Raising Capital

Today was an interesting day for me. I calculated the cost of all the programs and classes I plan to take up to the end of Summer 2014 and that final cost came out to be $16,900! I realized that I would have to spend the next few months applying for as many scholarships as I possibly could to chip away at this cost. The fifteen grand price tag factors in my current student loans from the fall, and those I will incur during the spring. It also calculates the cost for studying abroad in China for three weeks in May, and the cost of taking 6 credits worth of classes during the summer. This all seems like a lot, however if I want to remain on track for my Dual-Degree program, I must take those credits this summer which end up totaling more than $6,500 without factoring in room & board. Needless to say, I felt overwhelmed.

I simply could have taken this sitting down but I decided that I will need to take an active role in ensuring I stay away from as much debt as I possibly can. That is why I am making the goal of acquiring $15,000 worth of scholarships by this summer to pay for my normal room & board college costs, as well as my Plus 3 study abroad trip, and my Summer term credits. I began doing research into the stages of getting a book published, and determining how much money one could expect to make off a decently selling book. While I did spend a decent amount of time researching and gained a lot of insight into the publishing world, I do not feel confidently that selling my book would be the best way to fund my college education.

I also remembered that I plan to apply for SRI this summer and that could help change up the direction of  my thinking. If I am selected to participate in the Pitt EXCEL Summer Research Initiative, I can participate in research this summer with a Pitt professor while ensuring room & board expenses will be paid. The $2,000 stipend could also help offset some of my summer credit expenses as well. More importantly I would gain valuable experience researching a subject I find interesting. I feel that scholarships along with the SRI stipend would be the best way to fund my activities till the end of Summer 2014.

In conclusion, while calculating the cost of my activities may have been surprising to me at first it has instilled a new sense of pressure to make sure I do the right things to finance my college lifestyle. Hopefully today is a springboard toward my financial success in the months to come. With January through May left for me to acquire funds, I should be more than able to raise the desired capital for my summer plans.

C.K. Ukaga

The Beginning

So this has been pestering me for a while now, and I finally decided...I am going to start a blog. I feel that this will be an easy way for me to reach out publicly to the world and voice my opinions. The reason I named my blog "Greatness on the Rise" was because I hope that by expressing my views, I will be able to help my generation, the one currently "rising" into maturity, achieve the great things that we have the potential to tackle. I also want to use this as a way to further develop my writing skills outside of a formal college class setting. In the end, I hope that this blog helps greatly change my life as an individual striving for personal success, and also that it can help change the world by challenging and bettering my readers. Thanks for reading, and welcome.

C. K. Ukaga