Dear Monroe Harding Family and Supporters,
I am excited to share that Monroe Harding expanded its post-secondary education support services at our Youth Connection Resource Center through partnership with Nashville State Community College.
Monroe Harding and Nashville State are partnering to provide young adults in the foster care system or disconnected from education or work those essential supports needed to help them succeed in their education-to-career pursuit. This new partnership helps young people prepare for success at Nashville State, helps potential Nashville State students successfully navigate higher education entry, and helps current students achieve their education-to-career objectives.
Monroe Harding Education Coordinator Emily Grohs is providing office hours to students on Nashville State’s campus two days a week at the Student Success Center at the White Bridge Road campus. She is just a few steps away from academic advisors, admissions, financial aid, and every other staff or department one of our students may need to access. By being on campus and a part of the Nashville State team, she can more fully support our students and build relationships with even more students in the future.
In addition to assisting students with the college entry process, on-line learning support including tutoring, and career development support, Monroe Harding can serve eligible Nashville State students through our Works Wonders© career development and employer engagement program and our Youth Connections Resource Center. We provide students essential support services which address needs such as nutrition, financial management, housing security, transportation, childcare, and funding to alleviate other barriers.
Our post-secondary education team already assisted 23 current and prospective Nashville State students since the start of the year and provided over 70 individual support sessions.
One example of how this exciting, new partnership is benefitting our young people involves Dimante. After dropping out of high school and spending several years out of school and often without housing, Dimante is now safely housed in Monroe Harding’s VOCA program. He earned his high school diploma this past winter. And he jumped immediately into college after earning his diploma. Dimante’s secondary education sessions with us transitioned into post-secondary education sessions, and included everything from exploring degree options, filling out school and financial aid applications, visiting Nashville State’s campus to enroll in classes, and a lot more. On one ride to Nashville State, Dimante confessed that for so much of his life he did not think he would finish high school, yet alone think college was in his future. But now Dimante talks often about his future and his evolving goals for his life, ones that go far beyond the boundaries he used to see for himself. Dimante is now halfway through his first college semester, studying for his Computer Programming Technical Certificate!
If you know of a Nashville State student or prospective student who might benefit from our support, please let us know. We are happy to arrange and give campus tours, help the young person complete their college and financial aid applications, obtain computers and hotspots, gain tutoring assistance, and assist with class registration, transportation to campus, scholarship applications, and so much more.
Sincerely,
David Popen
President & CEO