Ventura County Community College students who are enrolled in at least six units during the fall semester and who qualify for the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund had the opportunity to make $1000 in under one hour.

Throughout August, September and October, eligible students were sent an email with the subject line “Fall 2021 HEERF AWARD NOTIFICATION.” A total of 6,000 HEERF Grants have been distributed, yet more than 3,400 students have not accepted the offer.

Moorpark College Financial Aid Officer Kim Korinke spoke about how she is proud that she is helping the students.

“Empowering students to finish the college goal is so rewarding,” said Korinke. “I think all students should apply for financial aid, but sadly only half of our students do and to me that is a tragedy.”

Students are encouraged to check their email spam or inbox folders if they are unable to find the emailed information. Freshman Andrew Tran was thankful that the grant, which was originally offered to combat COVID-19 educational disruptions, allowed him to be able to focus on school rather than financial issues.

“My parents don’t have a lot saved up for me in terms of college savings, so being able to find ways to cover my college costs now puts me on the right path for staying out of debt,” said Tran. “It makes community college even more enticing in my eyes so that I continue on my journey of becoming a huge supporter of the community college post-high school path.”

Freshman Trevor Monette explained how grateful he was to be able to use the money for unexpected expenses.

“I recently had to replace the shocks and struts on my car and that purchase really impacted me,” said Monette. ”Thankfully, with the money I received from the grant, most of the money I spent was replenished.”

Whether the money is used today, tomorrow or in the future, the HEERF Grant is a financial aid option for students due to COVID-19 disruptions. For more information visit the Moorpark College website.