My name is Jordan S. and I am a third year Medical Radiation Technology student at Cambrian College. Throughout my life, my parents have faced many adversities which have left them unable to financially support me and my three brothers. My dad struggled with several chronic illnesses since he was 16 years old. 12 years ago, my dad had a heart transplant and contracted Necrotizing Fasciitis, causing extensive damage to his kidneys and other organs. He had to undergo years of dialysis until he was able to receive a kidney transplant. Five years ago, he was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer and last year was diagnosed with lymph node and severe bone cancer. Unfortunately, last year my dad lost his battle with cancer and passed away. To make things worse, as a result of my dad’s long list of health conditions, he was declined anytime he tried to get life insurance. The only life insurance my dad had was an $8000 life insurance policy that he got from his mom when he was a child, before his multiple diagnoses. If my dad had only been given the opportunity to get more life insurance, my entire family's lives would be in a much better position than we are today. The $8000 my dad had hardly covered funeral costs, leaving us to struggle to pay the mortgage on my family's house, payments for two vehicles, and support four kids. It was already so stressful and emotional grieving the loss of my dad, but it was truly unsettling to be grieving while at the same time wondering how we would afford his funeral. In addition, my mom, who is the main financial provider for our family, was diagnosed with ulcerated melanoma just over a year ago. This required her to take extensive time off work.
I have very little support from OSAP and no support from my family to help me through my financial struggles, as they are also struggling themselves. Due to these unforeseen circumstances, I have had to take on several additional roles to support my family. I used to travel back home often to help out with household duties and to take my youngest brother to hockey practices and appointments. I recently have started selling some of my personal belongings and have also created a small business building custom furniture to help get myself through school as I have no other source of income.
With all of this going on, it makes it extremely hard to focus on my academic studies. I fear I will not be able to support my family or complete my education as a result of the lack of financial support throughout my post-secondary education. My goal is to complete my Medical Radiation Technology program and enter into a post-graduate Medical Resonance Imaging program in fall 2021. This scholarship would allow me to worry less about my financial situation and focus more on my studies and accomplishing my goals.
