By Josh Martinez
Twitter: @jmartinez064

A new door of opportunity opened at Scottsdale Community College, revealing a path for former students to return to the school.

The school announced the Complete Your Dreams Initiative Oct. 21, which aims to offer 111 former SCC students who didn’t complete their degree program to return. SCC will award qualified students with a free, three-credit-hour class when they return for the spring 2020 semester.

To qualify for the award, students must have been out of school for two years or less; earned a minimum of 15 credit hours without completing a degree; and have a GPA of 2.0 or higher.

SCC interim President Christina Haines said there are a litany of life reasons students stop attending college. She emphasized these reasons don’t make former students bad students or not motivated, but rather that they had to put their education life on pause.

“We want to be able to take their lives off pause and go right into what it is they want to finish and complete their degree or certificate or help them get a job right away with their certificate,” she said.

Ms. Haines got the idea for the program after receiving an email from the school’s interim Dean of Students Edmund Lamperez detailing a similar program at a college in Hilo, Hawaii.

Upon receiving inspiration, Ms. Haines said the next step was funding. SCC applied for a $12,500 grant from the Scottsdale Industrial Development Authority and then hosted a three-week fundraiser with the school’s faculty and staff.

Initially, the goal was to bring back 100 students but through fundraising efforts, the school exceeded that amount.

“I have to give all that credit to our faculty and staff,” Ms. Haines said. “They gave $10 at a time, $20 at a time, $500 at a time, whatever they could afford, they gave. This was not a fundraiser where they would get any tax break or anything like that. This was because they cared about our students.”

Tawni Rachel, manager of the SCC Student Success and Retention Department, will spearhead the efforts of the initiative through the application process and beyond.

Her department will work to locate students who qualify, vetting those reasons why a student may have dropped out that may disqualify them from earning the award. The reason for the strategic approach is so the school doesn’t set a student up to fail.

For Ms. Rachel, this program is not solely for getting students to participate. She hopes to help these current and former students feel connected to the school and its services, regardless if they qualify for the award.

Along with submitting an application, potential recipients of the free class will need to sit with Ms. Rachel for an interview, either by phone or in-person.

As part of those interviews, if Ms. Rachel believes the program may not be the best fit, she can still refer them to other programs on campus, keeping them connected to the school and informed on their options.

“It will be a definite intentional connection that you belong here and where are you in that timeline,” she said. “That’s something you don’t generally see when you’re going to admissions and records or financial aid. You have to figure out those timelines for yourself.”

Despite the heavy workload, Ms. Rachel said she has been thoroughly enjoying the efforts because it reignites her passion for helping students.

After running a construction service, Ms. Rachel decided to go to college in 2010 after the Great Recession forced her to pick a new career. She said she felt welcomed onto a college campus and hopes to fill that same role for those students who opt to return.

“I’m so excited about this I can’t even stand it,” she said. “It puts me in front of a student again and it really puts the emphasis on ‘hey, let’s have a conversation.’”

While there are no official plans for the future, Ms. Haines said she hopes to continue the program for years to come but the school needs to seek grant opportunities and expand fundraising to the community.

Those interested in applying for the award should visit https://www.scottsdalecc.edu/completeyourdreams. The deadline for applications is Dec. 6.

Ms. Rachel said she is looking for students who will do the work to succeed in college, whatever that may look like. The end game, she said, is for students to walk away with the benefits of higher education.

“It can never be taken away from you,” she said. “That’s yours. I get a little verklempt because when you don’t have anything or you move forward in life, things can be taken away. That can never be taken away from you and it opens opportunity.”