Pick up a handful of sand and watch each grain slip between your fingers. Imagine that each grain of sand is a University of Pittsburgh student if Pennsylvania legislators do not vote for Pitt’s appropriation, which lowers the cost of in-state tuition by about $15,000 each year.

It’s essentially a handful of missed opportunities.

Education is my calling. Think of me as one of those grains of sand. I am a proud Pitt-Bradford student and also a daughter, sister, state titleholder of a national pageant system, community theater board member, campus club president and future teacher. To pay for my education, I balance working two jobs while taking an average of six courses each semester. In my household, it is not feasible for my parents to pay for my education — nor do I expect them to.

I chose to attend Pitt-Bradford to get a high-quality education at a price that I considered affordable. The in-state tuition discount not only benefits me but nearly 17,000 fellow Pennsylvanians striving to obtain a degree from the state’s leading public university. Removing this discount would jeopardize both my college education and my teaching career.

Absent the in-state discount, my student loans would accumulate to the point where I could not afford my master’s degree, which Pennsylvania requires me to have by my sixth year of teaching. This means my professional trajectory would come to a screeching halt while my debt would rise — and rise.

My heart belongs here, and I hope to stay in Pennsylvania — especially the Northwest region. However, if lawmakers fail to invest in Pitt — and to fund the in-state tuition discount for students like me — my future, my family’s future and my ability to teach future generations of Pennsylvanians are in instant jeopardy.

Across all five Pitt campuses, there are nearly 17,000 students just like me, with their own unique stories and ambitions. Many of us are planning to enter Pennsylvania’s workforce, and how swiftly and successfully we make this transition carries benefits — or consequences — for families, businesses and communities across the state.

Lawmakers: The decision to support your residents, our dreams and our ability to make a difference should be an easy one. Act now to pass Pitt’s appropriation and protect the in-state tuition discount. Catch each and every grain of sand you can. Our future — and the future of our state — is in your hands.

(Gretchen Henneman is a graduate of Bradford Area High School.)