Jessica Souza is a journalism major and a senior at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida. She’s active in Greek life, the campus newspaper Eagle News, and other clubs on campus. She’s also a regular, active user of iontuition, provided by FGCU’s Office of Financial Aid.
Why did you choose to go to school at Florida Gulf Coast University? What did you like about the school?
I’m from a small town in Rhode Island, but I knew I wanted to go to a school in Florida. When I was searching for colleges, all of them seemed so massive and overwhelming until I came to FGCU. It’s nice because it’s not super small, but the class sizes are still small enough to have more personal relationships with your classmates and professors. There are still plenty of opportunities to get really involved on campus, which is something I’ve done. Plus, it’s really close to a lot of really gorgeous beaches, which is always a bonus!
Do you have student loans?
I have some student loans, not a lot, and I’m very grateful that my parents are helping me as much as they can.
How did you get introduced to using iontuition?
I first saw it on Twitter! FGCU’s Financial Aid department is pretty active on social media and they promote iontuition a lot. Sometimes they use funny memes which is definitely eye catching. But it was obviously something pretty important and I thought it would be a good idea to sign up for something beneficial, and I am glad that I did.
What features have you found yourself using most?
My favorite feature is the ionManage dashboard. I love how you can look at it in as little or as much detail as you want, and the fact that it’s so colorful helps distinguish what’s what. It makes everything really easy to follow and understand.
Do you think more students should be using iontuition? If so, why?
I honestly think more students should be using iontuition. It’s super easy to use and as I get ready to graduate, I think it’s something that is absolutely essential. It’s easy to forget that college doesn’t last forever and even though there is a grace period, the responsibility of paying back student loans comes pretty quickly afterwards. In my opinion, having a service like iontuition makes my loans a lot easier to handle and a lot less stressful.
What are your plans after you graduate?
After graduation and celebrating at Disney World, my plans are to work for a news station. Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart are some of my idols, so in a perfect world I’d be doing what they do, but I’d also be more than happy to be a news anchor on a local or national level. You never know where the future can take you!
You can follow Jessica on Twitter at @Jessica_E_Souza and on the Eagle News website. If you’d like to be a contributor to our blog, read our contributor guidelines and email twray@ceannate.com. If you’d like to learn more about how iontuition’s tools can help you with student loan management, register for your account now! Thanks, Jessica!
Tom Wray is all about the research, getting it right, and making it relevant. He’s got solid journalistic experience in all forms of content delivery – and he’s got his keyboard humming with what’s up and important for students, college admins, parents, employers and news junkies. Check out his weekly column Student Loans 101 and more. Follow him on Twitter at @Tom_Ceannate.