The latest AT&T Lunch & Learn, held on Wednesday, Feb. 10, taught students about how to find available scholarships.

Assistant Director of Financial Aid Brittney Mauk led the seminar that gave students insight into how and where to search for possible financial opportunities.

One resource Mauk pointed out was under the Traditional Undergraduate tab on my.lakeland.edu, accessed by clicking on Financial Aid and scrolling down the page to find the “Outside Scholarship Opportunities” heading.

Under this heading is a list of additional resources both for searching for scholarships and for those provided to Lakeland College students.

“We update these as we get them,” by deadline, said Mauk of the listed scholarship opportunities.

One website resource that was discussed in more detail was Fastweb, where a student can set up a profile that will take the provided information and create a narrowed list of scholarship options for which a student may be eligible and that match the criteria entered, catering the results to, for example, a particular area of study.

In addition to the customizable features of fastweb.com, “there is a lot of really good articles” on the site about financial aid in general, said Mauk, and there are “internship opportunities, as well.”

An additional note Mauk relayed about Fastweb was that it also has information about scholarships for graduate school students.

Shifting the focus to what a student would need when applying for selected scholarships, the topic of reference letters was discussed.

Mauk had three main tips concerning this aspect of applications: first, “Be courteous when asking for letters of reference.” Second, “Letters of reference should not be from your parents.” And last, “We’re looking for coaches, leaders,” teachers; people who are not related to the student.

Some applications may require an unofficial transcript, which can be found on my.lakeland.edu, under the Traditional Undergraduate tab, by clicking on Academics and navigating to the “Unofficial Transcript” heading on the page.

For those interested in finding scholarships, Mauk said, “It should be an ongoing search year-round,” even going so far as to suggest a student spend one to two hours a week devoted to searching and applying for scholarships.

More information about accessing and applying for scholarships can be found on Lakeland.edu, which has multiple web links and resources available, including a list of scholarship sites students can use in their search.

For help with finding and applying for scholarships, there will be a Scholarship Workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 16 from 11:45 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. in the 1862 Lounge.

On Thursday, Feb. 18, and again on Tuesday, March 1, there will be sessions to help students apply for financial aid, including FAFSA help, with both being held in the Campus Center Lounge from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

An added resource for students is ¢hange Matters, a new student organization with the aim of educating students about financial literacy. For more information about this group, or to join, contact Laura Lange, assistant director of financial aid, at [email protected].

Additional questions about financial aid can be directed to Mauk, at [email protected], or Lange; both are located in the Office of Financial Aid in WAK 108.

The next AT&T Lunch & Learn, titled “Planning for Graduate School,” will be held on Thursday, Feb. 18 at 11:15 a.m. in the 1862 Lounge. For more information, contact a member of the Student Success and Engagement Team.