A Critical Resource for Current Students – Now More Than Ever
Nearly a decade ago, the NJIT community established a special fund to help students facing financial hardships related to emergency situations. Today, as students and their families are forced to navigate the significant disruptions and challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Highlander Student Emergency Fund has taken on added importance. For many future engineers, architects, scientists, and leaders, the “hand up” provided by this fund could spell the difference between finishing their NJIT degree on time and deferring completion indefinitely.
NJIT students may request a grant of up to $500 from the Highlander Student Emergency Fund for any number of unanticipated expenses arising from an emergency. Past recipients have utilized grants for medical expenses, housing costs, books and other course materials, and the replacement of possessions lost due to fire, flood, or other catastrophic events. In light of the coronavirus outbreak and its adverse impact on student and parent employment, grants from the emergency fund may also be used to pay tuition and to ensure access to laptops, webcams, and other educational technology.
The Highlander Student Emergency Fund program is administered by the Office of Student Financial Aid Services, in collaboration with the Dean of Students and Campus Life. Students may submit their confidential application online. To be eligible for a grant from the Highlander Student Emergency Fund, an NJIT student must be:
Enrolled as a full-time undergraduate or graduate student.
Experiencing a temporary financial hardship resulting from an emergency situation.
Currently in good standing with the university.
Once approved, awards are typically made available to students within 72 hours of approval.
On April 2, the university launched a targeted fundraising campaign for the Highlander Student Emergency Fund. As of today, thanks to the generosity of alumni, trustees, faculty, staff, and other friends of NJIT, more than $62,000 has been given to support the unexpected financial needs of the university’s talented and hardworking students. These recent gifts bring the balance of the fund to over $110,000. This campaign will continue for the foreseeable future, in anticipation of an increase in requests for emergency funding as the Fall 2020 semester approaches.
If you are in a position to make a gift to the Highlander Student Emergency Fund, you may do so by visiting njit.edu/givenow or by contacting me at 973-768-1410 or kenneth.alexo@njit.edu. Thank you for your support and generosity.
Sincerely,
Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Ken Alexo
