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\u201cThese students face the same obstacles as first generation and low-income students, students who come from disadvantaged areas and underfunded school districts, but on top of that, they have other barriers that may be not quite so evident,\u201d says Craig, who joined Montclair a year ago after working for the New Jersey Department of Children and Families. Those could include trauma, instability, substance use, death of a parent, or the lack of financial, social and emotional support normally provided by family.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a bunch of layers and in each student we have to peel it back to see what’s going on,\u201d Craig says.<\/p>\n
With research showing that providing emotional and financial support increases chances for success for foster youth, homeless and independent students, Montclair responded a decade ago by bringing together resources in residence life, counseling and tutoring to create a program that supports them. Initially named Red Hawk Royalty<\/a>, the program was renamed Red Hawk Fellows five years ago, with staff dedicated to building community.<\/p>\n \u201cWe try to make sure they feel they belong and are supported,\u201d Craig says.<\/p>\n A host of holistic services including scholarship support and individual academic, life skills and personal counseling help students overcome hurdles. They bond regularly with each other at social and career events, and are able to stay in the residence halls over summer break if they need a place to live.<\/p>\n \u201cYou never feel uncomfortable asking for help because you know everyone’s always going to say \u2018Yes,\u2019\u201d says Teesha Flynn, a junior majoring in Jurisprudence, Law and Society and an independent student who was raised by an aunt after her mother passed away.<\/p>\n Individual donors and foundations have supported the program since 2012, totaling more than $525,000, including gifts from Professor Emerita Deborah Fish Ragin<\/a>, West of Hudson Real Estate<\/a>, and alumni Helane Becker \u201979 and Judith Evanko \u201969.<\/p>\n Eligible students include full-time undergraduates under the age of 24, identified as independent students, foster youth or homeless by the Financial Aid office and who qualify for the need-based Pell grants that expand college access.<\/p>\n Craig has been looking into the barriers these students encounter to determine how to cater services to better assist them. \u201cIt’s very complex. Since they\u2019ve had to rely on themselves, they\u2019re self efficient and sufficient, and then at the same time there might be pieces that are missing,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Arnaesia Brown, a sophomore majoring in Nursing, reached out for help as she juggled jobs and took out loans to come to Montclair. Her mother died of COVID-19 her senior year of high school and her father is retired. To make ends meet, she ate just one meal a day. \u201cSometimes I wouldn\u2019t eat at all or I’d get something small from the vending machine because it was cheap,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Red Hawk Fellows helped Brown change her dependency status for financial aid and addressed her food insecurity. Last summer, she took classes and lived on campus as part of the S.T.E.P.S. Summer Housing Program<\/a> to lessen her heavy nursing course load.<\/p>\n S.T.EP.S. \u2013 an acronym for Succeeding Through Empowerment, Perseverance, and Stewardship \u2013 is designed to build independent living skills. Students attend workshops and receive coaching on financial management, post-graduation housing, budgeting and how-to secure an apartment.<\/p>\n Brown appreciates the help she has received. \u201cI have to keep putting in the work. There are people who I care about who care about me and who are rooting for me to succeed,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Logan says the support he received, everything from a place to live and work on campus within his major of Information Technology to academic approval to take extra classes, allowed him to graduate sooner and limit his student debt. \u201cI was very determined,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n After moving to Delaware, Logan earned a master\u2019s degree in Cybersecurity from the University of Delaware and now works in IT. Last summer, he rode his bike 60 miles a day for a week in the Anchor House Ride for Runaways, a fundraiser for youths in crisis, in gratitude to the shelter that he credits with helping him on the path to college, degrees and career.<\/p>\n “In the heart of every struggle,\u201d Logan says, \u201clies the strength to overcome, the wisdom to adapt, and the courage to keep moving forward, for it is through these times that we become more than we ever imagined.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Story by Staff Writer <\/i>Marilyn Joyce Lehren<\/i><\/b><\/a>.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n You May Also Like:<\/p>\n![\"A](\"\/responsive-media\/cache\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/10\/ZachLogan1.jpeg.0.1x.generic.jpg\")