Putting Scholarships on the Radar for Non-Traditional Students
The following interview is with Cynda Alexander, non-traditional student programs coordinator at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Alexander was recently quoted discussing the difficulties many adult students face in accessing academic funding resources. In this interview, she expands on that idea, discusses the availability of scholarships for non-traditional students and shares her thoughts on the role of institutions and government bodies in helping to make more learners aware of the availability of scholarship funding.
Lessons Higher Education Could Learn from the Real Estate Industry
The real estate industry is not unlike higher education in that both primarily sell an “intangible” service and require clients (sellers or buyers or students) to make money. Plus, both industries are the first victims during a downturn in the economy. It’s during these times they have to stand above the competition to stay in business.
Non-traditional students discover scholarships are for them, too!
Fifty-four percent of Arkansas students will graduate with an average debt of $21,000, according to the latest figures available through the California-based Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS).
Although most education advocates agree that scholarship funding goes a long way towards mitigating debt, non-traditional students in particular fail to realize just how much financial aid is available to offset the growing cost of higher education.
Cynda Alexander is the non-traditional student programs coordinator at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She says many adult learners simply don’t know how to address the challenge of finding free money for school, or they assume it is not available for them.
“It can be daunting,” Alexander said. “But the money is out there if the student is willing to put in the effort.”
HISPANIC STUDENT FOLLOWS HEART AND SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Miguel Alvarez, a 25-year-old sophomore at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has come a long way from his days as a C-level student in high school in the small town of De Queen.
“All my teachers sent letters to my parents about how I was very intelligent, but also very lazy,” Alvarez acknowledged. Higher education was something he readily admits lacking the motivation to pursue.
One day in February 2012 changed his entire outlook.
A NIGHT OF INSPIRATION
Last night, the Office of Campus Life welcomed Hill Harper as the keynote speaker for Black History Month. Harper is an author and American film, television, and stage actor. Harper’s popularity rose on both the mainstream and independent film circuits, thanks to roles in “Beloved,” “Loving Jezebel,” “The Skulls,” and the independent drama, “The Visit,” where he starred as a prisoner dying of AIDS.
CHARITABLE GIVING GOES CAMPUS-WIDE
The Office of Campus Life and the Non-Traditional Student Organization are collecting toys for Toys for Tots program, an annual drive sponsored by the Marine Corps Reserve.
According to Cynda Alexander, the Non-Traditional Student programs coordinator, “the primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver a message of hope to less fortunate children that will encourage them to become responsible, productive, patriotic citizens.”