| 50th Anniversary Save the Date: Back-to-Back City Club Programs on College Affordability |
Please join us on Thursday, March 8 at The Happy Dog (West Side) for a
City Club panel discussion Behind the Degree: The Cost of Higher Education. Learn how local institutions are addressing the cost of higher education.
Panelists include:
Richard W. Bischoff, Vice President of Enrollment, Case Western University;
Angela Johnson, Vice President, Access and Completion, Cuyahoga Community College; and
Robert A. Spademan, Interim Vice President of Enrollment, Cleveland State University.
For more information on Behind the Degree, click here.
For more information and to register for the City Club forum with Matthew Chingos, click
here.
These programs on higher education affordability are a part of our 50th Anniversary partnership series with The City Club.
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Student Loan Rescue Tops $100 Million in Student Loan Forgiveness
College Now's Student Loan Rescue Program recently hit a huge milestone, surpassing $100 million in total future student loan forgiveness through its work enrolling eligible individuals in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program!
Since 2013, College Now has worked to help individuals manage their student loan debt, either through loan consolidation or enrollment in the PSLF Program. A number of local employers, including the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Cuyahoga County, Hyatt Legal Plans, MetroHealth and University Hospitals have contracted with College Now to provide on-site advisors to walk employees through the process of reducing their student loan debt burden.
Congratulations to the Student Loan Rescue team on this huge accomplishment!
For more information about how the Student Loan Rescue program can help you or your employees, call 216.635.0151 or email info@collegenowgc.org.
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College Now Names 2018 Mentors of the Year
As January comes to a close, College Now would like to wish each and every one of our mentors a happy "National Mentoring Month" one last time! We appreciate all of our mentors and the work that they do with students, and so we are excited to recognize three outstanding mentors as our "Mentors of the Year" this year. Adam Chandler, Shenaz Khan and Stacey Schroeder were chosen among many nominations submitted by mentees in the program. They were recognized at College Now's annual MentorInCLE Connect luncheon on January 11, 2018.
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Adam Chandler receiving the Mentor of the Year Award from College Now Board Chair, Alan Kopit.
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Adam Chandler was nominated by his student, Brandon, who is a freshman at Cleveland State University. Brandon appreciates how easy Adam has made it to connect, and all the interests the two share, from Cleveland sports to their outlooks on life. As Brandon states, "Adam has made this process very beneficial and welcoming to me. Because of him, joining this program is the best decision I have made in my young college career."
Shenaz Khan and her student, Anna, are finishing up the program as Anna prepares to graduate from Brandeis in May. Anna nominated Shenaz for the award because of Shenaz's unflagging encouragement and support. Anna's nomination also details how Shenaz helped Anna access shadowing and job experiences in her chosen field, which has been invaluable. As Anna states, "Shenaz is a truly kind person that has been there for me whenever I needed to talk and I hope we will stay in touch after I graduate."
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Stacey Schroeder, Tatiana Stover (read on behalf of LJ Stover), Alan Kopit, Anna Rothstein and Shenaz Khan. Not pictured: Brandon Downing and Adam Chandler
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Stacey Schroeder and her mentee, LJ, were matched nearly four years ago as LJ began the program as a freshman. LJ nominated Stacey because she "has a great sense of humor, gives great advice, [and] has a warm smile . . . . She also introduced me to opportunities that I probably wouldn't have explored on my own." LJ goes on to relate how important Stacey's support has been in his personal journey as well, as LJ recently came out as a transgender man. Says LJ, "her acceptance gave me the confidence to tell some of my family members. Thank you, Stacey, for helping me become more comfortable in my own skin and being more of a sister to me than a mentor."
Congratulations to our Mentors of the Year, and many heartfelt thanks to all of our mentors!
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#CareerU Kicks off in Warrensville Heights
On January 19, #CareerU held its first mentoring session at Warrensville Heights Middle School. #CareerU, funded by a Community Connectors grant, is a mentoring program for Warrensville Heights eighth graders. The goal of the program is to help students transition successfully from middle school to high school and to expose them to a wide variety of postsecondary education and career options.
