In a recent survey of incoming Virginia Western Community College students, 92 percent reported they planned to work while pursuing their degree. Nearly a third expected to log at least 20 hours a week, on top of tackling a full-time or near full-time class load.
Those financial realities prompted the Virginia Western Community College Educational Foundation to create an innovative scholarship program that aims to couple full tuition support with living-expense stipends, career-focused cohort activities, mentorships and additional degree-completion incentives. The intent is to remove common obstacles facing community college students and to help them cross the “finish line” to graduation.
Students may apply for the Fralin Futures STEM-H Scholarship through May 1, 2019. To be eligible, they must be within two semesters of graduating from Virginia Western as of Fall 2019, enrolled in a STEM-H program of study and maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA. The College expects to enroll 10 recipients, called Fralin Futures Scholars, as a pilot program in fall 2019 – not long after a new $30 million STEM building opens on campus.
The Fralin Futures STEM-H Scholarship program is made possible by a $5-million gift from the Horace G. Fralin Charitable Trust. The donation, initiated in 2013, remains the largest-ever single gift to the College, and the largest donation dedicated solely to scholarships in the history of the Virginia Community College System. It established an endowment that will benefit generations of Roanoke region students who seek careers in the region’s growing health care and life-sciences sectors.
“It is truly exciting that Virginia Western has been able to provide a quality education to its outstanding students,” said W. Heywood Fralin, a member of the Educational Foundation’s Board of Directors and Chairman of Medical Facilities of America. “It is because of this quality that the Fralin Charitable Trust committed to fund these finish-line scholarships, which will provide residents of this region the opportunity to further their education and position themselves to lead the next generation to great success.”
The Educational Foundation’s flagship effort is the Community College Access Program (CCAP), which draws on public and private support to fund up to three years of college for recent high school graduates. Founded in 2008, CCAP has provided tuition support for nearly 2,500 Roanoke region students.
CCAP historically focused on the “A” – for access – in spreading the message that college is possible for everyone in the Roanoke region. The Fralin Futures STEM-H program complements CCAP by focusing on a student completing his or her educational journey. Unlike CCAP, which serves recent high school graduates, Fralin STEM-H scholarships are open to students of all ages.
“We believe this scholarship will make a real difference for students who have done well at Virginia Western but might be forced to delay graduating because, quite simply, life gets in the way,” said Amanda Mansfield, Educational Foundation’s philanthropy director. “Our older students, in particular, sometimes must juggle taking care of their family and going to school. One financial bump in the road can seriously derail an otherwise excellent student.”
The recipient may use the living-expense stipend – which is equal to the tuition award each semester – however he or she wishes. “Medical bills, day care expenses, an emergency car repair – these are all things that can throw students off track,” Mansfield said.
Recipients also may apply the stipend to their future tuition, giving them a financial head start if they plan to transfer to a four-year school.
Fralin Futures Scholars will benefit from organized cohort activities that expose them to mentors and employers in the region’s STEM-H fields. The College has established a partnership with the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC that will provide these students a close-up view of the facility’s growth and potential career pathways.
“Virginia Western has been so fortunate to benefit from the vision and commitment of the Fralin family,” said Dr. Robert H. Sandel, Virginia Western’s president. “They understand that a key to building a stronger economy is educating our workforce, and they wanted to make a lasting impact that will touch everyone in the region.”
To apply and learn more, go to virginiawestern.edu/FralinScholarships, or contact Carolyn Payne, Scholarship Coordinator at the Virginia Western Community College Educational Foundation, at cpayne@virginiawestern.edu or (540) 857-6371. Deadline to apply is May 1.
