Pell Grants: A Passion for Education

he House and Senate members to vote for the passage of the Pell Grant legislation. From his early days in the Coast Guard, Senator Claiborne Pell sought to help his fellow seamen get access to the kind of college education that he received at Princeton. Pell Grants, which was ultimately passed into law in 1972, as “government grants” continues to be an intricate part of the higher education puzzle for many college-bound students as tuitions spiral out of control. PELL reveals the in-depth, and often, suspenseful drama of how the Pell Grants developed from a dream to reality, and how the primary author, Senator Pell, overcame a host of challenges (from some of the most unlikely sources), and yet managed to successfully open the powerful gates of higher education for many students yearning to learn. The original responsibility of Pell Grants was to cover nearly 80 percent of tuition costs at a four-year public college. However, as college today is unaffordable for many students, a Pell Grant maximum at $5775, covers less than 36 percent of those costs. This seems minimal when you consider that $24,061 a year is the average price tag for tuition, fees, room and board at a public college. The comparable figure is almost $47,831 at a private university. Although a bi-partisan legislation, Pell Grants continues to be treated by Congress as a ‘welfare’ program by trimming eligibility each year and Pell Grants need to be re-appropriated. PELL showcases personal stories of Pell Grant recipients including Jean Paul Valencia, the first in his family to go to college as he walks through the gates of Harvard; community college student advocates addressing lawmakers on Capital Hill; icon recipients including Viola Davis and former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. PELL talks to former NASA Astronaut Leland Melvin, about STEM education and its importance for future generations. PELL takes you through the relevant issues of education today within the realm of politics, where players weigh in heavily on government’s current mandate. And with the urgency of the student loan debt crisis, the PELL documentary could not come at a better time, as it shines the light on government’s responsibility to aid in the education of those who seek it. As quote Senator Claiborne Pell himself:
"This is very important legislation, for it's through this Act that the dream of access, and
opportunity for college education becomes a reality. It's in this Act that we say a lack of
financial wealth should not, and will not, stand in the way of a person who has the talent, the desire and the drive to reach out for a college education."