During this first mentoring session, scholars and mentors met one another and participated in ice breaker activities that encouraged them to get to know one another. One of the ice breaker activities involved participants engaging in a game of "catch the ball and remember the phrase." After spending time laughing and enjoying each other's company, participants made group guidelines and rules that they plan to adhere to for the remainder of the year.
The mentoring session was tailored to explore personality types and allow scholars to consider and explore who they are. Participants took part in answering questions about themselves, and sharing dialogue about their lives.
Additionally, participants shared their results from the 16personalitites.com personality types test. While sharing results, they focused on strengths and weaknesses, relationships and career paths. This sharing activity helped the scholars consider who they are, and what factors have an effect on their personalities. Overall, both scholars and mentors had a enjoyable experience and are looking forward to the next mentoring session.
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College Now Adult Learner Scholarship Now Open
College Now provides scholarship opportunities to adult students age 19 and above who have interrupted their education for one year or more and who are pursuing a non-degree certificate or license in a vocational or technical program, an associate's degree or first bachelor's degree.
If selected, the scholarship can be renewed for up to five years or ten (10) semesters or until the recipient completes their bachelor's degree program, whichever comes first.
Eligible applicants:
- Are age 19 or older as of September 1, 2018. Must have graduated from high school or have successfully earned their G.E.D.
- Have interrupted their education for at least one year since high school graduation or during college.
- Qualify for the Federal Pell Grant.
- Are a resident of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit or Trumbull County.
- Are pursuing a non-degree certificate or license in a vocational or technical program that is three months to two years in length, a first associate's degree or first bachelor's degree in an eligible two or four-year program. Individuals already having obtained a bachelor's degree are not eligible.
- Attend a public or private not-for-profit college or university
- Are enrolled (or plan to enroll) at least half-time (six or more credit hours) per term in a Pell-eligible degree-seeking program for the 2018-2019 academic year.
- Must have earned a minimum 2.5 cumulative grade point average (either high school or post-secondary) if the applicant has been enrolled in school (high school or post-secondary) within the past five years.
- Must submit a copy of your Student Aid Report, financial aid award letter, proof of high school graduation, and if enrolled in college within the last five years your most recent official or unofficial college transcript.
- Must complete a 300-word essay expressing why you want to complete a college education.
For more information and to apply, click here. Deadline to apply is April 15, 2018.
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College Now Receives $50,000 from PwC
The second largest professional services firm in the world, with over 700 offices in more than 150 countries, PwC provides a wide-range of audit and assurance, consulting and tax services.
Over the last five years, PwC's partnership with College Now has deepened significantly.
The latest example of PwC's support is a $50,000 grant awarded to College Now through PwC's Reimagine Grant Program.
College Now will use these funds to provide our breakthrough college and career access advising and student financial aid counseling services to over 13,000 Cuyahoga County high school students, the majority of whom attend low-income Cleveland public schools. In particular, this grant will enable College Now's advisors to focus on assisting those students with whom we work to access postsecondary STEM opportunities and to maximize financial aid to reduce their out-of-pocket college costs.
In addition to its philanthropic support, PwC employees are incredibly generous with their time to College Now through Board service and as volunteer mentors to our scholarship recipients. Today, 28 employees from PwC's Cleveland office serve as mentors, putting PwC within the top 10 companies regionally, of over 400 companies, with employees involved in College Now's mentoring program. Beyond developing individual relationships with their own mentees, PwC participates in College Now's annual career fair and shares internship opportunities with College our scholarship recipients.
Thank you PWC for your significant commitment to postsecondary educational attainment!
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Cozy up to a Good Book and Support College Now at the Same Time
2) Log in to your Amazon account.
3) Type College Now Greater Cleveland into the charity/organization search bar.
4) 0.5% of your purchase amount will be donated to College Now!
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