Helping Students Through Difficult Times
How the CLAS Cares fund helped one student through the pandemic
ELISABETH RIOS-BROOKS was finishing her senior year at UF pursuing a double-major in International Studies and Anthropology when the pandemic hit. Her work hours were quickly cut and then eliminated altogether. Paying her rent and purchasing food suddenly became a challenge. “I was really struggling,” she said.
Rios-Brooks’ family lives in Puerto Rico, depriving her of some immediate support other college students could count on during this difficult time. Wondering how she would make ends meet, Rios-Brooks began looking for help. “I emailed all of my professors,” she said, seeing if anyone could point her in the right direction while relying on the UF Field and Fork Pantry for meals. At the same time, UF was highlighting the Aid-a-Gator program, which provides financial assistance to students who are experiencing unanticipated expenses due to an emergency.
After inquiring to learn more about the fund, Rios-Brooks discovered that the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) had just established its own tool to provide funding for students dealing with financial hardship called CLAS Cares. She quickly applied in May, and a few weeks later Rios-Brooks found out she was the inaugural recipient of the CLAS Cares fund.
The support Rios-Brooks received allowed her to complete an internship at the NAACP Washington Bureau as a legislative assistant and finish her time in Gainesville without worrying about paying for rent or food, before flying with her cat to be with her mother in Puerto Rico. Graduating into a pandemic and economic recession is nothing that Rios-Brooks and her fellow 2020 classmates planned for, but she has continued to obtain valuable experience at UF, remotely helping the Center for African Studies with web design and event programming for a virtual conference to be held during the fall semester.
Rios-Brooks is passionate about social justice and previously volunteered with Florida group Dream Defenders. Looking forward, she hopes to find a position working with a nonprofit that shares her values.
For those students facing difficult times, Rios-Brooks sees no reason not to apply to the CLAS Cares fund. With gifts from generous alumni, this fund has been set up to help students navigate the stressors brought on by the pandemic and beyond.
“The application process was extremely straightforward,” Rios-Brooks said. “I would definitely encourage students to apply.”
To further support this initiative and research of the college go to the link below.
