Entering his final semester majoring in kinesiology, Ryan Hatcher ’23 found himself homeless.

His legal guardian — the woman who raised him and he considers his mom — was notified in June that her property manager had sold the home they were renting, and they had 30 days to move out. He bounced around a bit, living in his car briefly and with another family that proved toxic, before he was able to secure a room in UCF’s NorthView.

It came with a cost: That was the first time in his four years in college that Hatcher, who paid for both Valencia and UCF with the Department of Children and Families’ Foster Child Tuition Waiver, had taken out a student loan. He needed the money to cover the cost of his apartment.

UCF Day of Giving is April 10. Consider supporting UCF students through difficult times by giving to the Student Emergency Fund.

Then, he learned he also needed an emergency root canal.

“I’m someone who doesn’t really like to ask for support until I really feel like I need it,” Hatcher says. “I try to do things by myself as much as I can. But I didn’t have insurance, and I didn’t have the money to pay for a root canal.”

It’s exactly the type of unplanned predicament that the Student Emergency Fund is designed to help with.

“The purpose of the Student Emergency Fund is to ensure that students have the financial support they need when faced with those short-term crises or emergencies, which can look different for each and every student,” says Tammie Nadeau, director of Student Care Services. “Our role is to ensure that those basic, short-term needs — whether it’s housing, food, transportation or medical — are met by the Emergency Fund Committee so that students can be successful and move forward.”

According to Nadeau, her team receives roughly 100 requests a month for assistance. Typically, they’re in response to an emergency, such as the loss of a job or a natural disaster, including when a nearby apartment complex flooded and students needed to find — and pay for — temporary housing. But there are also simply random events, such as when a student’s car caught on fire and she lost her textbooks and laptop and didn’t have the money to replace everything.

That’s when students can apply for up to $2,500 per degree for assistance. Every Thursday, a committee comprised of Nadeau and staff members from student care services, financial aid, the registrar’s office and student accounts services gather to review applications and ensure students have exhausted every other resource. Not every student will qualify for financial aid reasons. Those that do are invited to meet remotely with the committee and review their request. For Hatcher, that included sharing his X-rays, the cost of the procedure and how he had used his other funding.

“It’s nice to know that as a student, UCF provides a security net in the form of the Student Emergency Fund.” — Ryan Hatcher ’23

“It’s remarkable how this fund has been elevated to a place where we’re not only able to support our students with their basic needs, but also to respond to emergencies and crises as they occur,” says Nadeau, who says they often receive calls from other universities asking how they’re able to get so many different departments to the table and award funds so quickly. “Because it’s so easy to get derailed when something unexpected comes up. Without this funding, many of our students probably wouldn’t still be at UCF — or in college. Many times, this fund is a last resource for students who have nowhere else to go.

For Hatcher, the funding helped ensure he completed his bachelor’s on time — as the first person in his birth family to earn a college degree. He’s now in his second semester of grad school at UCF, pursuing a master’s in public administration because he wants to “help others like myself.”

“It’s corny to say this, but the people at Student Care Services really do care,” he says. “They’re consistently at the forefront of making going to UCF the best experience possible for students. And it’s nice to know that as a student, UCF provides a security net in the form of the Student Emergency Fund.”

For students in need, please fill out and submit the Student Emergency Fund application.