Giving | StudentsFebruary 27, 2025

A Little Help to Finish

Trittany Young knew she wanted to work with small children, but she had a hindrance many can identify with: She didn’t think she could pass the math requirements to become a teacher.

“People told me I couldn’t do it, that I should just accept it, and that I should do something that didn’t require math,” she said.

In 2018, she completed an associate degree in early childhood development at Carl Albert and then enrolled at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, hoping to gain a bachelor’s degree in education. However, after one semester, she transferred to the English program. She didn’t think she could conquer the hurdle known as geometry.

At first, she was OK in English.

“I had a great experience in English. I can’t say enough about the faculty, but my heart was with being with children and helping them,” she said. “I just wanted to be part of that experience. I wanted to be a nurturer.”

So she returned to the School of Education, where she triumphed over all the math challenges and found herself just a few short weeks from the beginning of her final year. Then she received a different kind of math challenge: She couldn’t start classes until she paid off a $5,000 balance.

“I was desperate,” she said.

Students who change majors often need extra time to meet all their requirements. That means their college experience can last longer than their financial aid and loans. That was Young’s experience. She appealed the financial decision and called everyone she could. Finally she accepted that there was just no way around it.

“I reached out to one of my teachers to explain my plan of action,” she said. “I decided I would sub (substitute teach) and get an after-school job and put away money to come back when I could.”

The teacher told Young to call Jennifer Holland.

Holland is the executive director of student retention at UAFS, but Young calls her “the incredible Jennifer.”

“I reached out to Jennifer, and within 24 hours, I was going to college again,” she said.

“We came alongside Trittany,” Holland explained. “We helped her with a finish grant and helped her apply for some scholarships. She made a financial commitment, too. And she finished the fall semester with all As, and now she’s doing her student teaching.”

The key, Holland said, is generous gifts from philanthropists who see the value in a college education.

“We can’t do any of it without the donors,” she said.

Finish grants are awarded to students who are very close to graduating but face what is to them an insurmountable financial roadblock.

The situation is more common than you might think, Holland said.

Holland explained that Pell grants and federal loans have a lifetime maximum. Persistence and graduation trends showed that many students hit those maximums before they completed their required hours. Other students find themselves 3 or 4 hours short of degrees, so they can’t get loans, which require 6 hours.

It became clear that to finish their degrees, many students would need a small boost to get to the top.

That’s where finish grants come in.

Before May 2022, the university awarded finish grants, worth an average of $647, to 104 students. Of those students, 92% either graduated or continued in school.

As for the eight students who did not return, Holland says, “They didn’t leave thinking no one cared about them. They left knowing they were attending a university willing to come alongside them. I feel confident they will come back when their circumstances improve.”

“Trittany’s path wasn’t straight, but she is going to be a great teacher because she understands students with challenges,” Holland said.

“I’m supposed to be a teacher,” Young said. “I was giving my stuffed animals homework when I was a kid. I’m where I’m supposed to be.”

Young knows how easily she could have ended up somewhere else.

“My journey has been more of a mountain climb than a marathon,” she said.

Her advice for others is to “reach out. My instinct is to try to do it myself, to figure it out on my own. I am so glad I didn’t do it this time. My words to Jennifer: ‘Thank you for being a part of my journey.’”

• Tags:
• Assistance
• Finish Grant