“I
t’s nice to know when I start working that the money I earn will go towards the future and not the past,” says Yolanda Janiga, 23. Janiga, from Burlington, Ont. has made it through four years of her undergraduate degree and into her one-year journalism degree without any debt. She has made it this far with help from scholarships and her parents. Janiga began her undergrad studying biology at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, with a $8,000 US scholarship, after being scouted by the school’s soccer coach. After second year, she followed the coach to the University of Southern Alabama, which offered her a full scholarship
“What we’re seeing is that students coming from higher income homes are five times more likely than those with lower incomes to pursue post-secondary education,” says Hare. “People are still going to university, but by raising tuition, we’re eliminating a segment of the population from the demographic without lessening any numbers.” Hare says Nova Scotia students, in particular, face a tough battle “because the provincial government is facing some very difficult financial decisions.” The problem, he says, is that the federal government doesn’t dictate how provinces use the billions of dollars it gives them in the Canadian Health and Social Transfer. Hare says the Nova Scotia government has consistently neglected its responsibilities in areas of post-secondary education and assigned federal money to other needs. “Right now, there’s no form of needs-based, non-repayable student financial assistance in Nova Scotia,” he says. Hare hopes students will organize themselves to the level Newfoundland students have achieved. “[Premier] Roger Grimes said he couldn’t raise tuition because the students wouldn’t let him,” Dave sighs dreamily. “Now that’s mobilization.”
Winter 2003
(academic and living expenses included). She looks at her scholarships as a payment for work and time she dedicated to her sport. “I worked for four and a half years playing soccer,” she says. “So in a sense, I gave them a service and they paid me for it.” Her parents covered what the scholarships didn’t and Janiga feels fortunate she has that support. “I’m lucky to have been able to attain a scholarship, and even luckier to have parents who support me, not just through encouragement but through finances as well,” she says. Janiga graduated from the University of Southern Alabama with a degree in biomedical sciences, and her passion for science writing pro-
pelled her to come to King’s to pursue science journalism. To finance her decision, Janiga worked at the Petro-Canada Lubricant Centre over the summer, filling drums with 205 L of oil. “It was the messiest job ever,” she says, but it gave her enough money to pay for housing and food for her year at King’s. Janiga says she didn’t qualify for any scholarships at King’s and what she couldn’t afford herself, her parents helped cover. Janiga doesn’t take her situation for granted though. She says she’s been blessed with a family that taught her that if she worked hard enough, good things would come her way. “They were right,” she says.
YOLA JANIGA: One-year BJ, no student debt
PAULA GALE: One-year BJ, $18,000 owing
P
aula Gale, 28, says age has made her wiser with her money. “When you’re young and naïve, you don’t have a concept of money,” she says. The government gives you a loan and you pay for your tuition. You don’t think about value.” Gale, who hails from Newfoundland, says it wasn’t until six months after she graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland that she realized how much debt she had. Bank loans and government grants got her through her undergraduate degree, but left her owing more than $18,000. “I never had the concept of how much I was getting in debt,” she says. Since graduating from MUN in 1998 with a Bachelor of Business Administration, she has managed to pay off $8,000 of her debt. But, her decision to come to King’s to get a journalism degree has added another $10,000. Gale was the managing editor of a magazine when she decided that she wanted to go back to
Tidings
school and hone her skills. Gale moved back home and worked three bartending jobs to try and make enough money to get to King’s and tide her over until she would receive her loan. She made $4,000 during the summer, which was just enough. “I had $1.64 left in my bank account the day before my loan came in,” she says, laughing. Gale’s loan for this year is $10,000. Unfortunately, she says, after paying her tuition of $7,000 she will only have $3,000 remaining to pay for rent, books, and miscellaneous expenses for the entire year. To compensate, Gale has been working as a student assistant in the journalism school. “I have no personal time, I don’t even have time to eat properly,” she says. But she believes the benefits of taking the one-year program outweigh the fact that she will be in debt. “I’ve never had a lot of money, so I’m not used to living with a lot of it. My happiness, my health, and my education are much more important,” she says. “It’s just money,” she smiles.
Profiles by Ruth Petrykanyn
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