Moxie : University of Memphis

moxie ( ) Our students have lots of

Unfortunately moxie doesn’t pay college tuition bills.

Corey (

Business Information and Technology

)

Corey’s schedule

midnight 2 a.m.

4 a.m.

8.5 hour-shift at a call center

6 a.m.

8 a.m.

Corey is a full-time parent, full-time employee and full-time student. We think he is also full-time moxie. He lives an hour off

UofM day classes

10 a.m.

campus with his disabled grandmother, wife and one-year old daughter. Corey and his wife work full time to pay the bills that keep this family afloat, but saving for his education is tough and stressful. His daily routine is something most of us wouldn’t

Studies, completes school work, volunteers on campus, sleeps

2 p.m.

survive a single day, but Corey doesn’t have time to complain.

He just keeps thinking about how wonderful life will be one day. He will graduate soon with a BBA from Fogelman College of Business and Economics, plans to become commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserve to pay for graduate school at the UofM, because Corey’s goal is to become a

Picks up daughter from daycare, feeds her and puts her to bed before Mom gets home

CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Somehow he makes time to serve on the UofM Student Ambassador’s Board and other volunteer organizations.

noon

4 p.m.

6 p.m.

8 p.m.

Leaves for UofM night classes

10 p.m.

Prepares for 8.5 hour shift at the call center

midnight

Melody (

)

Loewenberg College of Nursing

Melody is raising three children under the age of 10. Her ex-husband, who struggles with addiction, abandoned them years ago.

She wakes up at 5 a.m., works part-time then squeezes in laundry, kids’ homework, cooking and cleaning, before getting back to her nursing studies. She does her clinical rotation by day and finally gets to bed by 2 a.m. each weekday, surviving on very little sleep. She has applied for, received and exhausted all financial aid options.

She’s in debt by $20,000 in student loans and has two more years to go until graduation. As an adult student, she is proud to show her kids that even though she’s “reaching late,” she’s still reaching for her dreams. She will do whatever it takes to become a nurse and provide for her children. She is all they have.

Holland (

Civil Engineering

)

Holland came to us with a perfect ACT score.

Even as a full-time student with a merit scholarship, she still has to find the time to work 30 hours a week or more to pay basic bills to live and eat. From a single-parent, cash-strapped household, she knows it’s up to her to pay for college. She checks her balance daily. Sometimes there’s $20 to get by on, sometimes $30 a week. Most students just call home to have more money put in their accounts. Holland doesn’t have that safety net.

There are no luxury items in her grocery cart or eating out. Constantly stressed out about cash and gas money, she escapes into her engineering studies. Her life is work, school, study, repeat.