Curtis Michaud
News Editor
Broward College has recently released news to its students via email that a re-launch of the SEAhawk grant is available for students attending courses during the Summer Term.
Students who were previously awarded in the Spring term are not eligible to receive another Spring reward however, Summer term students are qualified to apply.
“We initially started with the Spring term awarding eligible students,” said Director of Financial Aid Operations Cherly Pierre. “We now are extending the grant toward the students who are now enrolled in the Summer term.”
As the state of Florida continues to be a global hot zone for the virus, businesses and beaches are still reopening causing some students to be wary in returning to work.
“My job called me to return to work, but I have to be cautious and be aware of my environment because I have a grandma that lives with me and I don’t want to become the reason for her to be very ill,” said BC student Jonathon Ramirez.
With students receiving other resources like laptops from the college and getting more comfortable with the remote learning environment in the Summer Term, it seems like the college continues to put the best interest of the students’ education at heart.
“I think BC is very supportive to its students and does a great job having open communication with us that resulted in taking classes remotely normal for me,” said Ramirez.
BC, like other Florida universities, accepted $27 million from Congress in the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund also known as the CARES Act, to help stabilize the emotional and economic burden the coronavirus pandemic has had on students and faculty members.
BC intended to allocate half of the newly awarded money to its students and the other half towards resources for the college to survive in this unpredictable time we are living in.
“We encourage students to apply because there is still a lot of money waiting for them to get a hold of to help their financial situation,” said Pierre.
Roughly $13 million will be allocated to the students however, only $2.3 million has been disbursed.
During the first wave of the SEAhawk Grant, roughly 4,000 of 7,000 applicants received the funds.
For a college who has an estimated amount of 40,000 students currently enrolled, to have an immense number of applicants who still haven’t applied for the grant is an eye-opener for BC officials.
“Because there is still a lot of remaining money from Spring term grant, we hope that students that are taking Summer classes can jump on the opportunity and apply,” said Caleb Cornelius the overseer of Student Financial Services for the college.
The 4,000 or so applicants who did received the first wave of the Cares Act from the college were very much appreciative and grateful as the college served its purpose in providing financial relief from house utilities such as internet for remote learning courses.
“When BC sent out the email that funds would be distributed to students, I quickly ran to the opportunity and applied,” said Ramirez. “Although I live with my parents, I used some of the money awarded to lift some frustrations from them by paying the electricity bill.”
The administration office at BC continues to receive feedback and emails from students on how the grant has affected their lives.
“This one student was extremely grateful as he acknowledged that the grant helped him greatly, since he was unemployed because of the pandemic,” said Pierre.
Students must have a 2019-2020 FAFSA on file with Broward College to be eligible for the grant. Funds will be available for students who applied for the re-launch of the SEAhawk Grant within 2-3 weeks into students Bank Mobile account.
If you are qualified for the grant, the same range from the first grant will be the same minimum of $150 to a max of $850 based on your Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
“We approximated that the bare minimum of $150 is equivalent to about three months of internet service. That will be enough for students who are taking remote learning classes in the summer,” Cornelius previously stated.
However, students who have federal loan debt or Pell grant overpayment are not permitted to obtain the funds.
Also, dual enrolled students and early admission high school students unfortunately, are not eligible to apply for and receive the grant.
“If the same number of students apply for the re-launch like they did for the Spring term, expect the college to continue to extend the Grant to upcoming fall semester as well,” said Pierre.
Aug. 20 is the application deadline for students who are interested and permitted to acquire the CARES Act SEAhawk Grant.
For more information on student qualifications and application access for the SEAhawk Grant visit https://nextgensso.com/sp/startSSO.ping?PartnerIdpId=https://app.onelogin.com/saml/metadata/794707&SpSessionAuthnAdapterId=browardDF&TargetResource=https%3A%2F%2Fdynamicforms.ngwebsolutions.com%2FSubmit%2FForm%2FStart%2F3100def7-5256-48ce-b271-ed43ab2eaea3
