Rhea Oswalt is passionate about social justice and being an advocate for the underrepresented. She will graduate in the spring with a bachelor’s degree in social work, but that achievement was nearly compromised in 2024.
Always a hard worker, she paid for her own housing, but a required, unpaid internship meant she could not work as many hours, and she found herself behind on rent. Faced with the threat of losing her housing, she turned to the Student Emergency Fund for critical support.
“If I had lost my housing, I would have had to move back home and that would have affected my grades quite negatively,” she said. “I received a one-time payment, and it kept me in my apartment, close to campus.”
Rhea also used the emergency fund the previous year, when she lost her medical insurance and needed prescription medication. The fund provided enough relief so she could buy her medicine until she regained insurance.
She serves campus as a Buckeye Ambassador, a student employee in financial aid and she is president of Campus Democrats.
Rhea enjoyed all four years at Ohio State Mansfield because of the close connections with faculty and the small-town location.
“I liked being able to be close to my professors and being on a name-to-name basis. I am used to small towns because I grew up in a small town (Lucas), so Mansfield felt like home.”
Support the Cause
Now through Dec. 2, your gift can make a difference in the life of a college student in need by supporting the Emergency Fund. Help us reach our goal of $10,000 and help students at Ohio State Mansfield reach their goal of graduation.
This Giving Tuesday, donate through Ohio State's platform or through Richland County Foundation's Richland Gives.
Your donation via either preferred platform will help us reach the goal of $10,000 to provide resources for our most vulnerable students.