This story was submitted to us by Roxzy Mabry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

I am a senior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I am currently working towards a bachelor of science in Kinesiology with a minor in Spanish.

According to my mother, I had only one option after high school and that was to go to college and get my degree. I was raised by a single mother who worked full time and put herself through college in order to achieve a better life for my sister and me. I can still remember watching my mother walking across the stage to receive her diploma with Master’s of Computer Science written across the top. It was my mother’s dream to see me graduate from a University, so that I would not have to undergo the struggle that she had endured.

In April 2004, my mother was diagnosed with cancer and instantly our world had taken a dark turn. For two months, I watched my mother deteriorate to the point where she was unable to speak. I remember the pain in her eyes in not knowing what would be in store for my sister and me. I was angry because I could not understand how my mother could have worked so hard, for her life to be cut so short. In June, I found myself saying goodbye to both my mother and our home in California.

As a sophomore in high school, I adjusted to life in Illinois while still keeping focus on my academic goals. I wanted nothing more than to fulfill my mother’s wishes for me to be the best student that I could be. However, when it came time to looking at University costs, financially I was at a loss. I am not the traditional student in having the emotional or financial support of a mother or a father. Senior year, however, I was accepted to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the support I received through the Pell Grant and other sources offered me the financial assistance needed to fill the financial void standing between me and my entry into the University. My mother would be incredibly grateful, as am I, for the opportunity that it has given me. If it weren’t for the Pell Grant and other financial support, I don’t believe the University of Illinois would have been as feasible otherwise.

The Pell grant and other scholarships offered to me helped so much in regards to my development as a student, as well as to reinforce my dream of becoming a health care provider. In May 2009, with financial assistance, I was able to undergo a medical brigade to Honduras. The brigade allowed me to travel between communities that lack multi medical services and work alongside doctors to diagnose patients and prescribe medications.

After my trip to Honduras, I realized my passion for the less fortunate and giving them the best quality of healthcare possible. I have seen, firsthand, the effects of illness and disease, which has enhanced my desire to aid future patients and their medical needs. Next fall, I plan to attend graduate school in order to become a physician’s assistant where I will acquire the necessary skills to achieve that mission.

Although, I am not the traditional student, I am forever grateful to have the financial support I received. It alleviated my financial burden of college tuition and provided me the opportunity to complete my bachelors at the University of Illinois in four years.

This not only fulfills my dream but my mother’s as well. I know she would be so grateful for the generosity and so very proud of me for all that I have accomplished.

As a full-time student, a husband and a father of two children, Miguel Alex Centeno ’11, knows a lot about balancing priorities. His son, Baylen, 3, and daughter, Olivia, six months, keep his to-do list always at capacity. The secret to his success: “Coffee, lots of coffee,” Centeno said, “and a lot of hard-nosed discipline. You have a lot more responsibilities when you have a family to come home to at the end of the day. ”

Centeno receives a Pell grant, CAL grant aid and a Stafford loan that made it possible for him to attend college at Loyola Marymount University in California. This past summer, Centeno worked in an internship at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles as a recipient of a William Fitzgerald Summer Grant.  The grant, funded by Professor Emeritus William Fitzgerald, supports student internships and volunteer opportunities.

“I’m very grateful to be at a university that pushes its students out of the classroom to get real-world experience,” Centeno said.  “What good is college education if you can’t use it?”

LAFLA provides civil legal services to poor and low-income people in Los Angeles County. Centeno volunteered at the Inglewood Courthouse branch of LAFLA’s Self Help Legal Access Center. His responsibilities included completing legal documents and paperwork, and helping to determine client needs while working alongside a supervising attorney. Centeno found the eight-week internship to be educational and sobering.

“It was a very hands-on and raw experience. The legal system doesn’t accommodate people who can’t afford it,” Centeno said. “It was very touching and sad to watch people who didn’t understand the procedures or how to maneuver the complex legal system.”

Centeno’s plans include pursuing grad school and a career in the economics field. He credits Loyola Marymount University with providing him with the inspiration to achieve his goals.

This story was submitted to us by Sharon Xi, University of Washington.

I am a graduate student at the University of Washington, studying school psychology in the College of Education.  As an immigrant to the United States at the age of six, I have always appreciated the value and benefits of higher education, and have worked hard to be where I am today.

I am writing to you because my successful journey through education thus far would not have been possible without the help of federal financial aid.  I was a recipient of the Pell Grants as an undergraduate student at the University of California, Irvine, and I am currently attending graduate school with the help of the Perkins Loans.  My attendance in college has afforded me many opportunities to give back to the community; through participating in a variety of tutoring and mentorship programs, from teaching social studies to high school students, to increasing literacy in middle school English Language Learners.  And as my family and I encountered economic hardships, especially in recent years, federal financial aid has allowed me to stay in school and pursue my dreams and a career in school psychology.

My continuing experiences in graduate school and beyond will allow me the opportunity to be a valuable resource for our community, as I work with children in the educational setting.  I hope to continue developing my career path, and hope that the same opportunities afforded me will also be available to future students.  Education is a most worthy investment; our success will benefit everyone, as families and friends and neighbors in our immediate and global community.

Education should not be limited only to those who could buy it – it should be available to anyone who seeks it.  That is why Congress should pass the student aid overhaul bill.  As our senator, I thank you for speaking on behalf of the bill, and on the behalf of everyone seeking a better future through education.

Norsy Jimenez is a senior at Fordham University, Lincoln Center, studying Sociology. Upon graduation, she plans to pursue studies in the School of Social Work.

