Lately I have been thinking a lot about money.
Where is my money going?

Do I have enough to last the semester?

Should I or should I not buy this top that I love from H&M?

That last one opens a whole new Pandora’s Box on want vs. need.

Let’s face it; it is expensive to not only attend college, but to be a college student.

I always just accepted the fact that if I wanted to go to college, I was going to have to pay for it.
While in high school, in my mind, paying for college meant doling out cash for tuition, room and board, and books.

I assumed that would be enough not just for me, but for every other student.
That it would be enough for the university I would attend in the near future to operate on a daily basis.

I assumed.

Now, as a sophomore at Shippensburg University, I am well versed in the costs of a semester.
From the Student Accounts webpage on SU’s website, I found that students pay for tuition, education services, technology tuition, comprehensive health, student union, activity, recreation, housing and meals.

With all of this, the grand total comes to $8,322 per semester here at SU.
Also, keep in mind that this number deals only with Pennsylvania residents who are full-time undergraduates.

With extra expenses that I have to pay for this year like electric and cable, my part-time summer job just did not seem to cover my habitual spending.

So, I decided to apply to the Shippensburg University Foundation and become of member of the phonathon team.

Up until the start of this semester, I had never heard of the Shippensburg Foundation until my roommates decided to apply.
I needed a job with a paycheck, and since my friends worked there, that was enough for me.
I learned a lot that first night at training.

I learned that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania represents less than 28 percent of the SU’s education and general budget.

That is it, 28 percent.

So, with some careful calculations that I learned from my applied statistics class, the total cost that I stated above for a semester here at SU, only accounts for around 54 percent of the university’s total income.

So, 54 percent plus 28 percent adds to 82 percent. So if tuition money and money from the state government is not covering the total costs for the university to operate, what else is then?
The phonathon.

Last year alone, the SU Foundation raised $2.2 million that was donated to the university.
This money is used for scholarships, supplies that are used in classrooms, programs to raise funds and providing any additional support SU may need. The work that employees do at the Shippensburg Foundation and the phonathon is worth more than what a paycheck says.

From $20 to $200, every little bit counts.

SU is an accredited school that although small, has found ways to attract attention across the country for the excellent colleges and students who attend here.

SU has attracted students from over 15 countries and 20 states.

Ninety percent of the faculty that teaches for SU has terminal degrees.

And unlike larger schools that require teaching assistants, the faculty teaches the students here.
Millions of dollars are donated annually to SU, and the money is coming from people who either went here or have some connection to the school.

Alumni who have graduated in the 1960s are still donating to a university they attended 50 years ago.

As students, we are learning from incredibly intelligent people who are educated to the highest possible degree.

The phonathon helps to allow for the educational quality we are receiving here at SU, and the members of the Shippensburg Foundation should be thanked for the hard work that they put in to this university.

It is the little things that make a big difference.
We should find a way to say thank you.

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