For Brighton resident Kiara Rosario, commencement at Roxbury Community College last Friday felt particularly momentous. The single mom began her journey in higher education four years ago after escaping a volatile relationship.
“I said to myself, ‘That’s it. I have to teach those that doubted me and prove to myself that I could do it,’ ” the 36-year-old said in an interview.
But as Rosario prepares to take the next step in her educational journey she can’t help but feel uncertainty, especially over financial aid. With an associate’s degree now in hand, she plans to attend Boston College as an undergraduate in the fall and fund her tuition with a mix of federal financial aid and school-based scholarship money.
Given the recent decimation of staff at the U.S. Department of Education under the Trump administration — and potential impacts on financial aid disbursements — Rosario worries that her financial plan might be on shaky ground.
“I’m really walking on eggshells right now,” she said.
The Trump administration has frozen billions of dollars in federal funds at Harvard, abruptly revoked visas of international students, and pressured schools to scale back diversity, equity and inclusion programs and scholarships. All of these actions have added to a climate of worry and uncertainty for many students contemplating their next step.
Harvard senior Victor Flores is about to graduate with a degree in government, but he’s worried about his job prospects. He hopes to work on administrative policy in a local government or at the federal level.
“The job market right now is pretty tough,” he said. “I am looking at the future very tentatively.”
Securing a job wasn’t his only preoccupation during the final weeks of the semester. He was also busy coordinating a graduation celebration for Latino students. Harvard canceled university support for affinity group graduations in April, following pressure from the Trump administration.
Flores said the experience helped strengthen his bond with fellow students.
“We as students have really coalesced in a way that one can only do in an environment where there is so much scrutiny from the university and these external forces,” he said.
Other grads-to-be are navigating other challenges. Although pro-Palestinian campus protest activity over the conflict in Gaza was quieter this year compared to last spring, changes to university disciplinary policies have impacted some graduating students.
Mila Halgren, a brain and cognitive sciences doctoral student at MIT, successfully defended her thesis earlier this semester. But she’s uncertain whether she’ll actually leave MIT with a diploma after breaking new campus rules over where and when students can hold protests.
“They’ve banned me from large segments of campus and put me on escalating levels of probation,” Halgren said. She fears those infractions could put her degree on the line.
“I don’t know if the university will declare it void,” she said.
An MIT spokeswoman declined to share the status of Halgren’s degree conferral and would only confirm that Halgren was enrolled in a graduate program at the school.
Other students said they’ve felt pressure to watch what they say in the current political climate. Omri Attar is about to graduate with a masters degree from Harvard Kennedy School.
“It is extremely challenging to talk about leadership or humanity or human rights or even military action right now around the world because you’re being targeted almost immediately from where you’re from or what your political views (are),” he said.
Attar said he appreciates Harvard’s “Intellectual Vitality” initiative, which encourages students with opposing political views to respectfully debate and engage with each other. He said the program is a welcome development on a campus that’s the subject of intense political scrutiny.
“I think it’s still a process and I have my reservations from the situation,” he said. “But they’re really trying hard. I have to give them that.”
Attar plans to return home to Israel after graduating. And while his future plans aren’t solidified yet, he sees these challenging times as an opportunity to connect with others.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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