The money was gone
Her parents started saving for her college education when Shaquice DaCosta was born, investing in College Saver Share Certificates for her and her brother, Aston DaCosta III.
When DaCosta’s brother joined the Marine Corps, he gave his college money to her. Still, all the money from both accounts was gone by the end of her sophomore year.
“This is not like the way someone needs money for a new pair of shoes,” DaCosta said. “It’s ‘I can’t finish my college education.’”
Higher education is important to the DaCosta family. Shaquice is the first in the family to attend a traditional college. Both her mother, Ann Marie, and her father, Aston, are in the Marine Corps and attended various institutions through programs funded by the military.
Read about other great UNC students who needed financial aid
When DaCosta graduated from high school in 2009, she also thought about a military career. But with the family already scattered – she and her dad are in Jacksonville, her brother is in San Diego and her mother is based just outside Tokyo – her father said he would like to keep one civilian in the family. And he wanted DaCosta to go to college, preferably the one Michael Jordan and Mia Hamm attended.
“It’s always been Carolina, even when I was a kid,” DaCosta said.
DaCosta’s financial aid package at UNC included a Pell grant, an SAT scholarship, small grants and work-study. One of her jobs was at PlayMakers Repertory Company and another was at the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid, putting together packets for other students who needed financial aid.
“I need more!”
“And sometimes I would get these calls from students who were panicking,” DaCosta said. “They’d say, ‘I need more!’”
That’s the situation she found herself in when the share certificate money ran out. While taking classes at UNC this summer, DaCosta signed up with Sweeps, a company that matches students with odd jobs like cleaning and moving. And in her senior year, she will use the GI Bill money her parents and their dependents qualify for as service members.
“These days, a high school diploma is not enough. Even a bachelor’s degree is not enough,” said DaCosta, who is majoring in psychology. “If I want to be self-employed as a counselor, I’ll have to go the full route and get my Ph.D.”
Published September 24, 2012.