Nathan Roura

Nathan is a student at University of Colorado Boulder and is a former Campaign Intern at Evolve.

Why is education important to you?

Education has provided me with the tools and resources to think critically about the world around me. It has opened many doors for me and I am grateful to have had access to it from such a young age. I always remember to value what I have learned and stay motivated to continue learning throughout my life. However, I know that many people don't have the same access to education. It is important to me that we work to ensure people have access to a good and quality education regardless of who they are or where they're from.

How has California's lack of education funding negatively impacted you?

I grew up going to California public schools. Because my high school was the only high school in the school district, classes were often overcrowded. I rarely had a class size under 30 and because teachers and counselors were not paid enough in comparison to other school districts nearby, many staff members felt pressure to leave. When I look back on my experience now, I understand why they would want to leave even if they love their job. But unfortunately, the lack of funding and resources affects our ability to learn.

How has the increasing cost of college impacted you?

I was always told by the people I looked up to that college is always worth the costs. But now I question this on a daily basis of whether it was right for me to take such a big financial risk. When I made the decision to go to college out of state, I initially thought I had more support through scholarships and financial aid. However, one of my scholarships was taken away when I decided to change my major and financial aid was not as helpful as I needed it to be. While I am lucky to have the ability to access federal loans, I am constantly stressed by rapidly rising interest rates. I am working as much as I can to try to offset some of the debt I have but it always feels like I'm barely making any dents. I am now considering graduating a semester early to ease some of the financial pressure in the future.

I know that I am not the only one feeling the pressure of rising costs of college. I and many of my peers on campus ration our food more by skipping meals so that we save money. A student organization recently saw this as a problem and started pop up food pantries around campus once a month. I have heard stories of other students living in their cars in order to feel less pressure from college costs. Students should not have to worry about whether or not they can eat because of the costs of college.