( – promoted by lowkell)
As the campaign to restore funding for AccessUVa (the University of Virginia's financial aid program) turns up the heat this week, I AM NOT A LOAN will be posting stories and comments from those who have benefited from the program directly. Today's story is by Eugene Resnick, who graduated from the University of Virginia in 2010:
I am a 2010 graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences, and served as a College Representative on the Student Council in 2009-2010. I was an Echols Scholar and Distinguished Major having received a full 100% grant from AccessUVA. Without it, it would have been impossible to attend a university as expensive and prestigious as UVA without graduating with massive amounts of debt that would have haunted me and my family for a lifetime. I was one of the first classes of AccessUVA recipients.
It is thanks to AccessUVA grants that allowed me to pursue a UVA education, opened the door for me to study abroad in Denmark and India, intern abroad in Ireland, partake in multiple ASB trips to Ecuador and Peru, and so much more in the four years I spent in Charlottesville. It made me the person I am today and I am deeply disappointed by the Board of Governor's decision. I am shocked, and baffled to hear that the University is now going backwards when we made so much progress in the 2006-2010 period that I was there.
I thank AccessUVA and UVA in general for giving me the inspiration to pursue a Master's at one of the most prestigious universities in the world, the London School of Economics, where I completed an MSc in 2011. I currently still live in London, working in communications and public relations for corporate clients. All of this would not have been possible without AccessUVA. The Board of Visitors has clearly learned nothing and it is a shame to see what has happened to UVA since I graduated in 2010. I am deeply disappointed especially as my main motivation for donating to the University was targeted towards helping others in AccessUVa.
— Eugene Resnick, CLASS of 2010, AccessUVA Recipient, Echols Scholar
To show your support for students, please sign the petition telling the Board of Visitors to restore full funding for the AccessUVa program.
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