GSA Donates $50,000 to Highlander Student Emergency Fund

NJIT's Graduate Student Association is donating $50,000 to the Highlander Student Emergency Fund, matching the same amount donated by the undergraduate Student Senate in August.

Graduate students represented 23% of the university's student population as of 2019. They receive 70% of the emergency funds, largely because many of them have off-campus living expenses, while others are international students ineligible for federal government financial support, GSA President John Stefan explained.

"We had some extra funds in our reserve account and we've been looking for an appropriate way to spend that. We got wind that the Student Senate had made their donation and that gave us something to consider," said Stefan, a physics doctoral student from North Brunswick.

"We are trying to help our graduate students but we also want to make sure that the needs of the NJIT community itself are being taken care of. We know that it's an especially difficult time for some people. … With the winter coming up we just wanted to help out any way that we could."

NJIT President Joel Bloom commended the organization for their “thoughtful and selfless generosity.”

“The GSA's generous contribution to the fund is yet another example of student leadership and action at its finest," Bloom said. "While many may have pandemic fatigue, our student leaders are identifying ways to help their fellow Highlanders and offer support to the NJIT community."

Since the COVID-19 pandemic reached New Jersey last spring, $257,000 has been raised for the emergency fund and more than $236,000 has been dispersed to more than more than 500 students, university officials said.

Stefan noted that the fund is open to all full-time students and is confidential. "I certainly hope there's not any kind of stigma. We all at one point or another are going to experience some kind of hardship during this pandemic. Me personally, I would have no problem taking advantage of that if I needed it."

Separately, Stefan said his organization is working with NJIT administration to create a scholarship endowment for graduate students based on their financial need, leadership skills and involvement in the graduate community such as volunteerism. They're hoping to award the first round of scholarships for the fall 2021 semester.