Hello, my name is Nina and I am starting my 5th year at Drexel University this fall.

To say that going to college was going to be difficult was definitely an understatement. I'd love to tell you about my journey and why I need your help to be able to afford this final year before I am able to get my degree.

I graduated high school in 2019 as a hopeful, determined, and optimistic 18 year old. I did amazing in high school and got accepted to almost every college I had applied to! As a first-generation, eldest daughter of three from a single-parent, latino household, this was one of my family's biggest achievements. I decided to attend Drexel University because of their amazing Psychology program, as well as their Co-Operative Internship program.

If you've never heard of the Co-Op Program, it allows students to get hands-on experience working in their field of interest/study instead of attending classes for 6 months out of a school year. There are two choices you can make if you decide to enroll with the Co-Op Program, you can have 1 Co-Op internship during your junior year of university and graduate in 4 years OR you could have 3 internships, beginning your sophomore year and graduate in 5 years time. I wanted the full, immersive experience, so I chose to participate in the 5-Year Co-Op Program. For me, this meant that I would attend 2 quarters of classes (Fall and Winter) and for the remaining 6 months of the year (Spring and Summer), I would be out in the field, working in an internship.

So, here's where the going gets rough...

My first year of university, my mother fell into active-addiction. I had suspected this throughout my senior year of high school, but it didn't really kick in until my first year of college. At Drexel, your first two years are required to be on-campus. This meant that even if I wanted to stay home and commute, unless I lived within a certain distance from the school, it was mandatory that we lived on campus. Room and board at Drexel can be an additional $12-$20,000. I had the maximum amount from my financial aid package, but it still didn't cover all of my tuition costs. I didn't choose a fancy dorm, I chose the cheapest meal-plan possible, I got my books online for free if I could. At the time, I was working at a local retail store to help take care of my part in my household's finances, in hopes that it would keep my mom from having to live check to check. I made just a little over minimum wage with $8/hour. However, there were still times where my mom couldn't afford internet or electric. We had to choose between which bills were a priority and of course we had to keep the lights and water on first.

Majority of that year, my mother couldn't afford to have internet in the house. This made it so difficult to complete assignments, since almost all of my homework and exams were online. I was lucky that my first year, I still had my mom for a brief amount of time, so I was able to have the remainder of my tuition covered my Parent-PLUS federal loans. However, for every year afterwards, I could not be so lucky.

Towards the end of my freshman year at Drexel, my mother left behind my two younger siblings and I, for a life of opioid-addiction and abuse from an enabling boyfriend. I juggled this grief and depression all whilst trying to maintain my grades. I would have to leave class to take the train and bus home to make sure that my siblings were fed and doing okay. There were times where I came home and my mother was passed out, high on opioids, while my brothers had no idea what was wrong with mommy. My brothers and I are 10 years apart. So they were 7 and 8 at the time. My younger siblings were so lucky to have their father, however I was left to grieve and mourn the loss of my mother on my own.

I had no help. I didn't have a family member who had been through college before or someone to talk to when it came to having a shoulder to cry on. I lost friends, I suffered in school, I suffered mentally, physically, and emotionally. I managed to pass my classes, somehow, with everything I had going on at home. I confided in professors and was walked to the counseling center after class, because my professor had been so worried about my well-being.

With that being said, I still understood my mother to some degree. I knew that she had been in pain for a long time. I just wish that she had confided in a professional and gotten the help she needed instead of turning to opioids.

I knew that my responsibilities and the way that I pictured college out to be for me, had done a complete 180. Not everybody gets to have their parent's help or a college fund to put themselves through school. I knew that no matter what, I had to finish college to prove to my brothers that it didn't matter what we had been through. We could still be successful. We were going to be okay. My brothers are the only thing that keeps me going. I imagine that without them, I would not have ever made it this far.

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During this time, the pandemic hit. COVID-19 required students to move out of their shared living spaces and move back home for online learning. I couldn't live with my mom anymore. I didn't even know where she was. I was lucky to have met my partner and together working full-time and part-time, we saved enough money to get a small 1-bedroom apartment to live in during the pandemic. This was the first time I was ever paying rent and bills on my own. I was working nights in the restaurant industry as a busser to make ends meet, while still attending synchronous classes during the day from home. When the US was on lockdown, I lost my job as a busser and had to file for unemployment. With the money from the emergency pandemic assistance, I was able to pay my half of the bills and save a little bit for when I returned to school.

The lockdown had lifted sometime after I finished my second year of college. Drexel decided to reduce tuition that year, so I was lucky to have been able to have that year of school covered by my financial aid. I still had 3 years left to work out.

The following years, I struggled immensely with my university's financial aid department. I had no idea where my mother was living or if she was even alive. I didn't know her number, since she'd only reach out from burner phones, I didn't know her address, I didn't know if she had a job, I didn't know anything. Without her tax information or a second parent/guardian's tax information, I could not apply for financial aid.

I had to submit a Dependency Override Form to request that I could apply for financial aid based on my own income and be recognized as an Independent student. I had my request denied, even though I had been living on my own and paying my own bills with no help from any family member. I was on food stamps and medicaid, but it still wasn't enough. I had to beg them to at least raise my unsubsidized loan to cover the rest of my tuition because I was not going to be able to continue attending school without it. After some pushback, they allowed this, thank God.

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All of this to say, I have one year left of school! I made it this far and am determined to make it one more time to get to the finish line with my baby brothers by my side. I was finally able to have my Dependency Override Request approved, so they were able to provide me with the maximum amount of aid based on my own personal finances and income. I've been working tirelessly to maintain a full-time job and attend school full-time. With inflation, it's still pretty difficult to not live paycheck to paycheck, but I am making it happen with my partner. My brothers are older now. They are almost going to high school soon. I want more than anything to be able to graduate this upcoming school year.

I received $53,000 in financial aid, but my tuition is $60,663. I am just a few thousand short from covering my tuition and books for this upcoming school year. I am still on Medicaid and Food Stamps to be able to keep my head above water. I received LIHEAP to be able to cover my electric bill for a few months, but that has run out. I am working as hard as I can to be able to save money to pay my tuition eBills as they come every month, but I make $2400 a month on my internship and my payment plan is requesting $1800 per month.. My half of rent alone is $645.

I ask humbly for any help whatsoever. I am too close to give up now because of finances. It would mean the world to me if I could finish my degree. I want to be able to show my brothers that I did it. I dream of becoming a therapist and establishing my own practice to dedicate my life to families with struggles like mine. I am inspired by the counselors who have helped me in my time of need. I truthfully do not believe I would be here without them. I want to be able to prove statistics wrong. I want this more than anything. These funds are exclusively for tuition and I promise to provide an update with receipts.

Thank you kindly for reading just a short glimpse of my journey.

Nina