One of the things I knew that was going to be tough was to get through this financially. Being a mother you always worry about how you will make sure that everyone has what they need.
I have been VERY blessed this year. I have been awarded two scholarships – one from the UK Women’s Club and one by the UK College of Nursing that is funded by Dr. Elvis Donaldson in memory of his wife who was a nurse. The UK Women’s Club scholarship is also very special as these women raise their money by doing bake sales, yard sales and any other booth they can set up to sell handmade wares. I feel very special having been chosen by this group when they have worked so hard for the money they so selflessly give.
But even with the scholarships, there is still bills to pay. Unfortunately for us, the scholarships basically nullify the loans. This is fantastic for the future, but I still have to figure out how to make ends meet month to month. I do not have this all figured out yet, but have a meeting with my financial aid advisor when she gets back from vacation to see what options I have there. There is also a federal program, WIA, that I am going to check out. Each state is different in how they distribute benefits: some pay for tuition, some pay for books, some even help you with gas costs. Here in central Kentucky we go through an orientation session which I will try to do in the next couple of weeks to get any questions answered. My advice to anyone who is looking at school is to apply for as many scholarships as you can find. There is a lot of money out there and it does take time to apply. I have not applied for many this year because of my schedule (that is another topic all together), but there are places that offer tuition assistance and loan buy backs in exchange for a time committed to working for their hospital. There are scholarships through different organizations. I am going to keep looking and will post what I find.
My office at UK has worked out something that I can work part time and see how it goes. I will be moving out of my current position to help another part of our project and will work. The number of hours may end up being too much for the difficulty of classes, but we are going to try this anyway. Every semester that I can get behind me without having to max my loans, the better.
I am also a seamstress, a fiber artist and we have a farm. I am looking at options on how to make some side money there. I will do whatever it takes and keep you posted!
Now back to my research paper that is due tomorrow…
