- May 9, 2025
Ormond Beach resident and attorney Erika Barger recently published her first book, "Scholarship Hacks: Insider Tips for Winning College Money,” a comprehensive guide for students and their families to help navigate scholarship applications.
Barger, who self-published her book, has served as a scholarship chairperson and judge for numerous organizations for over a decade. A high school valedictorian and graduate of Georgetown University and Florida State University College of Law, she received almost $250,000 in scholarships and financial aid.
"With the publishing and release of my first book, I am excited to see how it can impact and assist the next generation of scholars in achieving their educational goals and dreams," Barger said in an email to the Observer. "If my book can help just one student to win a life-changing scholarship, making the difference between whether that student has the means to afford college or not, it will have been a worthwhile endeavor."
Her experiences with scholarships allowed her to write from a recipient's perspective, but also from that as someone who reviews applications and can provide insight as to what makes an applicant stand out, she said. Barger also writes about the common pitfalls applicants make. Over the years, she said, family members and friends have contacted her as the "go-to" person for scholarship advice, and now she has compiled that in over 140 pages.
Barger added that she has enjoyed writing as a hobby since she was a child, and that her interest continued in law school, where she received recognition for receiving the highest grades in her legal writing courses. She began writing the book over a year ago.
"It has been a personal lifelong goal to one day become a published author after the idea was instilled in me by my then-kindergarten teacher at Ormond Beach Elementary, Jan Hanley," Barger said.
