By Sandra C. Roa, University Communications and Marketing
Silina Lee had just about every life challenge this past year. She moved back to Tampa from New York with her six-year-old daughter to be with her dying mother, went through a divorce, experienced homelessness and was unemployed.
鈥淚 was having a hard time concentrating. I didn鈥檛 even have a place to sit and do homework,鈥� said Lee, who just received her master鈥檚 degree in cybercrime from the USF College of Behavioral and Community Sciences
At one point, Lee was in a car accident and left her laptop in the wrecked vehicle meaning she couldn鈥檛 hand her assignments in on time. Determined to graduate, she turned to USF鈥檚 vast resource system for support.
Lee qualified for a $500 grant administered by the Office of Financial Aid. She immediately used the money toward a deposit on a one-bedroom apartment. This gave Lee and her child much needed security. She had served four years in the military as a Marine and worked closely with the Office of Veterans Success to coordinate additional financial aid. The help was the first step to keeping Lee on track of meeting her career goals of fighting cyber criminals.
