Kara Sollars’ parents help when they can, but the second-year student at MSU pays her own tuition. To do so, she works at a restaurant in East Lansing. When the pandemic shut down campus and East Lansing in March of her first year, she, like most other students, packed up her bag and went home.
She also lost her job—which took away some income that went toward her tuition.
Louai Massri, a 2020 graduate of MSU, commuted to school each day, worked two jobs and went to class. Like Sollars, campus closing cost Massri hours of work. In an instant, much of his income for daily school expenses was gone.
Both Massri and Sollars needed financial assistance. The College of Arts & Letters Emergency Fund provided a lifeline. The fund provides short-term assistance to students facing unexpected financial hardships that threaten their ability to attend MSU. On Give Green Day (March 16, 2021), the College of Arts & Letters is fundraising for the Emergency Fund, which provides vital scholarships to students in need.
For Sollars, receiving an emergency scholarship in the spring gave her the peace of mind that she would have adequate funds for tuition and books in the fall. She is a first-generation college student who is studying to be a lawyer, and while she misses campus and her classmates, being able to stay on top of her studies has made her appreciate the MSU community.
“Even though MSU is so big with so many square miles, receiving the scholarship made me realize it’s not so big after all,” Sollars said. “It showed me that MSU is a community of individuals helping others, and that it’s OK to lean on others now and again when you need help.”
The help was critical for Massri, too. Massri, who immigrated with his family to the U.S. from Syria five years ago, was majoring in Experience Architecture (XA) and minoring in Digital Humanities. The scholarship he received in mid-May helped cover late fees from the spring semester and covered a portion of his living expenses.
He graduated in the fall of 2020, and is looking forward to the day he can help, too.
“MSU is like a family, with people who are there to provide support when you need it,” Massri said last summer. “In the future, if someone needs help, I will definitely help as much as I can. It’s like a circle — you help someone, you receive help, too.”
And while the fund has been instrumental in helping students like Massri and Sollars get through the hardships caused by COVID-19, the Emergency Fund is there for any emergency or crisis such as an illness, death of a family member or other unforeseen circumstance that could put a student in danger of withdrawing from MSU during a semester.
For more, go to the College of Arts & Letters Give Green Day page.