. She also has a Pell grant and lives in public housing in Kalihi with her youngest child, a son, 19.

The AARP scholarship enabled her to stay in college and she moved to town because more classes in her field were offered at Honolulu Community College, she said.

She applied for another AARP scholarship this year. “;I would think they would want to keep funding me as long as my grades are good.”;

Up to 100 scholarships from $500 to $5,000 are being offered, depending on financial need and the cost of the education and training program.

Larsen said she always wanted to go to college but “;thought I could never accomplish anything.”;

She said she stole a car at age 11. “;It was just stupid. It set me up for what I was doing the next 22 years.”;

Homeless and drunk one night in a game room with “;a bottle of tequila between my legs and an ice pipe in my pocket,”; she said she heard the words “;you need to get out now.”;

“;That scared me to death. I've been sober from that point,”; she said. “;From the second I listened to the voice, that thing in my head, doors have opened for me that are just amazing.”;

She got into a Hina Mauka substance abuse program the next day despite a long waiting list and she won early release from probation, she said. She went back to Hina Mauka “;to make amends for putting a hole in the wall”; and ended up working there, she said.

She has worked in social services ever since and her goals now are to earn a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's in social work.

She hopes eventually to open a place for children of women who go into drug treatment.

“;People used to tell me I'm stubborn,”; Larsen said. “;That is paying off for me now. It's not so much the stubbornness that was bad, it was how I was using it ... I haven't changed the way I've approached anything; I'm just approaching different things.”;

AARP Foundation Women's Scholarship Program

Women who are American citizens and age 40 or older as of March 31 are eligible to apply for the fourth annual scholarship program sponsored by AARP.

Candidates must demonstrate financial need and be enrolled in an accredited school or technical training program within six months of the scholarship award date.

Priority is given to women raising children of another family member; those in low-paying jobs with no career opportunities and those who are missing either a retirement benefit and/or health insurance; and those who have been out of the workforce for more than five years.

Funds are payable to the institution and may be used for tuition, fees and books.

The AARP Foundation receives support for the program from the Wal-Mart Foundation and the AARP Foundation Women's Leadership Circle cabinet.

Applications are being accepted online until March 31 at www.aarp.org/womensscholarship.