UNL scholarship recipients say federal cuts to program threaten their future

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Project Raíces at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln supports students pursuing a career in education, but federal funding is being cut from its scholarship program.

And the possibility of the Department of Education being abolished is adding to the worries of those involved in the program.

“We don’t know what the next step is for us, and we are very upset,” said Diana Lopez, a recipient of Project Raíces, “We just want to become teachers, and it got taken away from us for simply wanting to be educators and wanting better the system.”

With teacher shortages being felt across the country, the potential loss of these kinds of projects could put schools in a dire situation.

“You have fewer folks going into teaching, and that’s a problem itself,” said Ted Hamann, professor of education at UNL.

One of the obstacles is paying for college, and teaching doesn’t offer a big paycheck.

“People don’t go into teaching because they’re going to be multimillionaires,” Hamann said.

Three freshman recipients of the scholarships said this cut underscores that the nation does not value education like it should.

They said they want to be teachers to encourage the next generation of students.

“Taking this opportunity away from us has honestly just been hard for a lot of us, who are like, ‘Are we still going to be teachers?'” said Asraa Allami, one of the recipients.

University officials said they’re working to find ways to sustain the program but said the cuts under the current administration is still a big concern.