Nothing says ‘thank you’ like a tuition break

by Mary Jo David

As summer winds down, children aren’t the only ones heading back to the classroom. Lately there’s been a lot of emphasis on taking advantage of what community colleges have to offer for young adults who may be testing the waters of higher education.

Bachelor’s and master’s degrees offer a valuable leg up in preparing for one’s future. But people are coming around to all that community colleges have to offer for preparing young people for careers that don’t require a four-year degree or as stepping-stones to a four-year degree.

That helps to explain the resounding response the state of Michigan received to its Futures for Frontliners scholarship, unveiled in 2020. The scholarship offered tuition-free access to public community colleges for Michiganders who worked in essential industries during the state’s COVID-19 shutdown.

According to the Futures for Frontliners webpage on the michigan.gov website, “The one-time scholarship program was created in gratitude for Michigan’s frontline workers who helped keep our state running during the state shutdown in the spring of 2020.”

Applications were due to the state of Michigan no later than Dec. 31, 2020. According to a contact at Lansing Community College, of the more than 121,000 applications the state initially received for the Futures for Frontliners scholarship program, over 85,500 applicants qualified for and were accepted into the program.

During the rollout of the scholarship program, the state identified a list of 15 “essential industries” ranging from food/agriculture to health care/public health to public safety/public works, and more. Applicants were required to be Michigan residents with a high school diploma (including GEDs) with no previous college degree or defaults on college loans. They also must have worked in an essential industry (outside the home) between April 1 and June 30, 2020.

Upon checking in with two of the local colleges who have students using Futures for Frontliners scholarship funding, Lansing Community College reported 776 students received this funding during the spring 2021 semester. At Jackson College, 627 students have received the scholarship, including students who have already enrolled for the college’s Fall 2021 term.

Mary Rooney recently moved from Stockbridge back to Pinckney. She graduated from Kensington Woods High School in 2018 and is currently working at the Pinckney Community Public Library. Rooney heard about the Futures for Frontliners scholarship from one of her best friends who was attending college when the scholarship was announced by the state.

Rooney recalled, “My friend messaged an article to me, and I thought, ‘this could really help set me up for my future.’” She applied for the scholarship almost immediately.

During the state’s pandemic shutdown, Rooney was working at Marco’s Pizza in Pinkney. Most of her time was spent delivering pizzas, although she did fill in as a manager occasionally.

“I lived with my mom at the time, and she was immunocompromised, so I needed to be really diligent about wearing my mask correctly, washing my hands frequently, and respecting the social distancing guidelines with my co-workers and on my deliveries,” Rooney said.

Rooney saw one benefit from working with the public during the shutdown. “When we first heard about the virus it was very stressful. Work offered some small bonuses, but the reality was, we were risking our health,” she said. “Looking on the bright side, though, it helped me put coping skills to the test for learning to deal with stress and anxiety.”

Rooney was one of the Futures for Frontliners applicants who was accepted by the state. She is enrolled at Jackson College for the Fall 2021 semester and hopes to earn an associate degree in sonography (ultrasounds). The scholarship is covering tuition and book fees for the two-year program.

Prior to the Futures for Frontliners being offered, Rooney had visited Jackson College’s campus and really liked what she saw. But she had not taken that leap into enrolling.

According to Rooney, “My friend who told me about the scholarship knew that the tuition costs were making me hesitate. That’s why this scholarship is so perfect and I’m super-thrilled to be participating. I think I would have enrolled anyway, but it would have involved taking out loans that now I won’t have to do.”

In the spring 2021 semester at Lansing Community College, 776 students received the Futures for Frontliners scholarship funding. Image from lcc.edu

At Jackson College, 627 students have received the Futures for Frontliners scholarship, including those enrolled for the college’s Fall 2021 term. Image from jccmi.edu

Mary Rooney is one of more than 85,000 applicants in Michigan who were accepted into the Futures for Frontliners scholarship program. She is enrolled at Jackson College for the fall 2021 semester. Photo credit: Mary Rooney.