Applications open for Qatar Harvey Persistence Scholarship to help students affected by Harvey
The Qatar Harvey Persistence Scholarship is taking applications for UHCL students who experienced financial hardship as a result of Hurricane Harvey in the fall 2017 semester. The University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) received $200,000 in funds for the scholarship which was donated by the Rebuild Texas Fund.
The UH System reported the needs of students to the Rebuild Texas Fund and UHCL received the most funding out of all the UH System campuses.
Dwayne Busby, executive director of strategic partnerships, is a member on the committee that secured funding for UHCL students.
“We have $200,000 to supply to those who need financial assistance to either complete or continue their degree program,” Busby said. “I would urge every student who was enrolled in 2017 and negatively affected by Harvey to please apply.”
The Qatar Harvey Persistence Scholarship is not based on academics but on financial need based on cost of attendance calculated by Student Financial Aid.
“The scholarship is up to $5,000 per student,” Busby said. “That’s a significant amount if you compare it to our tuition and fees at UHCL.”
To apply for the scholarship students must complete and submit the 2019/2020 FAFSA to establish the estimated need as part of the application process. Receiving the scholarship will not affect students’ existing financial aid.
Some students at UHCL are still recovering their homes from the damage of Hurricane Harvey in 2019.
“We have students who are still needing drywall up in their house, or are not yet even in their house,” said Iliana Melendez, associate dean of students. “There are students who withdrew at the time of the storm that were hoping to come back next semester who still haven’t returned, and they have only a semester or two left to attain their degree.”
The scholarship is also available to students who were enrolled fall 2017 but have not been enrolled consecutively since fall 2017 semester or who may have since withdrawn from the university.
“You have to be a student in the fall of 2017 and affected by Harvey to qualify,” Melendez said. “If a student hasn’t been able to come back to finish their degree, we work with admissions to see if there’s a way to get them started on the application process so we can have them re-enroll and assist them through the scholarship.”
Kristi Rickman, director of transfer advising and student transitions, has been reaching out to students that she advised in fall 2017 in the wake of Hurricane Harvey to encourage them to apply for the scholarship.
“Our goal is to help to bring the student up to a place where they aren’t having more debt,” Rickman said. “With Harvey, most people had to take out loans to recover from their damages. If you had any impact from Harvey it’s worth it to see if you’re eligible to apply for the scholarship.”
Students who were impacted by Hurricane Harvey but not enrolled at UHCL in fall 2017 are not qualified to receive the aid.
“With the Qatar scholarship, our hands are tied because the Rebuild Texas Fund set the criteria,” said David Rachita, dean of students. “We have to honor the criteria, we don’t have a choice.”
The priority deadline to apply for the Qatar Harvey Persistence Scholarship is April 19 at 5 p.m. However, students are still encouraged to apply even after the priority deadline has passed for consideration.
“One of our challenges we’re having is students don’t see that they have a need anymore even though they may have lost something that they haven’t been able to replace,” Rickman said, “I don’t know how we communicate that to say if you’ve lost something and you’ve had some kind of impact that you haven’t recovered from even though you’re still getting along fine in life. This scholarship is for you. Apply and see if you qualify. It’s worth going through those steps.”
For more information and how to apply for the Qatar Harvey Scholarship, visit https://www.uhcl.edu/costs-aid/scholarships/qatar-harvey.
Students in need of immediate assistance can access other resources on campus including the Hawk Emergency Fund Grant and the UHCL Food Pantry, both of which were established because of Hurricane Harvey in fall 2017.
The resources continue to be available to all students in need, regardless of whether or not they were affected by Hurricane Harvey. Students in need of assistance are encouraged to contact the Dean of Students office.
“The Hawk Emergency Fund Grant is for extreme emergencies,” Rachita said. “The example I always give is what if someone’s house burns down and they’ve lost their books or their laptop. We will help the student with that. It’s not for extra gas money. These students have the opportunity to apply for that grant but, they would have to have a situation that was extreme at the moment.”
The UHCL Food Pantry is available to all students and is located in the Dean of Students office. The pantry is open during office hours and is discrete and confidential.
For more information about emergency assistance, visit https://www.uhcl.edu/dean-of-students/emergency-assistance/.
