Eastern Gateway awards free-tuition grants to 16 students

Staff report

youngstown

Eastern Gateway Community College has awarded the first free- tuition Gateway Grants to Mahoning Valley students for the fall term.

Sixteen grants have been presented to qualified students. Their tuition will be paid for the next four semesters at EGCC. Total savings over two years of taking classes full time will be about $7,000 per student.

This grant is not competitive and is awarded to all qualified students. It does not have to be repaid.

Ryan Fritch, a 2012 Boardman High School graduate, said that enrolling at Eastern Gateway “was not a hard choice to make” because of the Gateway Grant. “If you are going to get a four-year degree, why not get your basic courses out of the way at a reduced rate? Why spend the extra money?” he asked. “You get the same quality for a lot less cost.”

He plans to pursue his general-education courses for the next two years then transfer his credits to Kent State University to study computer science.

The grant program is making it possible for Shannon Ricketson of North Jackson to start college this fall, she said.

“The Gateway Grant is the main reason I chose Eastern Gateway,” she said. “This grant makes it possible for me to go to school this fall; otherwise, I would have to take the year off and save money to pay for college.”

Ricketson graduated last spring from Jackson-Milton High School and will pursue the associate of arts degree at EGCC.

“I plan to get my core classes completed then transfer for a bachelor’s degree in nursing at Kent State University,” she said. The Gateway Grant also is making it easier for Cameron Stankick of Youngstown to attend college. “My parents are moving away from the area, so I will be living on my own,” he said in the news release. “This grant really helps out. I will be studying in the teacher education program with the goal of eventually teaching in high school.”

Close to 50 percent of all college-bound students start higher education at a community college, according to the American Association of Community Colleges.

Class of 2012 graduates from high schools in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties who meet the qualifications may attend Eastern Gateway tuition-free this fall. Students will be responsible for fees, books and supplies.

For information about the Gateway Grant and classes that begin Aug. 20, call 330-744-8967.