For Karl Kleinschmidt ’21, the COVID-19 pandemic struck as an immediate threat, if not to his life, at least to his livelihood. As an undergrad, he made ends meet by working at the USDA’s Forest Products Laboratory. Like many offices and businesses, it shut down in March 2020, and Kleinschmidt found himself out of work. He had tuition to pay, as well as a 12-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old son to support.
Kleinschmidt wasn’t alone. Many student jobs disappeared as labs put work on hold, offices cut their interns loose, and restaurants and bars no longer required waitstaff. While Americans hunkered down to wait out the virus, many UW students watched their bills pile up. But generous donors threw a lifeline to these students to keep them from drowning in debt — or from dropping out. Through its Student Emergency Fund, UW–Madison became the first Big Ten university to get COVID-19 support dollars into student accounts — assistance that got a boost with the help of annual giving donors. In spring 2020, the Office of Student Financial Aid was delivering $1,000 checks to students in need.
The UW was able to deliver 9,000 emergency grants. The arrival of the funds took “a huge, huge burden from my shoulders,” Kleinschmidt says. “Just knowing I have my kids to take care of and a house to maintain for them to live in, I believe I may have cried.”