Category: Financial Aid

Free Tuition Programs

SC4 is joining the governor in making SC4 tuition-free to qualifying students.  Students may qualify for several programs to attend SC4 tuition-free, including the most recent program for 2024 high school graduates.

The state of Michigan budget now includes an opportunity for 2024 high school graduates to attend SC4 tuition-free.  The tuition support program, together with the direct admission to SC4 for high school graduates in St. Clair County, provides the most efficient path in the state of Michigan to college credits and a career path.

The SC4 Financial Aid Office is ready to assist each person with exploring options, identifying required steps and evaluating qualifications for tuition programs.  The state of Michigan has several programs to help students pay for college.  The SC4 Financial Aid Office is able to navigate the programs and help each student maximize program participation.

SC4 participates in federal and state of Michigan programs for tuition support such as Reconnect (students age 21+), Pell, Tuition Incentive Program, Michigan Achievement Scholarship and more.

Contact SC4 Financial Aid for program details. Financialaid@sc4.edu

For media inquiries, please contact Sarah Rutallie, Chief of Staff, at srutallie@sc4.edu

Michigan Reconnect Program

The State of Michigan has recently updated the guidelines for the Michigan Reconnect program. Previously, only Michigan residents who were twenty-four or older were eligible for the program. Now, anyone who is twenty-one or older qualifies. 

Michigan Reconnect is a last-dollar scholarship program that pays for students to attend a local community college tuition-free for in-district residents and a reduced tuition rate for out-of-district residents. This scholarship applies to both associate degrees and certificate programs at SC4.

“Michigan Reconnect is a wonderful opportunity for students looking to return to college,” said Sarah Rutallie, chief of staff at SC4. “Extending the age range to twenty-one and older provides the opportunity for more members of our community to pursue an education.”

More information about the Michigan Reconnect program can be found at www.sc4.edu/reconnect.

For media inquiries, please contact Sarah Rutallie, Chief of Staff, at srutallie@sc4.edu

New scholarship honoring alumna Ellen Petho to benefit SC4 art and design students

Future generations of St. Clair County Community College (SC4) art and design students will benefit from a new scholarship thanks to a generous $100,000 donation from the Petho family in honor of SC4 alumna and interior designer Ellen Petho.

Ellen Petho called Port Huron her home for more than 75 years. She and her husband, Lou, raised their family in Port Huron. Ellen had a long and successful career in interior design. She also devoted herself to philanthropic work. She was proud to earn her advertising and design degree from SC4 in 1988. SC4 was an integral part of Ellen’s education and the beginning of her design career. While at SC4, she formed great relationships and had wonderful mentors.

Sadly, Ellen Petho passed away on Jan. 2, 2023. To honor Ellen and her devotion to art and giving to others, Lou, her daughters and their families have made a generous $100,000 donation to SC4 on its 100th year anniversary. This donation will provide scholarship money to aspiring art students. The scholarship will be called the “Ellen Petho Design Ideas Memorial Scholarship.” Through this scholarship, Ellen’s passion for learning, art and design, and giving to others will live on as her legacy.

SC4 students soon can apply for the “Ellen Petho Design Ideas Memorial Scholarship” at sc4.edu/scholarships.

To learn more about SC4 art, design, and other programs and career pathways, as well as how to apply and register for winter 2024 classes, visit sc4.edu/programs/.

Petho family, pictured above from left to right: Christine Moore, Lou Petho, Kathy Patterson and Karri Petho

SC4 student perseveres, gains confidence on path to nursing career

“This isn’t working for me. I want more. I want to go back to school.”

Amber Fields—a single, working mom and caretaker without a high school diploma—remembers the day in 2018 she officially set her sights on becoming a nurse.  

“I was working dead-end jobs and was tired and burned out,” Fields said. “I’ve always wanted to help people and needed a change. I started searching paths, first to earn a GED. I came across 2GEN Learning Center and was met with immediate encouragement, love, and the support I didn’t even know I needed. It was my first step in becoming a nurse and I didn’t have to take it alone.”

2GEN, which “moves families toward economic security by improving educational attainment and addressing the non-academic barriers hindering success,” helped Fields get started.

“My son attended with me, attending developmental child care,” the mom of three said. “It took me about five to six months to pass, but I got my GED in February 2019.”

From there, Fields turned her focus to enrolling at St. Clair County Community College (SC4) and applying to its Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) program.

“I filled out a lot of scholarship applications thanks to the help and support of my 2GEN family and the Community Foundation,” she said. “I was surprised to learn that I ended up getting every scholarship I filled out!”

Fields enrolled at SC4 beginning in fall 2019, taking prerequisite courses needed for the nursing program. She applied and was accepted into the nursing program in 2021, but had some difficulty in one class in particular.

“Unfortunately, I ended up failing the class,” said Fields, who had also started work as a full-time nurse aide at McLaren Port Huron. “That meant I had to wait until the next year to reapply to the program. So that’s what I did.”

She persevered and restarted her journey last fall. Since then, she’s continued on her path and even has been recognized for her efforts in the program. In April 2023, she was selected as the winner of the Faculty Memorial Award continuing student, an honor chosen by the SC4 faculty and presented at the Student Recognition Ceremony.

“I’ve gotten so much confidence going back to school and going to SC4,” she said. “The classes are small and you get really close with the professors. They know you and are very willing to help you through issues and with problems.”

Fields expects to graduate from SC4 with her ADN in 2024—and already is looking into where to pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

“Nothing worthwhile is easy, you just have to keep moving,” Fields said. “My dreams are coming true. I’m looking forward to heading into a rewarding career as an RN.”

For more information about applying to SC4 and registering for courses, contact the SC4 Admissions team at (810) 989-5571 or starthere@sc4.edu. For more information about financial aid and scholarships—including Michigan Reconnect, a last-dollar scholarship program that pays for adult learners 25 and older to attend SC4 for free or at a reduced cost—contact SC4 Financial Aid at  financialaid@sc4.edu or call (810) 989-5530.

Photo credit: 2GEN Learning Center