Personal Narrative: Surplus Money Into College

Returning to college, after graduating high school twenty-five years earlier, proved to be not only rewarding quite challenging as well. Viewing myself as a self-starter with extensive investigative skills I truly believed college path mapped out correctly, so I never met with an advisor, what a colossal mistake! I had self-scheduled all my courses and although I faced a few obstacles I was finally at the end. After completion of all my pre-requisites I applied to the LPN-RN Fast Track Program, little did I know my past would stop me dead in my tracks.

I am a first generation Haitian-American college student. I recently left you my place of employment to return to college. Both of my parents have a high school graduate level education, and some trade experience. Also, my parents both work two jobs and it's still extremely difficult to make ends meet and have the finances left over to pay for tuition and books. Without the aid of financial aid and scholarships, I am not sure if I could afford to continue my education. I have worked diligently to get the funds to pay for classes, and got my grade point average high enough so that I could be considered for such awards. I am confident that my hard work will pay off in the

I would like to express my thanks to the Buster Bynum Education Scholarship for allowing me the opportunity for financial assistance through your scholarship program. Being the second child in my family to attend college, I know that college can be expensive. At the age of seventeen, I am the youngest of six children. I learned from my family that they will give me all the love in the world, but when it comes to money I have to earn it. For the past three years I’ve earned my gas and spending money working a part-time job laying sod for Mid-South Enterprises LLC. I am confident that my parents will help as much as they possibly can financially, but with the assistance from scholarships my out of pocket tuition cost can be less.

I faced academic adversity when I moved to the United States in July 2010. I failed to enroll at the University of Colorado in the fall of 2010 because of lack of sufficient funds. I tried to process loans but could not process any loans because I didn’t have a Permanent Resident status at that time. I had no family or close friends that I could borrow money from since I had just moved to the United States. My desire to accomplish my goal led me to start looking for ways to pay for college. I had the drive, determination, patience and a positive attitude so; I started collecting enough funds by working several jobs. A year later, I enrolled into the university and could only afford to register for a three credit hour class. I was persistent

1. What experience do you like talking about the most? What has been the most interesting, intriguing, and exciting part of your life- why, and what did you learn from it?

Have you ever thought you could be great in a career… if only you had the funds? As a seventeen year-old DACA student, I have faced many financial obstacles in my college application process. As a non-citizen, I am unqualified for financial aid from things such as the FAFSA.This means that I have to depend on my family for support on paying for college. I have always tried my hardest in school to keep my grades as high as possible and learn as much as I could, knowing that one day I would need this education for a better life and career. I am currently in the process of applying to college. However, as a member of a low-income family, it has become apparent that the biggest obstacle between me and professional future is my financial necessity.As

I have been extremely fortunate to avoid many hardships. However I have faced a financially barrier, especially as I have set the goal to finance college without loans. My family is not poor, but we do not have enough money to put two women through university. I have taken the initiative to surpass this barrier by working and applying for scholarships. I started by attending community college first as it is less expensive. I quickly realized that the lower tuition was not enough and took a job at a grocery store deli. Most of my income has been placed into my savings. I have saved up a decent sum of money, but will still need help to pay for college. Now I am applying for as many scholarships as humanly possible. I have received scholarships

Being an immigrant and coming from a poor family, money has always been an issue in my life. Barely having the money to pay for the rent and bills each month, it makes life very complicated and frustrating for my family. I’m writing this statement to you because I’m afraid I will not have enough money to cover for my tuition as I enroll in Hamline University this fall. With the lack of money, it means that I would have to take a lot of loans which I don’t want to do because I don’t want to work the rest of my life just trying to pay off my loan debt. I desperately need your help because if I don’t go to college this year, I will have to wait another semester again.

