Why This Dad Gave Away His Daughter's Scholarship Money

A father is giving away part of his daughter’s scholarship money after she decided to postpone going to college.

Ian Holtz is offering a $2,000 scholarship to a “deserving” and “less fortunate” college student in California or Colorado after his daughter elected to forgo her full-ride to college, instead deciding to pursue her passion of music. Holtz made the announcement in a post on his Facebook page, which has been shared more than 40 times.

“Obviously I think every parent wants their child to go to college and when I got the news that she wasn’t going right away, this was kind of just an instant reaction for me,” Holtz said, explaining how he came up with the idea.

Holtz said the scholarship money will cover the first semester’s tuition for the winning student, and that the goal of offering the cash was twofold.

“It was to really instill in her one of our core values which is education, but also demonstrating an example of a way to give back,” he explained.

Holtz added that his daughter will “definitely” be going to college, but right now is spending time at a studio in San Diego.

“I’ve tried to coerce her into being able to do both [music and college] at the same time, but I’m a big believer also in kind of following your own path,” Holtz said.