Hello, everyone.  My name is Charles Benson and I am a 31 year old, non-traditional student who is trying to finish school and graduate this spring.  Only two days ago I was informed that my financial aid was under a restriction called "Maximum Timeframe."  Maximum Timeframe means that I have gone over a limit for the amount of attempted credit hours that will be covered by federal financial aid.  I spent my entire Friday morning and afternoon taking the necessary steps to file an appeal to extend my timeframe, but I've been led to believe that it is rare for schools to grant an extension, even though I only need one more semester in order to finish.

Because I am a non-traditional student (i.e. older than the average student, employed, have a gap in education before returning) I am even more dependent upon financial aid then perhaps a more traditional student would be, and cannot pay for school or its associated costs without it.  While I am employed, the pay does not go nearly far enough to cover everything--I have to reduce my work availability for school, after all.



Of course, you may be wondering:  How did I become a non-traditional student?  The shortest explanation I can give comes from the letter I wrote to Texas A&M at San Antonio as part of my appeal:  "There is also the matter of disclosing my sometimes-poor academic performance. There exists a roughly four-year gap between my last semester at the University of Texas at San Antonio (Spring 2009) and transferring to Texas A&M at San Antonio (Fall 2013). I left UTSA because I had begun to feel that perhaps I was not cut out to be a student. General anxiety and depression stemming from the unpleasantness surrounding my parents' divorce during my senior year of High School lingered for years before I was fully aware of the affect it was having on my emotional well-being. As my sabbatical from school grew, so did my awareness that many doors remain obstinately shut in the face of anyone who does not have a related degree. My employment history during this time exhibits a diversity that, while interesting for its extreme change of venue (I was, among other things, a bar-hopping product promoter, a bouncer, and tech support for Verizon), exhibits an equal frustration with my inability to advance. Between that and my academically-inclined hobbies (I have been a historical reenactor, Roman legionnaire, since I was fifteen and once made the front page of the San Antonio Express), I knew I needed to make good on my prior schooling. Even then, all was not well. After stumbling rather severely during the semester of Fall 2014, I sought counseling on-campus with [name removed]. We met nine times between January and May of 2015, where we discusses coping strategies for anxiety and depression, positive study habits, and so on. The experience with [name removed] was hugely beneficial in helping me towards finishing school.


Because I was only informed about this blockage to my financial aid two days ago, I am in a bit of a crunch.  The semester begins on January 19th, a little over a week from now.  Payment is due by the 14th, or my classes get dropped.  The amount I am asking for ($2,500) ought to cover tuition and fees, as well as books, parking decals, and the usual incidentals that crop up as the semester begins.  Anything beyond that, I hope I can cover myself.

This opportunity means so much to me because, as I mention in the video at the top, I'm not good at asking for help.  I in fact get downright avoidant when I need to be doing the opposite and reaching out to someone for help.  But being this close to graduation, this close to finishing school, this close to affecting real, positive change in my life, I need to get past my own reluctance and say "Please, lend me a hand."

I can't promise to change the world, but I can promise that I will do my utmost to make my little part of the world a better place than I found it.  Graduating and walking the stage means I have the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to higher education, to my family, to my community.  

Thank you for reading this, thank you for watching the video if you watched it, and thank you for any help you can offer.