MMCC Foundation’s Students of Promise Inducts New Students

  The Mid Michigan Community College Foundation’s program, Students of Promise, recently inducted its fourth group of students.  Twenty-five seventh grade students, selected from Beaverton, Clare, Farwell, Gladwin, and Harrison school districts, were welcomed into the program with a formal ceremony and reception.

 Now in its fourth year, the program promotes cultural awareness, academic achievement, higher education, and social development to academically promising students who face significant challenges in their lives.

Staff from local school systems identified and nominated students for the program.  Of this group, twenty-five students were selected.  The Students of Promise program will work with those students through high school graduation, and into college.

The students are encouraged to reach their highest potential through activities and opportunities that broaden their horizons, expose them to higher education, and allow them to interact with positive role models.  These events range from a trip to the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo to an etiquette training and five-course meal.  Students have scaled rock walls, eaten octopus, pounded copper into pendants, analyzed fibers and fingerprints to solve a crime, and seen a rhinoceros up close.  It’s fun – with a purpose.

 “As the students move through the program, the focus will begin to change,” said Tammy Alvaro, program coordinator.  “Instead of exploring museums, they will begin exploring careers and preparing for life after high school.  Their new world view will open up new options for them to consider and they’ll think about their future in a whole new light.”

In the final two years of the program, the students will be encouraged to take college-level classes through dual enrollment.  They will also get assistance with exploring college choices and eventually applying for college and navigating the financial aid process.

The MMCC Foundation is a non-profit organization that works to enhance MMCC’s services to its students and the community through fund development, scholarships, program development, and improved instructional facilities.  Its largest fund raiser, A Northern Tradition at Jay’s Sporting Goods, raised over $102,000 last April.

 “It’s very exciting to watch the students grow and mature,” said Alvaro.  “There is so much more in store for them as they move through the program.  The impact on their lives will really be incredible.”

You can learn more about the Students of Promise program by calling Tammy Alvaro at 989-386-6634 or by visiting www.midmich.edu/studentsofpromise.