The Achiever MJC TRIO Pre-College Programs Monthly Newsletter

October 2020 • Volume 2 • Issue 4

WHAT’S INSIDE

Frequently Asked Questions about the FAFSA

Community and Educational Resources

Message From Our Staff We understand that this time of year can be stressful and want you all to know that we acknowledge and Dear TRIO Students, appreciate all of the hard work that you continue to do. Don’t forge that you’re not in this alone and we are all Welcome to October everyone! We’ve been back for a here to support you! little over a month and we just want to thank all of you for your continued hard work! It’s been a little tricky at This month we hope to bring you all more engaging times but you all have continued to show up and do your presentations and fun activities so make sure to follow best. our IG page (@mjc_trioworks) and check your advisor’s Remind classroom regularly to stay up to date. October is one of the busiest times of the year here in the Stay safe. Stay positive. Spread love. TRIO office with FAFSA, CSU, UC and MJC apps now all open at the same time. Seniors, don’t forget to schedule appointments with your advisor so they can assist you Humbly Yours, with completing your applications on time! TRIO Staff

October 2020 Page | 1 The Achiever • FAFSA FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions About the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)

Q: What is the FAFSA and why is it important? Q: Can I fill out a FAFSA without my parent’s tax A: Completing and submitting your FAFSA is the only information? way to qualify for federal financial aid including Pell A: That depends. grant, work study and federal student loans. If you are a dependent student and your parents file taxes, that information must be provided on the FAFSA You also may need to file a FAFSA to qualify for state to qualify for grant and scholarship aid. and institutional aid and some scholarships. If you are a dependent student whose Q: Is the FAFSA really free? All students should parents do not file taxes, your advisor A: Yes! Beware of any sites that try to will help you during the process charge you to fill out a FAFSA - the file a FAFSA every to fill it out correctly. For other real FAFSA is free to fill out and year — even if they circumstances, please let your submit. Click here for the correct think they don’t advisor know so that we can work FAFSA website. with you to complete the FAFSA. qualify to receive Q: What if I already know I won’t financial aid! Q: I am already in college, do I need qualify for financial aid? Do I still to fill out a FAFSA again to receive neeed to fill out a FAFSA? financial aid? A: Yes! Not all financial aid is need based. A: Yes, a new FAFSA must be filed every You could still qualify for a merit-based year you are in school. Your financial aid is grant or scholarship that requires you to have filed determined yearly and schools use the new FAFSA to your FAFSA. For more specific options on the type of aid see if you still qualify for aid based on your current you might qualify for, reach out to your advisor financial situation.

Don’t miss out on free money - always file a FAFSA! Q: I am not a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident, can/ should I still fill out a FAFSA? Q: What documents do I need to fill out the FAFSA? A: Students who are not citizens or permanent A: The most important things you will need to fill residents but are California residents should fill out the out your FAFSA are your Social Security Number California Dream Act Application (CADAA) to see if they or Resident Number and your parent’s 2019 tax qualify for state and institutional aid. Click here to fill information. For a more in depth checklist, click here. out a Dream Act application.

Q: Q: Due to COVID-19, my family’s financial situation Q: When is the FAFSA due? has changed and my parents don’t make the same A: The priority deadline for filing your FAFSA (and the amount of money they did in 2019. Do we have to use CADAA) is March 2nd but you should file it as early as the 2019 tax information on the FAFSA? possible to maximise the amount of financial aid you A: You must still use the 2019 tax information for the qualify for. Remember students all over the country 2021-2022 FAFSA application. If your financial situation are applying for aid so you want to make sure you don’t has changed, contact the financial aid offices of the miss out on anything! schools you’re applying to in order to explain.

October 2020 Page | 2 The Achiever • Community Resources

Below we have gathered resources for students and families to take advantage of including: school related information and links to FAQs, community agencies and resources, public health information, mental health and self care information and social justice resources.

We will continue to update this page as more resources are made known to us.

