For students all over the world, college is affectionately known as “the best four years of your life”. Highly anticipated all through high school where many work hard for years to save money, get their grades up anxiously await that coveted acceptance letter, college is a time meant for studying, learning all you can about the career path of your choice, and maybe staying up a bit too late making friendships for life. Just two months short of what would have been for many seniors a celebrated graduation, the entire lifestyle of college has changed.
With many campuses closing their dormitory doors and moving to online courses for all, it is a challenging time for students who have been forced to move away from their friends and entire new, independent life. Yet for some, this drastic change of pace means more than just going home to be with families a bit earlier than they’d planned: for those who rely on resources at their college to get their work done, it can mean a loss of means to continue their studies. For those who work on campus, it can mean a loss of income to pay for their car, phone, or other bills. Far worse, for those who are international students with nowhere to go or come from a low-income family, it can mean homelessness.
“We had alumni and parents, faculty and staff reach out when the COVID-19 started to impact our student and the question they all asked was, ‘What can we do? How can we help?’ So this Lasers Helping Lasers relief fund really is in response to the community asking that question,” explains Chelsea Gwyther, Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations at Lasell University. “We worked with a student who left his residence hall when this pandemic hit, and moved back with his family in a homeless shelter outside of Boston. Unfortunately, that shelter doesn’t have Wifi so this student takes his 18-year-old car and drives a couple of times a day to a Mcdonald’s parking lot so he can participate in his online classes. The determination of that student is just incredibly inspiring to all of us, and we’re committed just like he is to making sure that all students have access to a great education at Lasell.”
So far, alumni and friends of the college have gone above and beyond in their generosity to help support the local students. “The response has been absolutely phenomenal. Over $85,500 has been donated for this fund and that is going to go directly to helping students who are impact by this and helping the institution manage unplanned expenses by the pandemic.”
Interested in donating? Watch my full interview with Chelsea below to learn more, and visit https://www.lasellalumni.org/s/61/16/index.aspx?sid=61&gid=1&pgid=2068 to make your donation!
Emmalyn Reid 