The situation
Maria's family could not pay full tuition, and the nearest other school was a six-hour bus ride. She had completed senior high and was working part-time when she heard about Helping Hands from a church partner. She nearly did not apply.
What we did together
Admissions opened the conversation with a scholarship intake in the same form as her inquiry. A working-student placement was arranged with the campus bakery. Wellness Center checked her in during her first quarter, and again at the start of every academic year. Two faculty mentors were named — one for academics, one for pastoral life.
How it played out
Maria carried a working-learner schedule across four years, with one semester paused and resumed when a family illness intervened. Pastoral and faculty mentors stayed the same the whole way through. Tuition was a mix of partial scholarship and earned working-learner credits.