Financial aid letter

This is a copy of what I typed for financial aid letter when I first when back to school.  I would hope that people can read this understand the struggles of what it's like when someone tries to better them self around people who don't want too. 

I've Never Received Financial Aid

I have never received financial aid. Not once in my life have I ever applied or received financial aid from the start of my academic career up until now. This is my first year doing this because of the layoffs at US Steel Granite City Works. I didn’t choose to get laid off nor did I want to wonder how I will be able to support myself. I thought that going to school part time would help me, but I was only half right.

My records say that I have a whole bunch of credits, but I don’t think that people are looking at the details of them. When I went back to SWIC in 2005 I took the welding certificate program to advance at my old job, American Steel. The foundry didn’t have a tuition reimbursement program so I paid for it out of pocket. Unfortunately after that layoff I couldn’t find a job with only a welding certificate. Most places wanted more advanced types of welding that I didn’t know how to do. Let’s just say it was a bad period in my life.

In the winter of 2007 I started my second “real” job at Olin Brass in East Alton. But just as you can count on having to go pee in the morning I got laid off from that job also. Not once, but twice I was laid off with no formal education. During my Olin years I started going to school part time, but could only take one class a semester because of swing shift and unknown overtime. I made a killing at Olin, or so I thought, because I lived at home and everything was awesome. I was young, had a nice car, and was too arrogant for my own good. I paid for all of these classes too out of pocket.

The recession of 2008 thru 2009 was my first layoff I experienced. The whole country was pretty much out of work and I was working part time where I could. All the mills around the area were laying people off and I did the best I could. I was 24 years old and while I didn’t think I was old, I was seeing that my lack of education was hurting my job prospects. I was laid off again in 2011 and now it was clear that the industry was a sinking ship. Unfortunately I didn’t have a degree or any specialized skill so I had to make ends meet by working various part time jobs. Everyone would tell me to go back to school, which was easier said than done because I didn’t have any money to pay for classes. I didn’t receive any financial aid.

So as you may have guessed if you read this far, is that I worked at US Steel and was recently laid off. During my employment there I took advantage of the tuition reimbursement offered by the union. Overtime and swing shift were against me once again and I could only take one class a semester and online at that. It was a personal goal to get my associates degree to just prove to myself that I wasn’t just another mindless zombie working in a factory setting. That may sound narcissistic, but after working at Olin and US Steel I never understood how people could make $50,000 plus a year, but still have teeth that were literally rotting away. The sad part about that last sentence is that I can prove it.

Now that may sound pretty rude, but it’s true. The overtime at the steel mill was unreal, but also rewarding. Everyone got use to the big paychecks and of course had to spend the money on really nice stuff. Any mention of schooling or bettering one’s self usually resulted in being called a “fag”. Any mention of education usually was shot down with this response and I’m assuming that people thought that the mill was forever. It’s pretty sad when you think that people want to spend their whole lives with their head in the sand and not try to think about tomorrow. I can’t even begin to write stories about mill life and the entitlement that people had. I think that “Allegory of the Cave” is a great read to kind of sum up how factory people are. They are afraid of what they don’t understand and live in the dark, making up what they see in the shadows.

Not everyone was a total waste, there were good people, but it’s the majority that made the job a living hell. As this is being written there are contract negotiations and major changes happening at US Steel. Industry in this country is becoming a dying art and I just don’t feel that I can drink the Kool Aid any longer. All the hours I worked along with the sweat and tears, I’m man enough to admit it, are basically for nothing because I can’t use those skills out in the real world. We were basically glorified laborers who used proprietary equipment that no other place in the job market has. One could argue about my welding certificate, but that was the barebones of welding skill which I haven’t used in over ten years and got constantly turned down jobs because of my lack of skill.

The TAA program has allowed me a final chance to restart my life and pursue something I’m actually interested in. I had to change my major to graphic communication instead of associates in art. I love all the Adobe products I get to use and that I’m able to learn in a comfortable environment. I have a lot of generals done, but the rest of the credits I have are practically useless. I’m learning different aspects of graphic design that I can actually use towards a future career. I have a challenge to prove my theory about steel mill work and graphic communication future employment. Go to indeed.com and type graphic designer, graphic communication, web designer, and count how many results come up. Now type steel work and utility technician (title at US Steel I had) and count the amount of results that come back. If you think that the steel worker search got more job listings please contact me immediately because I have some real estate to sell you.

I’m not a welder, brass worker, or steel worker, I am a student. I’ve paid my way through college and never submitted or received any kind of financial aid. Please lift the appeal and give me a fighting shot at a career path that doesn’t involve having to lie to myself that everything is ok and gives me skills that I can actually use in modern society.

Sincerely,

Ricky Jankowski