working students <strong>Keystone</strong> <strong>College</strong> Students: Working Toward Success At first glance, Denise Gans-Torruellas has little in common with Alex Boirand and Jamie Ellis. Denise is a senior communications major from Columbus, Ohio, who hopes to pursue a career in technical writing after she graduates from <strong>Keystone</strong> in May. Alex and Jamie are sport management majors from the Isle of Wight, England, who are planning careers around their interest in athletics. Denise spends much of her time as a resident assistant in Hollinshead Hall on campus while Alex and Jamie are members of the <strong>Keystone</strong> soccer team. Clearly, they are different people with different backgrounds and aspirations. But they share one important attribute. Not Denise, nor Alex, nor Jamie have any idea what it means to work only a 40-hour work week. Each weekday – and many weekends – they rise early, study or attend class, participate in extra-curricular activities, and hold down part-time on-campus jobs to help pay for their college education. They lead lives that are, in many ways, the direct opposite of what many people perceive when considering the lifestyles of today’s college students. All three say they are dedicated to doing their best because they were brought up to respect the principles of hard work and accomplishment. They each believe the effort they put in now will lead to success in the months and years following their graduation from <strong>Keystone</strong>. And, there is also one other factor that drives each of them. They all need the money to help pay off the high cost of college education. Like many college students, working their way through school is simply something they have to do. “Between classes, school projects, my duties as a resident assistant and other activities, I often put in 60-70 hour weeks,” says Denise, admitting she doesn’t keep track of her hours all that closely. “Some nights, I don’t get to bed until after 2 in the morning. I try to get up at 8 a.m. everyday, but I have to admit I sometimes sleep in a little bit until 8:45 or so.” In addition to her duties as an RA, Denise works as an assistant at <strong>Keystone</strong>’s Student Success Center, helping other students to acquire better study habits and 20 KEYSTONIAN • www.keystone.edu techniques. She also works during summer breaks at home in Columbus. This past summer, she wrote promotional copy for a New York company specializing in on-line restaurant marketing, and she also worked at a retail store in Columbus. Between federal grants and loans, Denise receives a generous financial aid package worth over $16,000 per year. Nevertheless, she realizes the money she earns on her own helps reduce her overall financial burden. “I have to work. It’s that simple. I’m not from a wealthy family. Even with all my jobs, I’ll still have tens of thousands of dollars in loans to repay,” Denise says. Denise’s experience is hardly unique. <strong>Keystone</strong> <strong>College</strong> Director of Financial Assistance and Planning Ginger Kline reports that 92.8 percent of <strong>Keystone</strong>’s 1,700 full and part-time students rely on financial aid to help pay for their education. “Historically, many of our students are first- generation college students from middle-class families,” Ginger says. “They have to use every possible means they can to pay for their education. They do that because a private college education has value to them.” Nationally, the average cost of college tuition and fees is $26,273, according to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. At $19,020 per year, <strong>Keystone</strong>’s tuition and fees fall below the national norm. <strong>Keystone</strong> <strong>College</strong> finished 11th best in its category in the <strong>2010</strong> U.S. News & World <strong>Report</strong> rankings for the average amount of need-based financial aid awarded to its students. <strong>Keystone</strong> was ranked 14th in students graduating with the least amount of debt
Students Alex Boirand, Denise Gans-Torruellas, and Jamie Ellis take a rare break from their many responsiblities. www.keystone.edu • KEYSTONIAN 21
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