“EJP’s mission does not end once a person leaves prison,” states Nia Hill, EJP’s scholarship and travel grant coordinator. EJP’s scholarships provide pathways for EJP students and others impacted by incarceration to continue pursuing their educational goals.
EJP has been offering academic scholarships since 2011. Scholarship funds can be applied to any post-secondary academic purpose, such as purchasing textbooks and supplies, tuition, and fees. Nia points out that, especially with the pandemic and a move to online classes and spaces, recipients have used EJP scholarship money to buy laptops in order to adapt to the ongoing changes.
EJP provides scholarships in multiple categories, including family members of someone who is incarcerated, to help with the financial burden that often coincides with having a loved one in prison. Other scholarships include those for formerly incarcerated individuals, family members of IDOC or IDJJ staff persons, individuals who have been incarcerated at an IDJJ juvenile facility, as well as those who have been incarcerated in Mexico and the US or have been deported from the US to Mexico.
EJP’s $1,000 scholarships could make a difference to someone needing to meet educational costs. “Unfortunately, last semester, we only had 6 applicants,” Nia says. She states that past awardees have greatly benefited from the financial aid and that she would love to see more people taking advantage of this resource.
She plans to hold two information sessions on the scholarships in fall 2022 and to continue recruiting applicants from other organizations and programs that focus on reentry.
For those interested in or wanting to apply to EJP scholarships (deadline being November 15th), or learn about other EJP resources, more information can be found on our website: https://educationjustice.net/resources/