SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Fred Almon, a social work student at Clark State University, said he’s known nearly his entire life that he was meant to help people, following in his family’s footsteps.
His mother and grandmother worked in the medical field, and he said his uncle had a reputation for his kindness and generosity, but when all three of those influences died before his first semester of college, Almon knew he needed to ensure their impact survived.
Currently awaiting his second year at Clark State, Almon works as an intern at the Springfield Salvation Army. Working in the pantry, answering client phone calls or supervising summer programs for kids, he said it’s offered a great opportunity to hone his passion for serving others.
“This helps me prepare for working with lots of different groups of people,” he said. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do.”
Almon keeps photos of his family to remember them.
Almon’s determination to help others, as well as the inspiration behind it, were exactly the traits Dion Green was looking for in his first Derrick Fudge Memorial Scholarship winner.
Named for his father, one of the nine people killed in the 2019 Oregon District shooting in Dayton, Green wanted the scholarship to honor a student who overcame trauma in their lives and is working to use that experience to make their community a better place.
Almon applied at his professor’s suggestion and wrote about loving and losing the people who made him the person he is.
“My mom, she would be the type of person that would give anybody a ride if they needed it. My grandma was the same way,” he said. “My uncle was the type of person who would give the shoes off his feet if he had to.”
Almon’s mother died when he was 7-years-old, so his grandmother moved back to Springfield to raise him. He said losing her in 2019 was one of the most difficult times in his life.
“It was just me and her since I was born,” he said. “I had a very hard time pulling myself together.”
While he can’t say he’s fully recovered, Almon said he’s worked hard to carry on living the kind of life that would make her and the rest of his family proud. When he learned about Green’s story and the inspiration behind the Fudge Foundation, Almon said he felt a connection.
“It was just very fascinating to me, just his willingness to help people and I just kind of saw a little myself in him and he saw a little bit of himself in me I guess,” he said.
Green will present Almon with the $2,000 scholarship at the HART Gala on Aug. 6, an art exhibition in collaboration with the Springfield Museum of Art memorializing the victims of the Oregon District shooting.
Almon plans to use the scholarship to fund books and tuition over his final two semesters at Clark State. After he graduates in the spring, Almon plans to transfer to a four-year social work program at Wright State or Ohio State University.
Ultimately, Almon hopes to work in Foster Care, helping children like himself, who lost their parents find healing through loving homes.
