Policy

We advocate for equitable financial aid and higher education systems.

Policy Priorities

The policy team works with students, practitioners, and uAspire advisors to identify challenges students face accessing financial aid and develop advocacy priorities each year.

Policy Fellowship

Through a paid fellowship, college students build advocacy skills and influence policymakers to make higher education more affordable and equitable.

Fellows are undergraduate students in California, Massachusetts, and New York, who are Pell-eligible or have DACA or TPS status. The fellowship builds a pipeline for underrepresented voices into politics and ensures policymakers are hearing directly from those most affected by policies.

Student Fellows

Jovita Bell

Brandeis University

Ani Chaglasian

UCLA

Ixchel Valencia Diaz

San Diego Mesa College

Eden Elfathy

University of Massachusetts Boston

Karol Guaman-Palaguachi

CUNY Queens College

Maysha Meherin

CUNY Queens College

"We see firsthand the obstacles students across the country face affording college. We experience the problems. We know the needed solutions.”

Through a paid fellowship program, uAspire supports college students to build advocacy skills to change financial aid systems to be more equitable, simple, and transparent. uAspire’s fellowship program is designed for college students who have experienced navigating financial aid systems while pursuing their degree.

Over the course of a semester, fellows develop the knowledge and skills to work with those in power to influence policy. This includes meeting with government officials, writing and submitting press materials, and researching policy issues.

Eligibility

Applicants must be college undergraduates who are 18+ years old. Students must be Pell Grant recipients or hold DACA/TPS status, and be full or part-time students with at least one semester of credit attending college in California, Massachusetts, or New York.

uAspire is committed to building a policy fellows cohort with diverse lived and college-attending experiences that equip our team to advance student-centered change in higher education policy. Candidates are curious about policymaking, outspoken about their ideas, passionate about making change, and committed to issues of equity in higher education!