Students in Professor Carrie Dollar’s BIO 272 class recently completed their own blood typing tests at home. Even though COVID-19 has presented challenges to our faculty and students, learning is continuing!
Category: Learning
SC4 student finds college success in TRIO program
When Mikayla Phetteplace decided to restart her college career in 2018, she attended an orientation session for the TRIO program. With a six-month-old baby girl, Mikayla’s schedule wasn’t flexible enough for on-campus classes and she was going to need some help getting back into the swing of college classes. SC4’s TRIO Student Support Services program looked like a great choice.
“After [the TRIO] orientation, I had an advising appointment,” Mikayla explains. “The advisor highly recommended TRIO. I was amazed at the opportunities and benefits of being in the program, so I didn’t hesitate to fill out the application.”
Mikayla has been in the TRIO program for five semesters, and she’s sure she wouldn’t have had the success she’s had at SC4 without it. “Shawne (Jowett, then-TRIO advisor and current Interim Director of the program) kept me on track and made sure that the classes I was taking were online and needed for me to graduate. The early enrollment opportunity and the tutoring were the services I benefited from the most.”
With a full-time job and family responsibilities, Mikayla’s biggest challenge is time, and the help provided by her instructors and the TRIO team has been essential. “There are never enough hours in the day,” she says. “I have found that the trick to having the time is making it. It has seemed impossible sometimes, but things always get accomplished by the deadline. I try to remind myself to breathe and always ask for help when I need it.”
While it was important that she was able to complete her associate degree in computer information systems completely online, being able to travel 30 minutes to campus if she needed additional help was also important to Mikayla’s success. “SC4 is local, so unlike some online schools where literally everything is done online, if I need to come to campus I can.”
Mikayla has had support from many SC4 faculty and staff, but she is particularly thankful for the support of three people. “I’m most grateful for Professor Colleen Forsgren. She has been the most supportive, informational, and just all-around the best professor I’ve had at SC4. I’ve learned so much under her instruction,” Mikayla says. “I’m also grateful to Amy (Hengehold, TRIO Support Staff Member) and Shawne. They’re both so wonderful.”
Because of her overall success at SC4 and the impact that the college’s TRIO SSS program has had on her, Mikayla is the TRIO Student of the Month for September 2020.
Mikayla is planning to graduate in December with her associate degree, and eventually hopes to transfer to a university to complete her bachelor’s degree. She currently works as an administrative assistant and she and her husband hoping to buy a home in the area to give their daughter a place to grow up in and enjoy.
“TRIO has been one of the brightest spots of my college career,” Mikayla says. “There is nothing not to like about TRIO. They are helpful, kind, supportive, and always there if anyone has questions or concerns.”
SC4 receives $1.3 million TRIO grant
St. Clair County Community College recently was awarded a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to continue its TRIO Student Support Services program. This is the third time SC4 has been awarded funding for its TRIO SSS program, following grants in 2010 and 2015.
The Student Support Services program is one of eight TRIO programs funded by the Department of Education, which share the goal of providing opportunities for academic success and motivating students toward completing their postsecondary educational goals. TRIO’s primary clients are low-income individuals, first-generation college students, and individuals with disabilities. A major goal of SC4’s TRIO SSS program is to increase retention and graduation rates of the students involved with the program.
SC4’s TRIO SSS program provides individualized tutoring; academic advising; financial aid assistance; and assisting with students’ long-term academic plans, including transferring to four-year colleges and universities after completing their SC4 degree.
“I’m so proud of our TRIO SSS students,” said Shawne Jowett, interim director of the program at SC4. “These students come from a variety of backgrounds, each with their own challenges, but with the help of the TRIO program, and as importantly, the support they give each other, they’ve been successful at achieving their college goals at SC4.”
The program more than 140 SC4 students participating during the 2019-20 academic year.
“The TRIO SSS program has provided outstanding support to SC4 students over the past decade, helping hundreds achieve their goal of earning a college degree,” said Pete Lacey, vice president of student services. “I’m excited to receive this new grant award and look forward to our team continuing to help students successfully navigate college.”
For more information about SC4’s TRIO Student Support Services program, visit sc4.edu/trio.
TRIO student keeps a focus on big goals
Nelson Thorn has big goals, but it hasn’t always been easy to keep moving toward them. Loss of close relatives and the financial burdens of being an independent student have meant that he’s had to keep focused on what he wants to accomplish in life. Fortunately, SC4’s TRIO program has been there to help, along with many other sources of support and encouragement on campus.
Initially, Thorn was attracted to the flexibility SC4’s nursing programs offered to students.
“I chose SC4 because of the programs, class sizes, resources, and student involvement,” he said. “And with the addition of the student housing, I had a place to call home for my first year. (Manager of college housing) Nathanial Shrapnell helped me tremendously.”
When personal difficulties happened, Thorn turned to SC4 campus resources for help.
“One of the hardest barriers to face was losing a few relatives. The staff and my professors helped me to stay in school and keep up my grade point average. And then I applied to the TRIO program.”
“TRIO gave me more personalized, hands-on help. I was struggling with deciding a major and planning my transfer pathway, and TRIO supported me in my academic success,” Thorn said. “I was also interested in the events TRIO holds for its students, including college tours, concerts, plays, and volunteer experiences.”
Thorn has plenty of people to thank for his success as a student at SC4, starting with TRIO staff support Amy Hengehold and director Jessica Brown and especially his TRIO advisor Shawne Jowett.
“I don’t know if I would be graduating without her help!” he said. Others who have been particularly inspirational are his first academic advisor Stacy Healy, SC4’s coordinator of student activities and services Sherry Artman, director of behavioral intervention and support services David Goetze, and Testing Center staff members Kim Heering and Kelly Lindsay.
“They have been unconditionally supportive and have been mentors to me, from just talking with me and allowing me to express myself to helping me find additional support and resources,” Thorn explained. “And special thanks to my friends who have become family and have been my rock for the past two years.”
Thorn plans to transfer to the University of Michigan to pursue bachelor’s degrees in psychology and business administration, with a concentration in entrepreneurship. He’d also like to complete a master’s degree before he turns 30.
He recommends TRIO to anyone who’s eligible for the program. “With longer advising appointments, support services, and tutoring, any college student would find TRIO beneficial.”
