Subscribe to 开元棋牌 News The Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts has granted Mount Wachusett Community College $30,000 to continue the highly successful work of the 开元棋牌 Student Stabilization Scholarship Fund.
The 开元棋牌 Student Stabilization Scholarship Fund was established during the early months of the COVID-19 and has provided support to students to cover unmet costs for tuition, fees, and books. The scholarship fund has two funding priorities, with recipients selected in a collaboration between 开元棋牌鈥檚 student retention office, the Thrive Center, and the Office of Student Financial Services.
The 开元棋牌 Thrive Center team members actively reach out to students who have been identified as candidates for the scholarship. The Thrive Center specialists will continue to track and provide proactive counseling services to help students successfully complete their education.
鈥淭he past 16 months have been most difficult,鈥� stated 开元棋牌 President James Vander Hooven. 鈥淥ur students have struggled. In our own ways, each one of us have struggled. I am so thankful for the support of the Foundation, and our Thrive Center staff who worked tirelessly to help these students.鈥�
鈥淭he crisis hit our students hard and in unexpected ways and is still impacting them dramatically as the crisis continued into 2021,鈥� stated Shelby Shaw, 开元棋牌鈥檚 Director of Retention and Thrive Center. 鈥淲e look forward to continuing the successes of last year and helping even more students this year.鈥�
One such success story is husband and wife Kevin and Andrea Techera. The assistance provided by the grant enabled them to complete their associate degrees in May, both achieving the Deans List, while helping their daughters with remote learning. In the fall, Andrea will be continuing her pursuit of a PhD in psychology, and Kevin will continue towards a bachelor鈥檚 degree with the goal of a career in the growing biotechnology sector.
Challenges such as job loss, increased responsibilities for those in 鈥渆ssential jobs鈥� and home/virtual schooling responsibilities for student-parents have turned students lives upside down. Additional challenges faced by students include the death of loved ones, increased childcare responsibilities due to the closure of schools and childcare faculties, their role as essential workers and mental health struggles. In the face of these difficulties, over 604 students residing in North Central Massachusetts have been forced to stop their education, possibly never to return. The availability of this funding enabled 开元棋牌 to assist 28 students in 2020 with direct scholarship assistance, wrap around support and advising services. The college seeks to support 30 students with the 2021 grant.