DeSales Students Travel to Harrisburg for Student Aid Advocacy Day
Over 200 students from across Pennsylvania gathered in Harrisburg to advocate for student aid.
(Harrisburg, PA, April 9, 2019 --) The Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania’s (AICUPs) Student Aid Advocacy Day saw over 200 students from 40 different colleges and universities come together to advocate for student aid in private higher education. Among them were three DeSales students: Manley Francois, Jonadad Fequiere, and Brett Szabo (pictured above, from left to right with State Representative Justin Simmons).
The message of the day was clear: Protect the maximum PHEAA Grant award of $4123 because it has already been reduced from previous years. Students also asked legislators to fully fund the Ready to Succeed Scholarship Program. “By protecting these programs, you are protecting the only higher education funds that track Pennsylvania students with financial need” said AICUP President Tom Foley during the rally that took place at the Harrisburg Capital.
Students participated in a rally at 10am at the Harrisburg Capital and then met with legislators from their school’s districts throughout the day to advocate on behalf of PHEAA funding. Three students spoke during the rally including Melanie Phifer, a senior from Ambler, PA who attends Lebanon Valley College as Global Studies major; Sebastian Murabio, a History Education senior from Saltsburg, PA at Seton Hill University; and Natasia Martin from Bethlehem, PA, a senior at Susquehanna University studying Neuroscience.
When asked why PHEAA Grants matter to them, each student had a compelling answer. “The PHEAA grant has helped me to extreme ends, since I was denied a second Parent Plus Loan, my PHEAA grant covered the rest of my tuition so I didn’t have to be consumed by endless thoughts of how I was going to come up with that extra money while trying to finish school” said Murabio.
Participating schools included: Albright College, Allegheny College, Alvernia College, Bryn Athyn College, Chatham University, DeSales University, Duquesne University, Elizabethtown College, Gwynedd Mercy University, Harcum College, Holy Family University, Immaculata University, Johnson College, Juniata College, Keystone College, La Salle University, Lackawanna College, Lancaster Bible College, Lebanon Valley College, Lycoming College, Manor College, Marywood University, Mercyhurst University, Moravian College, Mount Aloysius College, Peirce College, Robert Morris University, Saint Francis University, Saint Joseph’s College, Saint Vincent College, Seton Hill University, Susquehanna University, University of the Sciences, Villanova University, Washington & Jefferson, Waynesboro University, Westminster College, Widener University, Wilson College, and York College of PA.
The Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania represent 92 member schools throughout the state. They focus on advocacy, efficiency and collaboration programs, research and communications both between their member schools and the public.