Managing school expenses with volunteer work is possible with Service+
Morgan Hedges finds time for rewarding volunteer hours while earning funds for tuition, daily budget
Managing school expenses with volunteer work is possible with Service+
Morgan Hedges made the decision to attend ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University Regionals partly due to her desire to keep costs down with lower tuition and the chance to live at home while she went to school rather than living on campus.
But, besides the close proximity and lower costs, ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú Regionals also provided her with several ways to earn money and tuition assistance to help her further reduce her expenses. She chose Service+, which pairs students with one of many nonprofit organizations in the Butler County region for community service and the chance to earn tuition assistance and a stipend toward living expenses through .
“Service+ has had a significant impact on my education and personal growth,” said Hedges, a third-year double major in Nursing and . “Initially, I joined to fulfill volunteer hour requirements for graduate school, but I quickly found a supportive and welcoming community within the group. The connections I’ve made through Service+ and my host site, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, have been invaluable.”
Like many students, Hedges said the need for work hours to help pay bills is difficult to juggle with the demands of school. Because Service+ is a school-based program, participating organizations are sensitive to their student volunteers’ scheduling limitations.
With her double major, Hedges said she has a busy schedule. Her managers at Sleep in Heavenly Peace, which provides beds for children, allow her to adjust her work hours as she needs, so during exams or other hectic weeks at school, she can cut back on her hours. Once her schedule lets up a little, she can put in a few more hours.
“My workload leaves me little time for extra employment,” she said. “The Service+ scholarship that covers half of my tuition each fall has been an enormous help in managing my educational expenses and my time.”
In addition to her Service+ benefits, Hedges also takes advantage of performance and need-based scholarships within the Nursing program available to students who qualify.
“My advisors were very helpful in signing me up for these scholarships,” she said. “They help you find scholarships that will work for you so you can take advantage of the resources that are available.”
After her expected graduation in the spring of 2026, Hedges said she hopes to work in the neonatal intensive care unit at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. With her dual major, however, she said she may one day opt to work with crime victims or in a trauma care unit.
“I feel very lucky to be able to study two areas that I’m very passionate about,” she said. “I didn’t want to give up my studies in criminal justice when I decided to major in nursing. With the ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú Plan, I didn’t have to. Many of my classes worked for both majors, and ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú Regionals doesn’t charge extra tuition if your credit hours go beyond 12 (for the semester). “I’ve had so many amazing experiences. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
