Article published October 10, 2008
Needy TPS grads can go to Owens free
By MEGHAN GILBERT
By MEGHAN GILBERT
BLADE STAFF WRITER
It’s not just for Woodward grads anymore.
Any Toledo Public Schools student with financial need can now attend Owens Community College for free.
“Yes, you can do this and, yes, you can afford to go to college,” Owens President Christa Adams told a group of seniors at Waite High School yesterday. She said she often hears student say they cannot afford to go to college. Her response — “Oh, yes you can.”
The college announced the expansion of the Owens Success Program eight months after starting it at Woodward as a pilot site.
Through the program, as long as a student graduates from a public Toledo high school and shows financial need on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the Owens Foundation will pick up the tab for whatever state and federal grants don’t cover.
It means no out-of-pocket expense for the students or their parents as long as the students are enrolled full time at Owens. They have three years to complete their studies with the funding.
“It’s amazing because people like me — and there’s a lot of us whose parents can’t afford to put us kids through college — now don’t have to worry,” said A.J. Wilk, 18, a senior at Waite.
He said he planned to go to Owens for two years and then transfer to the University of Toledo. He wants to get a degree in history and return to Waite as a history teacher. “I was saving for Owens already, and now I can put that to UT,” he said.
Toledo Superintendent John Foley said expanding the program to all the district’s high schools gives students something to strive for, knowing college awaits them.
“It’s a great thing not just for our seniors this year, but for the kids coming up to know this is an option for them,” he said.
Ann Savage, president and chief executive officer of the Owens Foundation, said they were able to expand the program sooner than they planned.
They announced the program at Woodward in February and expanded it to Findlay High School students in June, before opening it up to all Toledo Public graduates.
Ms. Savage said that the students were qualifying for more state and federal aid than they anticipated, so the foundation’s contribution has been less than expected, which left more in the pot for more students.
The foundation has about $175,000 available for both the Owens Success Program and its Summer Bridge to Success Program that helps prepare incoming students for college life.
“We’re not just interested in having them enroll, but also to succeed and get their degree,” Ms. Savage said.
On average, the foundation picks up the tab for about $1,000 of the nearly $3,000 cost of a year of tuition and fees at Owens, she said.
Woodward Principal Emilio Ramirez said his students have taken advantage of the Owens program. On average, 11 to 14 students before would have chosen Owens and there were 57 Woodward graduates in 2008 who went to Owens with the help of the program.
At a school where 15 to 20 percent of students typically pursue higher education, that number is now up to 60 percent, he said.
Mr. Ramirez told the students that pursuing higher education not only helps them, but also their families and communities.
“Take advantage of what’s in front of you,” he said.
Contact Meghan Gilbert at:mgilbert@theblade.comor 419-724-6134.
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