It's FAFSA time!

Have you submitted your FAFSA yet? It is an essential piece to be considered for a Work-Study award. Read this Reuters post for more information. http://blogs.reuters.com/prism-money/2011/01/14/fafsa-submit-early-to-max-out-your-financial-aid/.

Student Employment partner to launch unprecedented human trafficking study

Congratulations to one of our Community Service Work-Study partners, Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking. The nonprofit announced on Tuesday it has been awarded a $1 million grant from the Embry Family Foundation to launch an unprecedented study of promising anti-trafficking practices in the U.S. Here's what our partners said in their press release:

“We are honored to have the opportunity to spearhead this collaborative process, which will involve multiple agencies and experts. Currently, no national campaign exists to guide states, cities, and communities in addressing human trafficking,” said LCHT Executive Director Amanda Finger. “We believe Colorado is an ideal place to pilot this ambitious project. Not only is it a source, transit, and destination state for human trafficking, it also has a vibrant anti-trafficking movement.”

A decade after the passage of federal legislation to combat human trafficking, the Colorado Project to Comprehensively Combat Human Trafficking (Colorado Project) will document successful strategies to prevent human trafficking, protect survivors, punish traffickers, and build key partnerships (4Ps) between social service agencies. LCHT will conduct its research in concert with statewide leaders from multiple fields, including Dr. AJ Alejano-Steele, Professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver; the Denver Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Denver attorney and anti-trafficking advocate Patricia Medige; and Lauren Croucher, Human Trafficking Project Director with the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance.

The Embrey Family Foundation champions the well-being and rights of all people by supporting programs that advance human rights, healthy communities, education, and artistic creativity."

What is Work-Study?

At the Office of Student Employment, we often receive questions about the Federal Work-Study Program. Think of the following list as a crash course in the program:

1)Work-Study Awards are highly sought after grants distributed based on financial need and time of FAFSA application.
2) Work-Study is a federal work program. Unlike loans or scholarships that are disbursed at the beginning of each term that can cover tuition and fees, Work-Study is disbursed in the form of a biweekly paycheck for actual hours worked.
3) These wages are given directly to the student in the form of a paycheck and can help the student with indirect costs such as books or travel expenses.
4) Work-Study earnings cannot be applied directly to tuition. It’s essentially like any other part-time job, except the wages are paid by the government. Once the student receives this paycheck, they can certainly apply it to their account, and they can do so by paying the cashier’s office.
5) If you are not awarded Work-Study as part of your financial aid package, don't worry. Employment is still a great option for managing your educational costs. You can find non-Work-Study jobs at www.du.edu/studentemployment, under the Students link.

Be Healthy!

In honor of International Mental Health Awareness Week, we'd like to share some information.

First, consider stopping by the mental health awareness event on the Driscoll Bridge sponsored by DU Peer Educators, the Health and Counseling Center, Psychology Club, and Psi Chi. These organizations will have a booth there today and Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There, you can find info about health and get a free massage.

Additionally, the booth on the bridge will have a “Pledge Chain” in which students can sign a pledge to help reduce the stigma associated with mental health services. Students will also have the option to sign their own “Health” pledge (i.e. “I pledge to get more sleep”, “I pledge to de-stress by actually working out three times a week”, etc.).

Here's some mental health facts about DU students collected and shared by DU Peer Educators, the Health and Counseling Center, Psychology Club, and Psi Chi:

1. In any two week period, over 50% of your peers have felt overwhelmed by all they need to do.
2. Make sleep a priority. During any 2 week period 50% of DU students will experience exhaustion.
3. Remember to spend time with friends and family or even meet new people. 20% of DU students experience feelings of loneliness in any given two week period.
4. Work out to relieve some stress. In any two week period 17.6% of DU students will feel overwhelming anxiety.
5. In one year, 13.9% of DU students have been diagnosed or treated for anxiety. You are not alone. If you feel an overwhelming amount of anxiety, visit the health and counseling center to talk with someone about it.
6. In one year 42.3% of DU students feel that academics are difficult to handle. If you’re struggling, get some extra help from your professor or start a study group.
7. Over the course of a year, 47.2% of DU students have felt more than an average amount of stress. Go to a fun workout class to sweat out stress.
8. Over the course of a year, 39.6% of DU students felt sleepy and like they were dragging throughout the day. Get your 8 hours of sleep a night; it will be good for your mind, body and even test scores (study too).

Wrap Up on the 2010 Part-Time Job Fair

The 2010 Part-Time Job Fair on Sept. 22 was a success! A big thanks to the employers who made the event worthwhile: Avid Tutors; Bank of the West; CM IT Solutions, Inc.; Cricket Communications; College Nannies and Tutors; Colorado High School Activities Assn.; Footers Catering; Hyatt; Liberty Tax Services; Mad Greens; Sales Up; Science Matters in Colorado; Strategic Programs, Inc.; Tutor Doctor; and Wells Fargo. If you're a student who is still searching for a job, several of our employers have open positions, which they've posted at www.du.edu/studentemployment. In a survey, the majority of employers who attended the fair (88 percent) indicated they would hire DU students they met at the fair.