{"id":6766,"date":"2020-11-13T15:01:52","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T15:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=6766"},"modified":"2020-11-13T16:04:25","modified_gmt":"2020-11-13T16:04:25","slug":"buying-the-essentials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2020\/11\/13\/buying-the-essentials\/","title":{"rendered":"Buying The Essentials"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Undergraduate student, April Davis, began her studies at the University of Reading in September 2020 \u2013 in the middle of the pandemic. This week, April tells CONNECTED how she was only able to take up her place at Reading due to the generosity of our donors.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"April, who comes from London, is studying a Business Management<\/a> degree at Reading. One of the reasons she chose to study here was because of family ties:<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandfather went to Henley Business School, so I\u2019m following in his footsteps. My cousin is also studying here, which is brilliant. It\u2019s so important to have that family support nearby, especially since I can\u2019t go home now that London is under tier two restrictions and a new lockdown has begun.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/strong>April is from a low-income, single-wage family and the money she was awarded when she started at Reading has already made a massive impact on her life at university. She explained:<\/p>\n

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\u201cTextbooks can be very expensive, and at the start of term I had to borrow \u00a375 from my mum for two books that are essential for my course. That might not sound like much, but it is to us.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cMy student loan covers my accommodation fees but nothing else, so I\u2019ve recently started a part-time role as a lifeguard. But work is 30 minutes away and I have to pay to travel there which isn\u2019t ideal. I also have the overshadowing worry that the pool might have to close due to COVID-19 restrictions meaning I\u2019ll lose my income temporarily.<\/p>\n

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\u201cReceiving this money from donors has removed all the stress I was feeling about my financial situation, enabling me to pay my mum back and buy other essentials.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Discover just how much this money means to April by watching the message she has recorded:<\/p>\n