(WAND) - Among the many Central Illinoisans whose lives have been heavily disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic are college students. But emergency aid for college students announced Tuesday should make this difficult period a little smoother.
The COVID-19 pandemic has sent Illinois college students home to finish the semester online.
"It's just kind of been difficult to find motivation," said Millikin University junior Valeria Chavez. "It's hard not being in a school environment, and sitting in a class with everyone."
"It's very, very surreal," added Millikin senior Liam Hayden. "This is something I don't think anybody ever expected."
"Honestly, I don't feel like I'm getting the whole nursing experience as I would like to, because I'm more of a hands-on learner," said Millikin nursing student Astrid Calixto.
While the academics continue, other aspects of the college experience are gone, especially for graduating seniors, like Hayden.
"It has killed any social life that I had," he said. "My graduation has been canceled, so I can't walk at the end of the year."
And for college students working in businesses that are now shut down, reduced income is another stress.
"A lot of my friends did end up losing their jobs," Chavez said. "Since I'm a violinist, a lot of my income was freelancing and gigs, and obviously all of that got canceled."
To offer some financial relief to college students, Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth announced $218 million for Illinois colleges and universities on Tuesday. The schools are required to use the funding for cash grants to students.
"I feel like most college students need this money, because supposedly, if we don't pay our college loans for this semester, we can't register for next semester," Calixto said. "That actually kinda puts us on delay."
"For me, any stimulus checks I'm gonna get are gonna go straight towards textbooks, toward student loans," Hayden said. "It's a very month-to-month situation where a lot of college students don't have any savings.
The allocation of funds to each Illinois university can be found here.
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