My employer.
The bills.
The grocery store.
The university.
The bus schedule.
Jane.
I had built my entire life around surviving until tomorrow.
Now tomorrow didn’t frighten me anymore.
Jane began her fellowship that fall.
Her master’s program focused on public policy and education access.
She said she wanted to study why so many capable students never made it to graduation simply because their families couldn’t afford the path.
Three months into the program, she called me one Sunday morning.
“I have an idea,” she said.
Those words always made me nervous.
“What kind of idea?”
“A good one.”
“That’s what you said before buying me a car.”
She laughed.
Then she told me.
Using part of the award money she had received alongside her fellowship, Jane wanted to establish a small emergency fund for students whose parents were working multiple jobs to keep them enrolled.
