How My 金融援助 Story Led to Meeting Bill 盖茨
I’ve learned that the power of storytelling is an incredible thing that can lead 重大影响.
This past summer, I wrote a short article for 年轻的不败 on why there is room for improvement to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). 年轻的不败 is an advocacy group focused on representing the millennial voice in the political process and on issues relevant to us. One of the most important issues in higher education is student affordability, so FAFSA simplification is one of 年轻的不败’ key 集中.
As a first-generation college student from a lower-income family, I depend on financial assistance to get through college. It was extremely difficult the first time I went through the FAFSA process, and I wasn’t sure I’d completed it right.
Kevion埃利斯 (left) met with fellow 年轻的不败 students and Bill 盖茨 (center) to talk about improving the FAFSA.
I first attended Paris Junior College, in my hometown of Paris, Texas. 我的哥哥 was at UNC, so I transferred here my sophomore year. 我在博天堂官方餐饮部工作 the rec center, and to my benefit, in the financial aid office. 在那里，我学会了怎么做 to understand and work through the financial aid process, and now I help students and families navigate through it every day.
Through my own FAFSA experience, while working at the financial aid office and with 年轻的不败, I got the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet Bill 盖茨. 三个 other students from around the country and I attended a meeting in Washington, D.C., as student representatives for 年轻的不败. 在那里，我们和布朗先生坐了下来. 盖茨 to share our stories and discuss financial aid process challenges.
Originally, we thought we’d just be meeting with the team members at the Bill and 梅琳达·盖茨基金会. A week out, we learned we’d be meeting with Bill 盖茨 himself. Imagine how astonished I was after getting that call!
I’m extremely passionate about policy work, and to have the opportunity to sit down with such a powerful and influential person to discuss the barriers that hinder students from securing critical aid was incredible.
In the meeting room, the three students and I sat anxiously waiting. 我们以为我们 be in a big meeting room with lots of people and distance between Mr. 盖茨和我们. To our amazement, we sat at a small lunch table in the breakroom. 我们了解了会议 只会包括Mr. 盖茨, the four of us, and the deputy director of Young Invincibles, who facilitated the conversation.
This opportunity was like no other, and I didn’t take it for granted. 我知道 one of four students in that meeting was important: We represented the voices of millions of students who utilize financial aid, and we didn’t take that opportunity lightly.
Before I got to sit down with Mr. 盖茨, I asked people in the foundation who knew 他是什么样的人. They all talked about how he was a computer guy, so he liked to understand processes and the root of problems. 在我们的会面中证明了这一点. He was very receptive and intentional in asking each of us questions about our stories, experiences and the financial aid process.
I shared my story with him, telling him about problems I’ve seen students encounter 每学年.
When students complete the application, it’s easy to get confused, send the wrong documents and not complete the documents fully. They may enter in the wrong data or information just because they didn’t understand the questions. 当这种情况发生时， the federal government contacts the institution to try to clear up the wrong information. The government asks for follow-up documents, and it can be a long, tedious process — leaving students waiting long into the semester for aid, well after they need books and school 供应.
当我告诉先生. 盖茨 my parents didn’t help me fill out the FAFSA, I saw him nod, maybe understanding that with first-generation college students it’s not just a process 为他们. It’s also a process for their parents because they’re learning how to do 还有这些东西.
By the end of the meeting I was confident that Mr. 盖茨, his team and 年轻的不败 would work diligently to enact change to make the financial aid process simpler for 未来的学生. I’m honored to have had a role in that.
–Kevion埃利斯 is UNC’s student body president. He graduates this spring with a degree in 国际 Affairs with a Political Economy emphasis, and minors in Africana 研究与经济学.