I have come from a struggling background. My parents never attended college and my mother has been the sole provider for my family for many years. I have watched her struggle trying to provide for us and I determined long ago that I would strive to do more for my future family than what she was able to give us. My dreams required that I attend college. It is because of the financial hardship my family faces every day that the financial burden that comes from attending college rests solely on my shoulders. Although I am employed, I do not make enough money to pay for the cost of living and my school expenses. My goal is to become an attorney and I do everything in my power to attain that goal. I excel in all of my classes and have become a leader on my campus and in my community. I rely on scholarships like the Silas Purnell Scholarship to recognize these attributes in me and with the help of this award I will be able to take my last step in my path of earning my baccalaureate degree and making my goals my

I believe that I am a worthy candidate for this scholarship due to my recognition of the financial impact of college. Growing up in a single parent home has been a financially and emotionally difficult feat for my mother and myself. When I was seven years old, my father passed away from a blood clot. During his life, he served in Vietnam, where he was granted a Purple Heart after shattering his kneecap on a landmine. He was on disability, and my mother was employed as a rehabilitation nurse, the only source of income in our family. After his death, my mother and I both began to go to therapy for our grief over losing my father. Focusing on my mental health helped me accept the meaning of death, and struck my motivation to honor my father and ensure that he would be proud of me. When I grew up, we always relied on getting clothes from thrift stores to save money and cutting any unnecessary expenditures. My mother always worked to have enough money for food and comfort. I received monetary Survivor Benefits after his death until my high school graduation this past May. As mentioned before, my mother has Multiple Sclerosis, which is an unfortunately expensive illness. Shortly after her diagnosis, the rehabilitation unit of her work closed and she was left on unemployment right before my sophomore year of high school. I was not old enough to drive or work, so finances were incredibly strict. On my 16th birthday, I attended an orientation to work as a lifeguard at our local YMCA. The next day, I also got my license to eliminate transportation issues. My employment alleviated financial and emotional stress on my mother, as I was able to contribute to the bills and my personal expenses. Throughout my life, my mother has also been very dependent on alcohol to relieve stress. There were numerous times where I

The general culture of this company is very, very lax. At least, that’s what I got. I’m sure higher up is more professional. They attire that Anna wore made me feel like I could wear anything and get away with it. I started out very professional and turned into just look nice (ish). Its collaborative within departments, but there some communication problems. Apparently someone took Kailin and Anna’s ideas a couple of times. I’m not sure about that but I smile and nod. Really that’s how I get by smile and nod.

As an aspiring college student from a working class background, I need financial assistance in order to attend college. As a citizen of Waterbury, CT, the Robert T. Kenney scholarship is an excellent opportunity for me to apply and potentially receive aid from this generous foundation. Although the scholarship committee is not obligated to offer me anything, it would benefit me gratefully in my journey to succeed in life and lift myself beyond my blue collar background that I have emerged from. College is very expensive, and it is certainly not becoming any cheaper or easier for students to receive a quality education and the necessary tools to live in our world today.

My family, like many other middle-class families, do not have $20,000 of expendable resources to pay for college for my sister and I. The only way I will be able to afford college is if I receive enough scholarships to cover nearly all the tuition. Our education system and the amount of money necessary to pay for a bachelor’s degree has put financial stress on my parents and have caused me to overextend myself in school and community involvement in hopes of attracting scholarship committees to decide I am deserving of the money they are giving. Education is important because it allows college graduates to obtain stable jobs.

I had saved money from working in high school and I figured I could make my long-term goal happen. By my junior year of college I had made enough money to put myself through graduate school. For me, learning to invest properly posed a great challenge, but has rewarded me greatly. Some tradeoffs in my studies were made but it is my strongest belief that students who approach this challenge with a clear sense of purpose, realistic investment strategy, and a strong commitment to learn can use their college years to lay a strong foundation for their investing future.

​When I realized that my financial aid had not gone through and that I would not be allowed to return to Texas Tech, I was mortified. Quite awhile I spent alone in my room, depressed from my situation. I was victimized and my life was slipping away quickly. I tried everything! I pleaded my parents to sign the forms I needed but they refused. I reluctantly tried to sign loans but with no credit and no one willing to cosign, no bank would trust me. It was hopeless.