Begin again.
The SkyLogic Foundation is being established to fund scholarships and grants for women who are starting over. Its first program is the Linda Elaine Otmishi Scholarship, named in loving memory of the woman who never stopped believing in our founder.
Begin again.
In loving memory of
Linda Elaine Otmishi
Years ago, I worked briefly at a restaurant called Bennigan’s. My mother never let me forget it. With a smile, she would say, “Dina begins again.” It was a play on words. Over the years, it became something more: a quiet prophecy, and a promise.
There are people who believe in you when the evidence is in your favor, and there are people who believe in you without it. My mother was the second kind. When the world seemed set against me, she stood firm. When others doubted what I could become, she never did. Even in the seasons when life carried us apart, her faith in me did not waver. She was, in every chapter, in my corner.
And she was right. I went back to school later in life and earned two degrees, one of them in a field so new that few knew what to make of it. She was there to see me graduate. She was there when my team won a global award from Intel, the same company where she had worked in San Jose in the 1970s. And when I started SkyLogic Tech™ in October 2023, she was there to see it begin. She passed away just months later, in February 2024. Everything I have built since stands on the quiet, stubborn belief she always had in me.
This scholarship carries her belief forward to women who are beginning again. It is for the woman starting over after a career that ended, a marriage or a loss that changed everything, years devoted to raising a family or caring for others, or a chapter that simply did not unfold as planned. She may be unsure where to begin. She may wonder whether it is too late. It is not.
Each recipient receives financial support toward her education or training, a mentor to walk beside her, and a clear plan for her first steps. She also joins a growing circle of women who have stood where she stands and chose to begin again.
We cannot promise that the road will be easy. We can promise what my mother always knew: you can begin again, and someone is in your corner.
— Dina-Marie Stager, Founder, SkyLogic Foundation
More than a check
Starting over is hardest when you don’t know where to begin. The scholarship gives every recipient a place to start and people to start with.
Financial support
An award toward tuition, a certification, or a training program at an accredited school or recognized provider.
A mentor beside her
Someone who has walked a similar road, to check in with through the first months of the new chapter.
A plan for the first steps
A working session to map where she is today and the first three steps forward, so the path is clear before it is long.
A circle of women
Each year’s recipients join the ones before them: a growing community of women who chose to begin again.
For the woman starting over
If you are unsure where to begin, or wonder whether it is too late, this scholarship was created with you in mind.
- Returning to school or training after years away
- Rebuilding after a career ended or changed
- Starting again after a divorce, a loss, or a hard season
- Re-entering work after raising a family or caring for others
- Ready to begin, and in need of someone in her corner
Begin Again grants
Sometimes what stands between a woman and her new start is not tuition. It is an exam fee, a laptop, childcare during a class, or one hard month. Alongside the scholarship, the Foundation plans to offer grants for exactly those moments.
Begin Again grants
Small awards for the practical costs of starting over: certification and exam fees, equipment, childcare during training, or transportation.
Emergency grants
One-time help when an unexpected hardship threatens to derail a woman who has already begun again.
Startup grants
Support for women in financial need who are building a small business as their path to independence.
Grants to partner charities
Funding for registered charities that serve women starting over, such as shelters, workforce programs, and college foundations.
Every grant will follow written, fair selection criteria reviewed by a committee. Grant programs will open after the Foundation is formally established.
Built by the work we do
SkyLogic Tech™, SkyLogic Media, and SkyLogic Institute contribute to the SkyLogic Foundation to fund its scholarships and grants. The work our companies do for clients is what makes each award possible.
Scholarships may be used at accredited colleges and recognized training programs. They are not used for SkyLogic Institute courses, and no scholarship or grant is ever paid to SkyLogic Tech™, SkyLogic Media, or SkyLogic Institute, so every dollar goes toward the recipient’s own path.
The SkyLogic Foundation is being formed and is not yet a registered nonprofit. It is not accepting donations at this time, and nothing on this page is a request for contributions. Application details will be shared with the interest list when the first scholarship and grant programs open.
Sign in to the Foundation portal
Applicants can track their application. Recipients can follow each phase of their scholarship. The Foundation team manages everything in one place.
Join the interest list
Women who would like to apply for a scholarship or grant, and people or charities who would like to mentor or partner with the Foundation, can join the list now. We’ll reach out when applications open.