Director of financial aid empowering scholars to reach financial freedom, Eli Jennings: “You are in control of your financial destiny”

Eli Jennings shares his path from homelessness to Director of Financial Aid at Pacific Rim University in Hawai’i. He now provides students with the resources they need to find financial freedom.

Tell us about your background and where you grew up.

I was born and raised in American Samoa, but moved to Hawai’i for college. In high school, I was a definite trouble maker, but eventually was resolved to do better in school and go to college.

I eventually applied and got into Chaminade University. When I was in college, I worked anywhere between 2 and 3 part-time jobs. While I wasn’t necessarily the smartest in the room, I had a strong work ethic. I applied to 67 scholarships and received 3 - just enough to cover tuition.

Your personal experience of homelessness post-college drives a lot of your financial aid work. How did this challenging experience shape who you are and enable you to be a great financial aid mentor?

My journey did not come without its ups and downs.

Due to some family drama and differences in opinion, I eventually ended up being homeless after college. I defaulted on my student loan, which barred me from maintaining federal access and applying for any federal jobs. I had no credit except for the 1 defaulted loan. I couldn’t find a place to stay because of credit checks, couldn’t get a car, and only had 1 paycheck.

With that 1 paycheck, I took the biggest loan that I could get, and whatever money I received, I used as a down payment on a car. That’s where I lived for 6 months. Those first few months was rough. I never lived like that on my own. I cried every night. Sometimes you gotta cry it out to figure it out.

A few months later, I got my loan cleared. After 6 months, I got good enough credit to get my own place. I worked 2-4 jobs and started saving almost $10,000 every 6 months. I eventually saved $100,000 and bought my first condo about 5 years ago.

How do students achieve financial freedom?

Unfortunately, many Pacific Island families do not discuss financial literacy. I’m trying to break that cycle and push more students and families towards financial freedom. For me, if I can help one student in some way, if I can help one family make sense of their financial aid options, I know I’m serving my community.

I have no business in telling people what to do with their money. Instead, I simply provide my students with all of their financial options. As a starting point, I recommend all students to work on the following:

• Understand your finances and how much you spend every month and every year.

• Try to save up 6 months to 1 year’s worth of savings.

• Talk about financial literacy with your family before ending high school.

• And most importantly, remember that you are in control of your financial destiny.