University of Illinois Springfield sophomore Nekira Cooper is putting herself through school by piecing together grants, loans, a scholarship, a part-time job off campus and a federal work study.
She’s not alone. Statistics show the cost of higher education increases every year. That is not true of people's incomes.
“It did have to come out of pocket a little because financial aid did not cover all of it,” UIS senior Kyle Palmer said.
Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon is on a mission to keep Illinois' colleges affordable so students who are educated at places like UIS can go on to compete with the rest of the world.
“When I was a kid we talked about competing against Indiana," Simon said. "Now we need to be able to compete against India."
The Monetary Award Program is one option for students in need, but with budgets being squeezed every which way, those are not as readily available.
Simon's appearance at UIS was featured by WICS-TV 20 on October 23, 2012.
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