By GIRISH SWAMINATH
STAFF WRITER

The Liberty Partnerships Program (LPP), a pre-collegiate drop-out prevention program serving underprivileged youth in the Bronx, hosted a FAFSA/Financial Aid Open Lab Day event Saturday, Jan. 25. The event provided LPP seniors with the opportunity to complete the FAFSA with support from volunteers and financial aid and college access professionals.

If seniors already completed the FAFSA, they received help in writing a resume for scholarship applications and in submitting their New York Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile.

The event was open to LPP high school seniors who attend KAPPA International High School, Bronx High School for Law and Community Service and Frederick Douglas III Academy. Vanessa Barrios, assistant director of the office of financial aid at St. Joseph’s College, and Nemaris Rodriguez, assistant director of Student Financial Services at St. John’s University, assisted LPP seniors with completing their financial aid forms.

“This was our first year hosting the open lab event on campus,” Diane Ode, assistant director of the Liberty Partnerships Program, said. “In the past, we have worked in conjunction with high school guidance counselors to assist students with completing the FAFSA during the school day. I have recognized that filling out the FAFSA during the school day sometimes limits the time that students need to properly complete the application. This results in scheduling multiple days to complete the application and prolongs the time it takes for the application to be submitted.”

LPP’s mission involves increasing opportunities for access to college by providing underserved youth with the knowledge and tools required to succeed academically and professionally. Given the key role that accurately filling out the FAFSA form plays in procuring financial aid, helping students, especially those in less privileged situations, to complete this task is on the forefront of the LPP’s agenda.

“LPP stresses the importance of filing the FAFSA, as it is one of the single most important applications that determines the eligibility of aid for college,” Ode said. “We are aware that the application process can be confusing and sometimes overwhelming and, for this reason, we have provided students with the support they need to fill out the application correctly and on time.”

Ode also discussed the positive feedback she received from students and the feelings of confidence and relief they experienced after attending.

“Students left the event feeling relieved that they were able to complete their FAFSA with the help from the financial aid professionals,” Ode said. “One of our students, Angel Ramirez, who had started the FAFSA but did not finish, informed me that he was not aware of how important the FAFSA is and would never have completed it if he did not attend the open lab event. [Students also] shared that it is often difficult to concentrate at home because of the distractions in their household and that it was nice to use the computers in a quiet environment with one-on-one help from the financial aid professionals and SWS volunteers.”

Ode was satisfied with the outcome of the event and hopes that LPP will return next year to hold a similar workshop.

“Students were able to use their time effectively by applying for financial aid and to research scholarships,” Ode said. “LPP is truly grateful to our partners for making the event successful and for sharing their advice with students about financial aid and the college application process. It is our goal to continue the FAFSA/Financial Aid Open Lab event annually.”

For the event, LPP also partnered with Fordham’s Smart Women’s Securities (SWS), which provided volunteers that helped students complete the FAFSA and search for eligible scholarships.

“It was such a wonderful opportunity for SWS members to help out these high school seniors,” Nikki de Castro, GSB ’14 and chief philanthropic officer for SWS, said. “It wasn’t too long ago when the members were filling out their FAFSA for the first time and struggling with the complicated process. I even find the form difficult to fill out to this day.”

De Castro also looks forward to additional collaborations between SWS and LPP for other service events.

“I hope SWS and Liberty Program collaborate for future events because it’s a great opportunity for college students to help and or mentor high school students,” de Castro said.