Article September 30, 2019 Issue

Love clears the way

Name withheld by request

For two years I worked as a mentor for high school students from under-served backgrounds. The job required long hours of work as well as travel to see students from rural areas. Near the end of their final year, students began receiving college financial aid packages, but few of the packages looked promising.

After one particularly long trip, I came home feeling exhausted and a little defeated. So many of my students’ options seemed limited by finances, when the whole point was to expand them. One student I’d worked closely with said that even though she had been accepted to her dream school, she wouldn’t be able to attend for financial reasons. After tirelessly editing students’ scholarship essays, meeting after school to help fill out applications, and making countless phone calls to talk through options, I felt things were out of my control, and I was unsure how to help further.

Debriefing my week with a coworker, I found myself experiencing a severe headache and congestion. My coworker drove me home as I drifted in and out of anxious and uncomfortable sleep.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

Defeat distraction