Leslie W. Brant, senior director and first vice president of Mellon Financial Corporation and James Hepfer, portfolio manager, vice president of Mellon Financial Corporation, recently presented a $25,000 check from the Helen D. Groome Beatty Trust, administered by Mellon as part of the Mellon-Mid Atlantic Charitable Trusts program, to Dr. Edna V. Baehre, Ph.D., president of HACC. This contribution will provide 25 $1,000 scholarships for GED graduates who are pursuing higher education at HACC.
"One of the things that was compelling to us about the HACC situation was that it provided us an opportunity to support women who were making an effort to help themselves by furthering their education and careers," said Steven Kaplan, chairman of the Mellon Mid-Atlantic Charitable Trusts. "This particular grant was made so that women could be encouraged to get a GED with the hope and prospect that there will be additional opportunity for education and career advancement after the GED, such as provided at HACC."
"HACC and the HACC Foundation are most appreciative of the recent $25,000 gift from the Helen Beatty Groome Trust. These monies will provide new scholarship support for financially needy students who have earned GEDs and are now pursuing a HACC education," said Maida Connor, CFRE, executive director of the HACC Foundation and Resource Development. "Most importantly, these scholarship monies, offered in support of the Next Step Orientation program at HACC, will enable students-many of whom are female students juggling home, family and work responsibilities-to pursue higher education, career plans, and brighter futures."
The number of GED graduates who continue their education by enrolling at HACC has grown steadily in recent years, with women leading the way. Research has shown that 66 percent of HACC GED graduates who continue on to HACC college courses are women, and 64 percent are adults over the age of 25 years.
Getting them to take that next step was the college's reason for developing the Next Step Orientation program more than two years ago. The program offers two-hour orientation sessions for GED graduates throughout the year, coordinated with HACC's admissions calendar. Developmental counselors cover topics, such as admissions and registration; choosing a major or career; balancing the demands of college, family and work; and obtaining financial aid.
"We work collaboratively with the admissions office, learning support services and financial aid," explained Lori A. Fair, Ed.D., dean, adult basic education and developmental studies, the division which oversees the program. "When the student leaves the orientation session, she is admitted to the college and has all the necessary tools needed to begin the process of college life." Those tools include access to a full range of academic, financial aid and college success counseling and support.
The goal of the Next Step Orientation program is to increase the number of HACC GED graduates enrolling in HACC college course by five percent annually.
Dr. Fair believes the individual $1,000 scholarships made possible by the grant will go a long way toward motivating recent GED graduates, encouraging them to earn a certificate or degree at HACC.
"To know they have additional assistance to continue their life-long learning is a wonderful incentive and a great opportunity," she said. "It will really motivate our students on all fronts to let them know at the end of the road there is assistance, and, hopefully, to choose HACC first."