Entering his final semester majoring in kinesiology, Ryan Hatcher 鈥�23 found himself homeless.
His legal guardian 鈥� the woman who raised him and whom he considers his mom 鈥� was notified in June that her property manager had sold the home they were renting, and they had 30 days to move out. He bounced around a bit, living in his car briefly and with another family that proved toxic, before he was able to secure a room in 麻豆原创鈥檚 NorthView.
It came with a cost: That was the first time in his four years in college that Hatcher, who paid for both Valencia and 麻豆原创 with the Department of Children and Families鈥� Foster Child Tuition Waiver, had taken out a student loan. He needed the money to cover the cost of his apartment.
麻豆原创 Day of Giving is April 10. Consider supporting 麻豆原创 students through difficult times .
Then, he learned he also needed an emergency root canal.
鈥淚鈥檓 someone who doesn鈥檛 really like to ask for support until I really feel like I need it,鈥� Hatcher says. 鈥淚 try to do things by myself as much as I can. But I didn鈥檛 have insurance, and I didn鈥檛 have the money to pay for a root canal.鈥�
It鈥檚 exactly the type of unplanned predicament that 麻豆原创’s Student Emergency Fund is designed to help with.
鈥淭he purpose of the Student Emergency Fund is to ensure that students have the financial support they need when faced with those short-term crises or emergencies, which can look different for each and every student,鈥� says Tammie Nadeau, director of Student Care Services. 鈥淥ur role is to ensure that those basic, short-term needs 鈥� whether it鈥檚 housing, food, transportation or medical 鈥� are met by the Emergency Fund Committee so that students can be successful and move forward.鈥�
According to Nadeau, her team receives roughly 100 requests a month for assistance. Typically, they鈥檙e in response to an emergency, such as the loss of a job or a natural disaster, including when a nearby apartment complex flooded and students needed to find 鈥� and pay for 鈥� temporary housing. But there are also simply random events, such as when a student鈥檚 car caught on fire and she lost her textbooks and laptop and didn鈥檛 have the money to replace everything.
That鈥檚 when students can apply for up to $2,500 per degree for assistance. Every Thursday, a committee comprised of Nadeau and staff members from Student Care Services, financial aid, the Registrar鈥檚 Office and Student Accounts Services gather to review applications and ensure students have exhausted every other resource. Not every student will qualify for financial aid reasons. Those that do are invited to meet remotely with the committee and review their request. For Hatcher, that included sharing his X-rays, the cost of the procedure and how he had used his other funding.
“It鈥檚 nice to know that as a student, 麻豆原创 provides a security net in the form of the Student Emergency Fund.鈥� 鈥� Ryan Hatcher 鈥�23
鈥淚t鈥檚 remarkable how this fund has been elevated to a place where we鈥檙e not only able to support our students with their basic needs, but also to respond to emergencies and crises as they occur,鈥� says Nadeau, who says they often receive calls from other universities asking how they鈥檙e able to get so many different departments to the table and award funds so quickly. 鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 so easy to get derailed when something unexpected comes up. Without this funding, many of our students probably wouldn鈥檛 still be at 麻豆原创 鈥� or in college. Many times, this fund is a last resource for students who have nowhere else to go.
For Hatcher, the funding helped ensure he completed his bachelor鈥檚 on time 鈥� as the first person in his birth family to earn a college degree. He鈥檚 now in his second semester of grad school at 麻豆原创, pursuing a master鈥檚 in public administration because he wants to 鈥渉elp others like myself.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 corny to say this, but the people at Student Care Services really do care,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e consistently at the forefront of making going to 麻豆原创 the best experience possible for students. And it鈥檚 nice to know that as a student, 麻豆原创 provides a security net in the form of the Student Emergency Fund.鈥�
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