At first, Fairfax Station resident Julia Ross only knew Alex Shields, a junior at the University of Mississippi, as the boy who dated her daughter Emma and friend to other students she knows. Shields, originally from Atlanta, and Emma met at school.
In September 2013, Shields lost his mother. She had been living with multiple sclerosis and died in her sleep. A few months later, his father suffered a massive heart attack, was briefly resuscitated but died shortly thereafter.
With his older sister Brittany living in Atlanta and little extended family, Shields was largely on his own to contend with his financial obligations to the university, not to mention coping with the premature death of both his parents.
Though the relationship between Emma and Shields ended, Ross decided to help him work through the difficult period of mounting expenses and missed classes.
Ross, who works in the field of tutoring, SAT prep and college admissions, flew to Oxford after the funeral for Shields’ father. She began working on getting him in-state tuition and navigating the process for achieving orphan status with the federal government, that would make him eligible for certain grants.
She was able to help get him back on track academically, as well as have the loans from his first two and a half years of enrollment expunged.
But she didn’t stop there. Ross had the idea to “shower Alex with caring.” Through her education practice Professional Tutoring and personal networks, she connected with several hundred people to create a “care package brigade.”
Twice a month, families and individuals send Shields packages of comfort food, living essentials, gift cards and personal notes of encouragement and love.
“I think maybe this is some of the reason he gets out of bed and goes to school, and stays in school,” said Ross. “People feel so alone after a death. We’re going to stick through with Alex, through his graduation, keep sticking by him.”
To date, the brigade raised $3,000 in an effort to support Shields and his sister, including giving them a Christmas. Though Shields works through school to pay his way, Ross said a fundraiser is in the works to help cover the remainder of his tuition.
“None of us see him as a Northern Virginia charity case, because he’s not one,” said Ross. “So many families say, ‘This could be us.’ His parents, they didn’t expect to die in their 50s.”
With the strong support Ross has seen for Shields, she intends to expand the brigade to support more kids that have been through tragedies. For more information Ross can be reached via email at julia@juliarosspt.com.