As\na first-generation college student, I know on a deeply personal level the\nimportance of the Fort Hays State University drive to offer the best value in\nhigher education \u2013 anywhere! We believe in the transformative power of a\ncollege education and how it impacts generations of families and communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\nhave a vivid memory of listening to a colleague talk about the American dream.\nShe described with eloquence the grit and determination in which our nation \u2013\nand our university \u2013 were founded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In doing so, she used a common phrase: all one needs to do is to \u201cpull oneself up by one\u2019s bootstraps.\u201d I agree. Resilience is definitely to what I attribute my success. Certainly, socioeconomic advancement is something that everyone should be able to experience, right? After all, we live in the United State of America \u2013 the land of opportunity. We hear story after story about how hard work pays off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then,\nmy colleague reminded us that not everyone is born with bootstraps. That\u2019s when\nI realized that although my college journey did indeed include hard work and\nsacrifice, I was also blessed with a loving family, caring faculty, and so many\nmore advantages. I realized I was indeed a first-generation student, coming from\na modest income home, who had been born with bootstraps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through\nthese columns and other presentations, I have shared stories of students who\nhave overcome remarkable odds to get to college and graduate. Students from\nshattered families and even some without a family. Students who were illegally\nbrought to this country as babies and grew up not knowing they were not\ncitizens \u2013 knowledge that painted a very bleak future. Adult students who\nstruggled with addictions, poverty, loss, and even prison sentences. Students\nwithout bootstraps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each\nextraordinary story I have shared has ended with a Fort Hays State graduate. I\nam so proud to be part of a university that has always been focused on making\nstudent success equitable and inclusive by expanding opportunities for students\nwho would otherwise have few, if any, options for realizing the American Dream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our\nability to expand access and success requires many partners. The university\nitself has embraced a historic commitment to underserved student populations\nwith an exemplary learning and teaching-centered culture. Our philanthropists\nand community partners have demonstrated consistent generosity through\nscholarship programs. State and federal government funding have also helped\nwith student access and affordability. One such program is the Pell Grant \u2013\nneed-based grants to low-income undergraduates designed to make college\nattendance an affordable reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Congress\nis currently considering doubling the maximum Pell Grant award to $13,000.\nThink about the value that would have at Fort Hays State University!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\nbelieve that cost should not be a barrier to the success of our students. Our\nunmatched value would get even better, help more students, create more\nbootstraps, should Double Pell come to fruition. Look what Pell has done for\nRylie and Slater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Slater\nHeglin, from Ulysses, is a senior at Fort Hays State University and a highly\nrespected student leader. He is majoring in business education with a\nconcentration in talent development. Slater is also receiving certificates in\nleadership studies, human resource management, business management, banking,\nand marketing. He is involved in the FHSU Society for Human Resource\nManagement, FHSU Foundation & Alumni Association Tigers Forever, Circle K,\nCollegiate 4-H, and Encounter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Slater\nshared that \u201ccoming from a single-parent home, I knew from a young age that I\nwould be paying for college on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\nis grateful for the Pell Grant and scholarships that have helped him achieve\nhis goal of graduating debt-free. He has worked diligently to achieve a high\nGPA, along with his community involvement both on campus and in the community.\nHe works three jobs and applies for many scholarships each year, but Slater\nacknowledged that Pell Grant has contributed greatly toward his goal of\ngraduating from college debt-free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy\nexperience as a college student at Fort Hays State University has been a\ncatalyst in pursuing my life-long passion for servant-leadership,\u201d he said.\n\u201cSince I have received tremendous support through scholarship and Pell\nopportunities, I have been able to devote my time and resources to serving in\nover four organizations and committees on campus. Without the financial\nsupport I have received through Pell, I may not have had the opportunity to serve\nin the capacity that I have thus far. Obtaining my undergraduate and\npotential graduate degree from FHSU would show that, no matter what background\nan individual comes from, with hard work, grit and determination, dreams do\ncome true. Fort Hays State University is truly investing in the leaders of\ntoday and tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rylie\nZeller from Little River agrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHigher\neducation would not have been possible for me without the opportunity of being\nawarded the Pell grant. With the financial burden of college reduced, I have\nbeen able to prioritize my studies and focus my time on doing well in classes,\u201d\nshe said. \u201cI am excited to pursue a degree in agriculture education, and the\nfinancial responsibilities have been one less thing to worry about because of\nthe Pell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rylie\nis a sophomore majoring in agriculture education, and like Slater, she will be\nreceiving a certificate in leadership studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\ndo love how our students take such a strong interest in leadership. Rylie works\non campus in the Financial Aid office. Even though she benefits from both Pell\nand other aid, Rylie also works two jobs off campus. By the way, a recent study\nby the Docking Institute of Public Affairs indicates that 93% of our students\nwork, and 10% work both on-campus and off-campus jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Doubling\nthe Pell Grant would increase the pool of students \u2013 students like\nRylie and Slater \u2013 eligible for the aid, providing more opportunities to attend\ncollege. It also would, on average, cut student debt by more than half,\naccording to research by the Gender Equity Policy Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tiger\nNation is a diverse and welcoming community, dedicated to sharing ideas and\nserving the greater good. On campus, online, and all over the world, we invest\nin close and lifelong relationships that nurture the humanity in all of us and\neducate the next generation of globally engaged citizen leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As\nwe continue our important work, on behalf of a young Tisa, Rylie, Slater, and\nso many other Tigers, I thank our philanthropists and legislators for their investment\nin higher education, I also join my colleagues in urging our Kansas\ncongressional delegation to push for courageous and meaningful improvements to\nthe Pell Grant program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tisa Mason is president of Fort Hays State University.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As a first-generation college student, I know on a deeply personal level the importance of the Fort Hays State University drive to offer the best… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12323,55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-life","category-opinion"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Mason-Tisa-040A6662.jpg?fit=750%2C1050&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=65480"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65481,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65480\/revisions\/65481"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=65480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=65480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=65480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}