Judy's Voice
How have increased tuition fees impacted you and your family?:
With each semester nearly unpredictable, I'm under constant stress trying to figure out how I should pay my tuition. I am a second generation Asian American and my mother works over 40 hours a week while my father works six days a week in order to meet ends, especially with just paying basic utility and mortgage bills. Every month, they are always short on cash to pay these bills so with that in mind, I've been working up to 24 hours a week with as much as 15-18 units under my belt each time just to ensure that my parents do not have to get into more debt if they were to pay my school tuition. They work hard in order to give me and my silblings a better future but how can that be possible if we cannot afford to attend school. Financial aid can only go so far to help us out. I can recall when I was a freshman that through financial aid, I was able to recieve some extra money to buy books and other necessities for school but now, I have to pay out of pocket balances which my financial aid cannot cover. With budget cuts, I cannot obtain the classes I need and am forced to stay in school longer than I should and horrified about the day that I cannot afford to pay for school.
What are you studying at SF State and what do you hope to do once you graduate?:
I am currently majoring in Visual Communications through the Design and Industry department and minoring in Accounting through the Business department. With a major and a minor, that just about puts me over the 150 credit limit and I am worried about what will happen when I am unable to obtain the classes I need in order to graduate. Although these majors are complete opposites, I feel that they make me a more balanced person because I tend to work both sides of my brain hemisphere and without the other, I just feel incomplete. I wish to find a visual communications job when I graduate from college, doing what I love most but if we're still struggling from the economy, I'd prefer to find an accounting job. With an accounting job, I feel that I will gain a better understanding of everyone's financial situation and will be able to find potential solutions to dealing with the state that everyone is in.
Judy C., 20 San Francisco, CA
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