Andrew Whitcomb
Andrew attended a vocational high school with his trade being Business Technology. College seemed like the next logical step for him. For that reason, he decided to attend UMass Lowell with a major in Business. His mom has always been supportive of her children going to college. Andrew is a quadruplet and gets to see two of his sisters on campus as well. His other brother goes to a community college and hopes to transfer to UMass Lowell in the future. Supporting 4 college students at the same time has not been easy for his single mother. “Financial troubles have always been there. I am a quadruplet after all, and all 4 of us are going to college at the same time.” This is one of the reasons why Andrew wished to pursue a higher education. He wanted “To make a better life for myself and advance in the world father than my past relatives have.” Andrew knows what it’s like to be food insecure. In order to help others, Andrew works at the university food pantry during the school year. He was also offered an internship in Congressmen Seth Moulton’s office and is currently considering it. A downside to this opportunity is that it is unpaid. Given the fact that Andrew needs to save money over the summer, this experience might not be plausible. |
“I was offered an internship in Congressmen Seth Moulton’s office but as it doesn’t pay, I am hesitant to accept his offer.”
The largest obstacle Andrew has faced is due to finances. He has been applying to scholarships in order to avoid loans with their predatory interest rates in order to continue his college journey. Dropping out is not an option for him because it would lead him and his family right back to where they started.
“If any of us drop out, we will end up with a minimum wage job for the rest of our lives and never be able to advance.”
Though navigating through the different obstacles of college has been difficult, Andrew is confident that he will be able to come out strong.
“I believe that with a little bit of hard work I can achieve just as much as anyone else.”
The largest obstacle Andrew has faced is due to finances. He has been applying to scholarships in order to avoid loans with their predatory interest rates in order to continue his college journey. Dropping out is not an option for him because it would lead him and his family right back to where they started.
“If any of us drop out, we will end up with a minimum wage job for the rest of our lives and never be able to advance.”
Though navigating through the different obstacles of college has been difficult, Andrew is confident that he will be able to come out strong.
“I believe that with a little bit of hard work I can achieve just as much as anyone else.”