The 2018-19 school year is off to a great start! Our advisors are in schools, our after-school programming is getting started, we have a new Board Chair, and our Adult Learner Scholarship is accepting applications. Read on for more!

The College Now Greater Cleveland Board of Directors has elected Mark Ross as its new Board Chair. Ross, PwC’s Northeast Ohio Managing Partner, succeeds outgoing Board Chair, Alan Kopit, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for MediLogix, who will remain active on the Board as Immediate Past Chair. Ross’ tenure as Board Chair began August 1, and he can serve three, consecutive, one-year terms.

Ross joined the College Now Board shortly after returning to PwC’s Cleveland office in 2015, diving into the work and maintaining an active presence on the Executive and Finance Committees. He also serves as a mentor to a College Now scholarship recipient through our innovative Mentoring Program. His other work in the community includes sitting on the Boards of Playhouse Square, The Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio, Hospice of the Western Reserve, the Greater Cleveland Partnership and the Commission on Economic Inclusion. He is also a member of the Union Club, the 50 Club of Cleveland and the VeloSano Steering Committee.

“Greater Cleveland is lucky to have as engaged a civic leader as Mark Ross,” said Lee Friedman, CEO of College Now. “And, with college and career access work being more important than ever to the region’s economic health, College Now is fortunate to have Mark lead the organization into its second half-century.”

"I am both thrilled and honored to take on this important leadership position at College Now,” said Mark Ross. “Education is the cornerstone to achieving growth and success as a region and College Now is playing a critical role in addressing current challenges around post-secondary readiness, access, affordability and completion. I look forward to working even more closely with Lee and the entire College Now team as well as other community stakeholders to collaboratively tackle these important topics."

In 2017 when TeamNeo issued its Aligning Opportunities report, it noted that an 11% gap exists between the percentage of individuals in our region with postsecondary education and the percentage of living wage and family-sustaining wage jobs that require this level of education.

To help close this gap, College Now works with thousands of adult learners every year across our region who are seeking to pursue – or return to campus – their postsecondary education credentials or degrees. As part of our services, we award almost $300,000 in renewable scholarships to approximately 150 adults in Northeast Ohio. Recently, our efforts received a tremendous boost, thanks to a $100,000 grant from The Richard J. Fasenmyer Foundation.

Established in 1989 by Richard J. Fasenmyer, an Akron industrialist, The Foundation has made significant grants across Northeast Ohio especially focused on arts as a driver of economic growth and in support of cutting edge medical research in the field of immunology. Over the past few years, The Foundation’s Trustees decided to spend down its assets and close its doors, and College Now is very privileged to receive one of the final grants The Foundation will award.

With this grant from The Richard J. Fasenmyer Foundation, College Now will provide renewable scholarships of $2,000 annually to eligible adults over the next four years. We are currently accepting applications for this scholarship and our other adult learner scholarships through November 18, 2018.

College Now is so grateful to The Richard J. Fasenmyer Foundation for its commitment to postsecondary attainment and for its tremendous support of so many organizations across our community!

On Thursday, August 2, the Mentoring Program marked the start of its eighth program year with the annual Mentoring Program Kick-off. This year, over 400 people attended, including mentors, mentees and college representatives. Over 170 pairs were able to meet for the first time at the event.

 

Lee Friedman, CEO of College Now began the event, and Board chair Mark Ross took the stage as emcee, highlighting the importance of the night for pairs having their first meeting, and reflecting on his experience as a mentor. Next, current AmeriCorps College Guide and former mentee Royale Nicholson shared her personal reflections on the program.

Royale explained that, while she was initially hesitant about having a mentor, she eventually found herself confiding in her mentor more and more. Royale explained, “[My mentor] served the role that I didn’t know I needed at the time-a guiding force that was unaware of the person I had been, therefore having no expectation for the person I should be.” She encourage mentors and students to support each other for who they are now, and over time they will notice their growth. Parents were then given the chance to meet their students' mentors before the close of the event. When the event drew to a close at 7 pm, the room was full of great conversations!