July
8

By: Shelby Gray

Carrying irrigation pipes, picking vegetables or milking cows is just part of a typical day for a summer C of O student working to pay for his/her room and board. While other college students spend their summer days sleeping in, C of O students are working campus jobs.

The Summer Work Program (SWP) is a room and board scholarship opportunity that provides students the option to work either a 6 or 12 week session during the summer to pay room and board for the following year. Students working six weeks can cover the room and board for the fall semester, and students working all 12 weeks can work off an entire year’s room and board. Additionally, by participating, students receive room and board during the summer program.

Junior Renay Renyer, assigned as a counselor at the College’s summer camp for area children, is just one of the many students who rely on the program every year. One of six siblings, she is the third Renyer to attend College of the Ozarks. She and her younger sister are currently participating in the SWP. Renyer said that with such a large family, money for room and board would be hard to come by. “If it weren’t for the Summer Work Program, I would have to stay at home and work a summer job,” she said. “I don’t know how I’d be able to pay the difference.”

The number of students working varies slightly each year. Each summer the College accepts roughly 500 students, about one third of its student body. Numbers are based on the College’s need for labor, so that all students involved will have a job to do.

Students who demonstrate the most financial need, based on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), receive first consideration for the scholarship that equates to roughly $2,800 dollars per six weeks. The scholarship money can only be applied toward room and board.

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