The Push and The Payoff

For the past few weeks, I've been working hard to prepare for school, making sure everything is in place and buttoned up, trying to stay ahead of any potential disaster or misstep. It's been a challenge but a very satisfying challenge that's made the whole process feel worth while and certain. 

Securing financial aid has been especially tricky, and , nearly every day, I've had to call in and confirm or sign or fax or drive to/from or re-read/promise something. It's been taxing. And, throughout the process, the only notice I've gotten that anything was happening was an email telling me that my financial aid had been canceled.

I got two of those emails, actually. Eight minutes apart. Same email. Guess they wanted to make sure I knew that they REALLY meant it.

There was no real clear set of instructions; Do "A", then "B". Make sure "C" is in order. The email basically said "Here's a link to the appeal form" but gave nothing in the way of describing the process or otherwise setting any expectations.

So I called. And I learned very quickly that, if I didn't ask, I wasn't going to be told. So I pushed extra hard, showed up twice as often, called and waited on hold, confirmed, reconfirmed, re-reconfirmed, and, sometimes, swore a little.

It helped (the swearing). But, even though everyone I spoke with assured me that things were moving along smoothly, I still got nothing in writing telling me what I should do, whether or not I was approved, nothing.

Yesterday on campus, the woman I spoke with assured me (several times) after our conversation that I was all set and that everything was OK. I went home, signed in to the student administration system and, would you know it, everything WAS ok! I had all my aid, my disbursement dates were set, my schedule was plotted - there was nothing left for me to do.

And, yet, just to be extra sure, I got up and 4:30 AM and checked again. And then I called at 9:00 AM. And again at 11:00 AM.

I couldn't have been more certain. Everything was all set.

I had nothing left to do for the first time in weeks, so I took a nap. It was a small but well earned reward for all the hoofing and pushing I'd done in the last few weeks. I woke up an hour later feeling refreshed.

And I had an email:

"Dear Andrew, Your appeal has been: APPROVED," it began.

The rest of the email laid out instructions on what steps I needed to take next

...steps, I should add, I had spent the last 3 weeks taking.

*blink, blink*

Found

I had been walking around campus all afternoon, bouncing from building to building, none of them familiar. Add to that, the campus was nearly abandoned, greatly amplifying that feeling of foreign newness. 

I wasn't lost. But none of the buildings were where they were supposed to be. That much was clear. And I was too proud to ask any of the few remaining stragglers for help. Instead, I sat at Ted's and ate things guaranteed to make me grumpy and gassy muttering to myself about the lack of free parking and how they'd changed up the student union.

Eventually, as I always do, I ended up at the Wilbur Cross building. The very last and most unlucky person working in the Financial Aid Office was sitting there, one hour left before the end of her shift.

I walked in. My socks were sweaty. My eyes were lasers. She flashed a smile and asked how she could help me.

"I'll start at the beginning," I said.

...and then 3 minutes later, everything was solved. She didn't fight me. She wouldn't fight me. And she was still smiling.

Though I had nothing to grimace about, I was still full of vinegar and dogged determination. But she had been nice and exceedingly helpful. There was nothing left to conquer, nothing left to win or beat. So I swallowed hard and pulled my lips back into something like a smile.

"Happy Thanksgiving," she chimed.

I mumbled something polite, I'm sure.

Student Discounts

Spent most of today making sure I have everything I'm going to need for school, poking around here and there for discounts on some must haves (and a few "would-be-nice-to-haves").

I found out that Amazon Prime is free for students (squee!!) and even got a discount on my Sprint bill. This "student" business ain't so bad. 

Anyone have any leads on any other student discounts?

The Guard

So I had this massive financial aid disaster. All my aid was canceled. All of it. I called and spoke to two people in FinAid who, in short, said "I'm sorry."

I called a third time. I had to. Before the person could say more than hello, I let them know what I was trying to do and why going back to school was important to me. "I want this more than anything," I said. 

The woman was very patient. She asked me questions about my time at UConn years ago and what I was doing now. I mentioned that I was the brass instructor at Lyman Hall High.

"Are you going to be in Bridgeport on Saturday?" she asked?

"... ... Yes. I sure am."

"Cool", she said. I'm in the UConn Marching Band.

"Cool", I said. "I was in the UConn Marching Band."

There was much band dorkery and whatnot and I felt 1000 times better. I had no idea how to fix this (and neither did she) but I felt like I was in capable hands. She took her time and we worked out a solution. I could only say thank you.

"Thank you", I said.

"Us band dorks have to stick together", she said.

My only regret was not asking her name. I only know that she's in the guard.

Thank you, fantastic guard lady. You talked me down and made my day.

#TUP