Erika Wilhite
Published: February 8, 2006
From 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 19, PJC’s Pensacola Campus will host “College Goal Sunday” in the Student Center, located in Building 5. The goal is to assist students in filing the 2006-07 FAFSA (Federal Application for Student Aid).
Everyone is welcome, whether they attend PJC or another college, are still in high school, or are interested in taking courses towards a degree or certificate and need aid in order to do so.
“We want to help students file their FAFSA early for Fall 2006,” said Karen Kessler, Coordinator of Financial Aid and Veterans Affairs, “No matter what college they plan to attend!”
Students need to file a FAFSA in order to be considered for any types of student aid, not just federal, said Kessler. “Filing it allows my department to determine what aid a student may be eligible to access.”
The event will offer information and assistance on a broad range of topics, said Virginia Santoni, who is working logistics for the program and will be co-coordinating the event itself. “Some will just need a PIN [to sign the FAFSA], or basic information, or even help filling out the FAFSA,” said Santoni, who added that attendees will be directed to different areas of the Student Center depending upon the type of assistance they require.
This is the first year the program, initiated nationwide by the College Board, the Lilly Foundation, and the Lumina Foundation over 10 years ago, is being offered in the state of Florida.
“The FAFSA is often viewed by students and their families as a barrier,” said Kessler. “PJC offered our campus and support staff as a site because we want to help break down barriers to education.”
The program is also in need of volunteers, said Santoni, “to direct the initial greeting process. Either for folks who call in ahead of time, or just walk in – we’ll need volunteers to greet [them], to direct people to different areas.”
If you are interested in volunteering at the event, you can call Santoni in the PJC Financial Aid office at 484-1682 or visit http://www.floridacollegegoal.com to sign up.