Graduate fund seeks to sustain itself

Expensive emergencies strike all people indiscriminately — including those living off a graduate student stipend.

That’s why Michael Bertucci, former Graduate and Professional Student Federation president, and former federation secretary Jim Grinias had an idea in 2012 to start a fund to help graduate students who deal with unexpected difficulties.

“I’m glad to see that it has grown from a simple idea to an official process over the past few years,” Grinias said.

The fund has received 38 applications since it started in 2013 and has been able to help a number of students.

“These applications come from both graduate and professional students, masters and Ph.D. students, as well as domestic and international students,” said current federation secretary Kyle Reeves in an email.

When the fund began in 2013, it held $25,215, but the amount has dropped since then because it does not have a consistent source of income.

“The fund can’t serve as the sole solution to these emergencies,” said the federation’s student opportunity advocate Justin Johnson. “Due to the non-sustainable nature of the fund, there is a limit on the funding the committee can provide to applicants.”

Kiran Bhardwaj, the federation’s president for the 2013-14 school year, said that the stories that are applicable to the fund are extremely compelling and that the fund helps students stay in school after unforeseen emergencies.

“Given that the initial fund was funded by a one-time source, one of my hopes for the future is that we can find a way to sustain the (fund),” Bhardwaj said.

A five-person committee reviews every application. The committee is made of three graduate and professional students, one representative from the graduate school and one representative from the Office of Scholarships & Student Aid.

“In the event that a committee member knows another student personally, that individual is replaced by an alternate,” Reeves said. “We have set up the review process to identify and remove any possible conflicts of interest.”

The amount awarded to an applicant is the average of the amounts suggested by each committee member.

“The amount awarded really depends on the nature of emergency and the documentation that an applicant provides to the committee, but generally the committee has not made an award greater than $600,” Reeves said.

Johnson said it is important for the fund to continue to grow.

“One of our main priorities now is to identify and pursue fundraising avenues that could help the fund become a more permanent resource for the graduate student community,” he said.

“A student’s educational and professional future can be jeopardized by unexpected financial burdens, and a large number of graduate students don’t have much financial leeway to deal with unforeseen emergencies.”

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