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$1 million grant is awarded to SCC
When students arrive at Southwestern Community College this fall, they’ll have a wealth of support, courtesy of a $1 million grant to SCC’s Student Support Services.
The grant from the U.S. Department of Education is an indicator that the SCC office has done a good job over the past five years, according to SCC President Cecil Groves. The grant, which can be sought every four years, allows the office to continue the work the staff initiated during that time.
“We’re here to foster an environment that is supportive of the students we serve,” said Cheryl Contino-Conner, director of student support Services. “They include students who are among the first generation in their families to attend college and are income eligible or who have a documented disability. Our job is to help them stay in school and graduate and possibly transfer to another college after graduation. If we’re doing that, we’re successful.”
This task requires the SSS staff to fill many roles, coordinate many services and team with other offices at SCC and with outside agencies, she said.
“Our task may be as simple as helping a new student secure his or her books from the bookstore when they didn’t realize they had to pay for their books up front,” Contino-Conner said. “Or it may require us to partner with the Financial Aid Office to offer workshops for our students to keep them mindful of the financial resources available to help them defray the costs of college. The number-one reason students drop out of college or don’t come to class is money. Supplemental grants can help them with the costs of college and deter them from having to secure loans. We want to make sure they understand all that’s available to them.”
While money – or the lack of it – is a significant problem for many students, they face other challenges and Student Support Services is there to assist them.
“We’re like an academic insurance program,” Contino-Conner said. “A student invests valuable time and other resources at SCC. Why not protect that investment? We have a comprehensive list of services that can help these students stay in school and thrive.
“For example, a student may need a tutor; we will find and provide a tutor for them. Or if someone needs to put their child in day care in order to attend classes, we will help them through our strong relationships with area child care centers. We can’t promise them subsistence to pay for child care, but we can make calls to find a place for their child in the college’s service area.
“In other words, if we don’t have the resources they need, we’ll try to find them. For example, Vocational Rehabilitation is a wonderful resource for people with disabilities. Their office is so close to our campus that we sometimes walk over there to meet with them about a student client.”
In addition to Contino-Conner, SSS staff members include Laurie Butler, administrative assistant – and the first person most students meet; Peter Buck, counselor; and Marti Hunter, reading instructor and peer tutor coordinator. All are known on campus as strong advocates for SCC students, taking the time to find out what a student needs and following up to fulfill that need.
“We do everything from academic co-advising to tutoring to organizing and coordinating cultural enrichment experiences for our students, as well as coordinating their involvement in civic and community projects,” Buck said.
According to Buck, students who took part in civic and community projects last year set a goal of providing 100 hours of service.
“They met and exceeded that goal while also participating in such academic adventures as the ‘Mother Read/Father Read’ program, where students learned the art of reading to children with a craft activity attached to each book. This is a great program and if the parents complete seven of eight sessions, they get to keep all the books for their kids.”
Students also provided service to Community Table and area animal rescue efforts and adopted a section of a highway to maintain, Hunter said.
The SSS staff is also responsible for a transfer initiative.
“We try to ‘demystify’ the process for them,” Contino-Conner said. “We take them on campus visits to the four-year colleges or universities, set up meetings for them with faculty, and make sure they get comfortable on the campus. We’re there for them from their consideration of what college to attend to their application.”
Counseling is also a big part of SSS services.
“Students experience many challenges beyond the classroom walls,” Contino-Conner said. “At times they may just need a sympathetic ear to listen to their problems or it may be they need services outside the college that we can’t provide.”
SSS staff also help SCC students with job seeking – and keeping – skills. One example are the interviews the staff sets up and coordinates over two days each year.
“We organize mock interviews with SCC faculty and staff who act as employers to whom our students have applied for jobs,” Contino-Conner explained. “The students and the ‘employers’ approach the project as if they are real interviews. The students must prepare resumes, dress appropriately, and go through the process any job applicant experiences. They learn a lot from the exercise and many have attributed this to their later success in getting a job.”
The Department of Education grant will provide the means by which these and other initiatives will be carried out by SSS staff members over the next four years, with the office receiving a fourth of the grant funds each year.
“We are very glad to receive the grant and to receive affirmation of our work,” Contino-Conner said. “I’m very proud of our staff. They face a big challenge every year, and they bring an equally big commitment to the students in meeting that challenge.”
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