Grant to expand NWACC mentorship program
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Burns Hall at NWACC. Photo: Alex Golden/Axios
A nearly $600,000 grant will help NorthWest Arkansas Community College expand a program geared toward mentoring high school students on college resources.
Why it matters: The Learning, Improvement, Fun and Empowerment (LIFE) program targets students who may write off college as something that's not for them because of finances, grades, immigration status or not having parents who went to college, program director Juanita Franklin told Axios.
How it works: College student mentors help high school students navigate things like deciding whether to attend college, admissions, scholarship and grant applications and federal aid at events and workshops. The program's free flagship event takes place during the summer at NWACC and features panels and guest speakers.
- The program works with about a dozen high schools across NWA, and some participants are referred by their schools. They do not have to be planning to attend NWACC to take part, and may decide not to go to any college.
- About 100 students came to the summer event this year, Franklin said.
The latest: The money from the Walton Family Foundation will help the program, which started in 2012, pay eight college student mentors a $1,000 stipend per semester. Mentors previously volunteered for free while going to school and often working jobs. It'll also send them to a leadership conference in San Diego, Franklin said.
- An earlier three-year grant of approximately $500,000 from the Walton Family Foundation helped hire a program coordinator and a success coach. The new grant will help continue paying for those positions.
- LIFE is also planning to launch a mentorship program where Spanish-speaking parents, preferably of past LIFE student participants, will help other parents who experience language barriers and might be new to the college application process.
The bottom line: Not everyone should have to go to college, but everyone should have the opportunity, Franklin said.