Helping student parents stretch already-thin budgets
Tuition, books, rent, gas and groceries already drain students’ bank accounts. Then imagine adding daycare and diapers to the list.
And Kansas is the 17th-most expensive state to raise a child aged five or younger, which adds another stressful hurdle to some students’ lives.
“It’s very challenging raising a child while keeping our focus on our research and studies,” said Wagner Squizani de Arruda, a doctoral student in agronomy. His wife, Gabriela Quintana Castro, recently graduated with her master’s degree in architecture from K-State and is now an instructor.
“We rely on daycare to allow both of us to study and work. And as international students, we don’t have parents or relatives nearby to support us.”
The Graduate Student Parent Success Initiative is knocking down this hurdle for K-State’s grad students balancing studies and parenthood. This need-based scholarship awards up to $1,000 to help cover childcare expenses like daycare, food, healthcare and clothing, which are at least $1,000 a month.
“This scholarship is so important, not just for me but for all graduate students who are parents,” Squizani de Arruda said. “Thank you to donors, and I kindly ask them to keep supporting it because it’s extremely helpful.”
BY THE NUMBERS
58 Applications per semester
30-40 Scholarships awarded per semester
$1,000 Maximum award per student