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PNC
Scholarships Send Two Boys & Girls Club Grads
To MCCC this Fall
8/9/11
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West
Windsor, N.J. -- In a perfect three-way partnership, dreams
of pursuing higher education at Mercer County Community College
are being fulfilled through the generosity of PNC Bank and
the mentoring of the Boys and Girls Club (BGC) of Trenton.
Two local high school grads, Michael Coleman of Ewing High
School and Brianna Terry of Trenton Central High School, will
start classes at MCCC in a few weeks.
According to BGC Executive Director Dave Anderson, both students
have been active members of the Boys & Girls Club, where
they were selected to receive the scholarships as a result
of their demonstrated work ethic and commitment to education.
The scholarships cover full tuition, expenses, and even transportation
costs.
Anderson notes that PNC starts preparing young people in middle
school by funding after school programming at the club. PNC
is also a funder of "Career Launch," in which students
learn about potential careers and attend career fairs.
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From
left, Boys & Girls Club Executive Director David Anderson
with MCCC-bound students Michael Coleman and Brianna Terry,
the 2011 recipients of PNC Bank scholarships, and Drew Whitmore,
teen services director.
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The
journey continues in high school, when PNC helps fund work-readiness
programs, providing paid internships for 200 club members, who "practice
their work skills at the club," says Anderson. "By the
time they are done, they can determine their path - college or technical
school. They figure it out here." Anderson is proud of club
members' 99 percent high school graduation rate, with 80 percent
of the teens going on to college right from high school.
And
that's where Mercer County Community College comes in. Three years
ago, PNC worked with MCCC President Patricia C. Donohue to add the
Mercer scholarship component that completes the circle. "Community
college is such a great bargain and such a great investment,"
Anderson observes. From the current graduating class, 30 students
will be attending Mercer in the fall.
"We get invaluable support from PNC," Andersen says. "They
fund the front end with the after-school program and help us mentor
the kids through high school."
According to PNC's Regional President Kevin Tylus, "PNC's commitment
to young people is largely centered around education." He notes
that the financial institution also funds "Grow Up Great, "an
early childhood education program.
"Education is the cornerstone," he emphasizes. "Kids
come to the Boys & Girls Club with tremendous potential and
it's only through education that they can realize it. We are confident
they will receive an outstanding education at Mercer."
Tylus notes that on visits to the club, where he serves on the board
of directors, he sees students lined up in the computer lab, waiting
to access the Internet for research and school assignments. "As
members of BGC, they are making that commitment," he says.
"The great news is the increase in high school graduation rates
among these students and the increased numbers who are moving on
to college," Tylus says.
Anderson adds that corporate support has been vital to the continued
programming of the Boys & Girls Club. "When state funding
for after-school programs was reduced, PNC, Novo Nordisk and several
other companies stepped up to help with funding."
"We hope our actions will encourage others," says PNC's
Tylus.
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