An only child, in November 2010 Norsy’s mother lost her battle to breast cancer for which she was diagnosed in 1999. Throughout this difficult time Norsy persevered in her endeavors and maintained good academic standing. Norsy could not attend Fordham had it not been for receiving a Pell grant, SEOG, FWS, institutional aid, and NY state grants.

She graduated from Aquinas High School in Spring 2007 and began her studies at Fordham that summer. In 2008 she was chosen to attend the National Student Leadership Conference. Norsy has worked as both a tutor for the College Science and Technology Program (CSTEP) at Fordham University and as a paid intern at Fordham Bedford Housing CORP since Fall 2009. Most recently, Norsy was accepted into the Social Work Program at Fordham, a highly competitive dual major program in which undergraduates complete graduate courses and a 600-hours year-long field practicum and seminar in combination with the requirements of another major.

Juan Duran is a senior at Fordham University, Lincoln Center, studying Natural Science. Upon graduation he plans to attend medical school. Juan is the youngest of five children; three of his sisters are college graduates. Despite his parent’s separation in 1993, Juan still maintains contact with his father and attributes his academic success to his family’s support. Juan receives a Pell grant, SEOG, FWS, Stafford Loans, University assistance and NY state aid.

He graduated from Mount Saint Michael Academy in Spring 2007 and began his studies at Fordham University that summer. As a freshman, he was chosen to attend the National Student Leadership Conference, and in 2008 was selected to participate in a six-week Summer Medical and Dental Program at Yale University. Most recently, Juan traveled to New Orleans in Spring 2010 with Fordham’s Global Outreach program. In 2010, Juan also completed the Summer Research Program at the University of Albany; this same year he received a Certificate of Merit during his completion of the CSTEP Internship Program with College of Optometry at the State University of New York. An active volunteer and advocate, Juan has served as an Ambassador for the Mentoring in Medicine Community Health, where he helps to promote healthy lifestyles among the Harlem population, and has worked as a tutor for the College Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) at the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University.

This story was submitted to us from Brittany U., Minnesota.

I am currently a junior at St. Olaf College majoring in Russian Area Studies and Political Science. I have a younger brother, Tyler, who is a Communications major at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. The federal grant aid has helped me immensely since I’ve been at St. Olaf College. I’ve been fortunate to receive this grant two years in a row which has helped me and my family in many ways.

With my father laid-off multiple times during my high school years and laid-off over a year while I was a first year and sophomore in college, money was hard to come by. My family and I had to take out many loans and we wondered how we would be able to pay these debts back if our situation did not improve, or if I would have to take time off from college and get a job to help my family.

By receiving the federal grant aid, I was also able to study abroad in Russia for a month without taking out further loans. Being in Russia further sparked my interests about Russia and confirmed my decision to major in Russian Area Studies and continuing to study the Russian language. Without the grant aid I do not think I would have been able to take that opportunity, as my parents were reluctant in letting me travel because of our lack of funds.

The [TRIO Student Support Services] grant aid has helped me in many of the same ways I mentioned in the above paragraph because SSS provided additional grant funds and I was able to receive even more money to reduce or in some cases eliminate loans. SSS helps me stay in college every day, and has helped me right from the beginning with the Summer Bridge Program and will continue to help me through my last year and a half at St. Olaf.

The Summer Bridge Program allowed me to take a biology class for credit, and SSS paid for all of my meals, books and all of the activities we did. I really got to know the campus and understand what class and social life at St. Olaf would be like. Every semester I receive a gift card (for completing my incentive plan) for the bookstore that I can use to help defray the costs of books. I’ve also received gift cards to use at the bookstore for my GPA.

Just yesterday I called my mother and told her about the gift cards I received this semester and she was so relieved and grateful for SSS and asked me “what would we have ever done without SSS?” I did not have an answer. But SSS does not only help me stay in college because of its monetary benefits, I’m also still in college because of the guidance of the advisors.

I know that if I have a problem, whether it is big or small, I can always count on one of the advisors to help me through it. And even if I don’t have a problem, I can still chat with any of the advisors about my day or whatever I want to talk to them about knowing that they genuinely care about me and others in the SSS program.

Every time I walk into the SSS Office I feel encouraged and that I belong here, if I did not have these feelings there is no doubt that I would not be here. I often tell friends and neighbors that “I cannot imagine being anywhere else other than St. Olaf.”

And there is no doubt in my mind that SSS has made this the reason why I am still here.

This story was submitted to us by Mark Bergeron, UNC – Wilmington.

I would like to take this opportunity to express how extremely important the Pell Grant has been for me in achieving my goal of becoming a teacher.

As a non-traditional student, many things in my life had to change when I enrolled in college, most importantly was the number of hours I was available to work. I am not only a full time student, I am also a husband, and a father of two children. The Pell Grant allows me to supplement my income and still continue to work toward my teaching degree.

At this time, my wife is also a full time college student. Two years ago she decided it was time for a new career and returned to the university for her second degree. Because she is now receiving her second college degree, she is only eligible to receive student loans. Since I am receiving Pell Grants, this enables me to take less money in student loans, which in turn have to be paid back upon graduation. Between my wife and I, the amount of debt we are incurring in student loans is beginning to mount and the less loans we have to prepay, the easier it will be to support our family after graduation.

I will be graduating in December 2011 with a Teachers Certificate in Physical Education and Health, as well as a concentration in Social Studies. With this certification, I am planning on becoming a Middle School teacher of Physical Education or Social Studies and also coaching team sports.

Thank you again for this opportunity to explain how important the Pell Grant has been toward me completing my education.