Todd Squires, Butte College

After working for five years as a monitor technician in the ICU at Enloe Hospital in Chico, Todd Squires decided to go back to school to become a nurse. “I looked at the nurses one day, and they were having a blast. I decided then that that’s what I wanted to do.” During the time Todd was getting his prerequisites, Enloe Hospital paid $400 of his tuition, per semester. Now Todd works part time on a per diem at the hospital while he obtains his nursing degree. Luckily for him, Todd’s wife makes enough money to cover their house and car payments. “Butte College is cheap; it will cost me $2,500 for two years to cover fees and books. I will graduate and make between $50,000 and $60,000.” Todd thinks that education should be available for everybody. “The idea of raising tuition and providing financial aid to those who need it sounds reasonable to me. We are still paying $15,000 to pay off a loan for my wife’s master’s degree, but it was well worth it.”

Teng Yang, 25, California State University, Chico

Like many college students, Teng Yang changed his major, from Psychology to Biology, while attending California State University, Chico. Because of this decision, it will take Tang six years to receive his bachelor’s degree. This past year, Tang did an internship at Stanford University that helps prepare students for medical school. “They recommended that I fix some of my C’s and retake classes to be in a better position to apply to medical school, which delayed my graduation even further,” he says. “But Chico is cheap compared to other schools.” Tang has received financial aid the entire time he has attended Chico State, and has also worked on campus and been a resident advisor to help pay for his college education. “If I had a time limit of four years to finish my degree, I would have been without a degree or not in the field I want to work in. They were going to cut my financial aid, but with the Stanford program saying that I needed to up my grades, I filed an appeal. They normally cut you off at 180, and I will be at 184 units when I graduate. What I say to the taxpayers is this: Think of it as an investment; you have paid for it, but I will repay it many times over in the long run. When I get out I will pay taxes. Otherwise, we will have a society of fools.”

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