News Byte: Jennifer Griffiths, Ph.D., Shares Her Pell Grant Story

Jennifer Griffiths, Ph.D., who has been promoted to professor effective September 1, showed her support of increasing the maximum Pell Grant to $13,000 by sharing her personal story on the Pell Voices page. “I remember very clearly opening up my financial aid letter in 1987 and seeing the Pell Grant that made it possible for me to go to college as a first-gen student,” she said.

Nearly seven million students rely on Pell Grants, the nation’s foundational investment in higher education that helps students attend and complete college annually. In an effort to double the maximum Pell Grant to $13,000, the #DoublePell campaign led by the Double Pell Alliance, a coalition of higher education associations, organizations, and advocacy groups, are calling to double the maximum of the Pell Grant, which will increase access to college and make it more affordable for low-income students.

New York Institute of Technology’s student body is one of the most diverse in the country (as reported by USA Today in 2020), and a good proportion of our students are the first in their families to attend college and/or come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The campaign is asking individuals to take action, by contacting their members of Congress, using social media to speak out in favor of doubling the maximum Pell Grant and encourage others to do the same, and share their stories on the Pell Voices page.

Read Jennifer Griffiths’ story.

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