Our Office Mental Health and Self Care Resources Community Resources Interim Director Jorge Camarena - [email protected] Mental Health Conditions Meal Pick Up for Students Learn about the different mental health condi- 2020 Summer Meal Service Sites Upward Bound Staff tions that can and are being triggered as a result Ceres Unified School District Alyssa Nelson - [email protected] of coronavirus, the economy and repeated racist Modesto City Schools District Maria Ramirez - [email protected] incidents and deaths. (click here for Spanish) Read this article on traumatic stress. Patterson Unified School District Educational Talent Search Staff Read this article that describes Racial Battle Fatigue Riverbank Unified School District Benjamin Cimoli - [email protected] [Video] Race, Ethnicity and Toxic Stress Directory for Local Food Pantries Yuliana Jimenez - [email protected] Stanislaus County 211 Self Care Resources Community Agencies Administrative Staff Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective Love Our Neighbors April Sanchez - [email protected] (BEAM) United Way of Stanislaus County Elena Bernal - [email protected] Black Mental Health Alliance Black Mental Wellness Health and Public Safety Educational Resources POC Online Classroom The Steve Fund World Health Organization Internet Access Ourselves Black Center for Disease Control and Prevention MCS WiFi Hotspots Stanford’s Guide to Coping with COVID-19 Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center Available Low Cost Programs Coping with Stress During a Pandemic California Department of Public Health Academic and Tutoring Resources 14 Small Self-Care Tips Stanislaus County Public Health Services Stanislaus County 2020-21 Plan (click here for Spanish) Central Valley Suicide Prevention Hotline Resources for Undocumented Students and MCS 2020-21 School Year Info 888.506.5991 (24-hour line) Families Setting Up Zoom Free Immigration Legal Services for MJC students Stanislaus County Library Suicide Prevention & Crisis Services Immigrants Rising MCS Distance Learning 800.273.8255 (24-hour line) El Concilio Khan Academy Test Preparation Crisis Text Line: text “COURAGE” To: 741741 College Board Free 24/7 and Confidential ACT College Admissions Stanislaus County Behavioral Health and University of California Recovery Services Crisis Line UC COVID-19 FAQs 209.558.4600; 888.376.6246 (24-hour line) California State University CSU COVID-19 FAQs Modesto Junior College

COVID-19 Resources from Congressman Josh Harder

Representative Josh Harder’s office offers free assistance to constituents experiencing a hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you or anyone you know needs help finding food services, financial assistance, or with an unemployment claim – please contact his office at 209-579-5458 and they will do everything they can to help. To access COVID-19 resources click here. To view other casework services click here.

La oficina del Representante Josh Harder ofrece asistencia gratuita a las familias que tienen dificultades durante la pan- demia COVID-19. Si usted o alguien que conoce necesita ayuda para encontrar servicios de alimentos, asistencia financiera o con una reclamación por desempleo, comuníquese con su oficina 209-579-5458 y harán todo lo posible para ayudar. Para ver los recursos de COVID-19 haga clic aquí. Para ver otros servicios haga clic aquí.

October 2020 Page | 3 The Achiever • Educational Resources on Social Justice

Educational Resources on Crystal Fleming Film and Television Racism and Inequality • Racism Without Racists by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva • Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence by • The Blind Side Understanding the Context of Racism & Derald Wing Sue • The Pursuit of Happyness Current Events • The Racial Healing Handbook by Anneliese A. Singh • The Hate U Give Let’s Get to the Root of Racial Injustice • Everyday Antiracism edited by Mica Pollock • Racism and the Reactions to George Floyd and Others • Martin Luther King Jr. • Selma How Anti-Racism Hurts Black People “I Have a Dream” • The Help “Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” “Letter From Birmingham Jail” • Bleeding Blue “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” Stride Toward Freedom • I Am Not Your Negro • Blackthink by Jesse Owens • Black-ish Ways to Take Action as an Ally or • I Have Changed by Jesse Owens • Walkout Champion For People of Color • Warriors Don’t Cry: The Searing Memoir of the • Stand and Deliver How to Be an Ally if You are a Person with Privilege Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High by • Freedom Writers How Not to be an Ally Melba Beals Building Allies Anti-Racism Resources • The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His Additional List of Anti-Racism Resources White Mother by James McBride • How It Feels to Be Colored Me by Books and Articles to Read Zora Neale Hurston

On Anti-Racism and Inequality • Love Your Enemies by Arthur C. Brooks Literature and Stories Written by and About People • White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to of Color Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, PhD • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by • John McWhorter’s Review of White Fragility • Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou •Orlando Patterson’s Review of ‘Please Stop Helping • Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin Us’ and ‘Shame’ • The Mother by Gwendolyn Brooks • How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi • We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks • Talking to Strangers by Malcom Gladwell • A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines • David and Goliath by Malcom Gladwell • The Sky is Grey by Ernest Gaines • Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon • The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas • Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her • The Blind Side by Michael Lewis Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper • The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner • A Monument to Our Shared Purpose by Allen C. • Love War Stories by Ivelisse Rodriguez Guelzo and James Hankins • Native Country of My Heart by Cherrie Moraga • Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson • Retablos: Stories from a Life Lived Along the Border • The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin by Octavio Solis • Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad • My Time Among the Whites: Notes from an • So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo Unfinished Education by Jennine Capó Crucet • The Content of Our Character by Shelby Steele • Carver [Geo Washington]: A Life in Poems by • : Mass Incarceration in the Age of Marilyn Nelson Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander • Dominicana: A Novel by Angie Cruz • The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism • Barely Missing Everything by Matt Mendez for the Twenty-First Century by Grace Lee Boggs • Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, • When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold Discovering Ourselves edited by Glory Edim History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century • Caucasia by Danzy Senna America by Ira Katznelson • Native Son by Richard Wright • The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson • Sula by Toni Morrison • How to Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, • Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide by

October 2020 Page | 4