Carrie Berglund first started college in 1989, but family responsibilities caused her to stop her education one semester shy of graduating.
After 30 years on the streets as an addict, Damien Carroll, 62, found recovery and hope in Las Animas and Otero Junior College, but then Covid-19 hit and interrupted his schooling.
Adel Ishnenah graduated from high school in 2017 and went straight into college, but then he stopped out when he realized he didn’t know what degree he wanted to pursue.
And Heidi Keryan started college in 2009 as a young single mom, but without a strong support system she wasn’t able to finish.
Those four students from different walks of life — and dozens more — are getting a second chance at college in part because of the newly funded Metropolitan State University of Denver Finish What You Started grant program. The program provides recipients with personal, professional, academic and financial support to complete their degrees.
“We saw so many students who were so close to graduation, so this program is really targeting those individuals who have a degree within reach,” said Tana Ridgeway, a reengagement navigator for MSU Denver and the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative, which oversees Finish What You Started.
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According to the U.S. Department of Education, the national four-year graduation rate of public colleges and universities is 33.3%, suggesting that a large percentage of students face barriers to graduating in four years — or at all.
“We want these students to see themselves in the future they envisioned when they started school,” said Ridgeway. “We’re about more than just the academic credits needed to graduate: Financial literacy, résumé writing and other business skills are all part of the program.”
Students also have a navigator (or mentor) throughout the program and receive $1,000 in financial aid the first semester they reenroll. They then get $500 each subsequent semester until their final semester, when they again receive $1,000. There’s additional funding available for emergencies and community resources to help recipients finish their degrees.
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