The hardest part of my job is processing what we call "hardship withdrawals." Essentially, they are emergency withdrawals available to students who go through something traumatic (serious injury, death in the family, etc) which allows them to withdrawal from their courses long after the deadline to withdrawal has passed. Typically they are able to get a tuition refund, and instead of failing a course, they get an HW grade on their transcript.

Since I'm the one that processes these, I have to read through pages and pages of medical notes, death certificates, sob stories, etc that student attach to their paperwork to prove their need for a withdrawal is legitimate.

Today, I read the most heartbreaking story...

A girl's best friend called her to say goodbye. Her friend said she was going to commit suicide and she just wanted her friend to know that she loved her. As this girl was on the phone, she took an entire bottle of aspirin and passed out while saying goodbye to her friend. They lived on opposite ends of the country, so the girl (my student) didn't know what to do. She panicked and called the police, but didn't know where her friend was. They eventually found her, unconscious, and took her to the nearest hospital. She was put on life support that evening, and died the next morning. This poor girl feels like her friend's suicide was her fault, that she could have prevented it, and she is dealing with not only the grief of the loss, but also the guilt that she put upon herself.

I actually wrote this student an email, her story was so profoundly sad. It hit close to home in so many ways, I just wanted to reach out to her and let her know she's not completely alone in her experience.

"Your situation brought tears to my eyes, and my heart aches for you and the many that have been effected by your friend’s death. I pray that your heart will heal during this time of grieving and that you will be able to celebrate your friend’s life without focusing on the circumstances of her death."

As much as I love my job, it is always so heartbreaking help students who are dealing with situations like the one above.