By: Dr. Jesse O. Bolinger
Education is valuable and is something that everyone should have access to regardless of your circumstances; however, I know that not everyone feels that they have access to higher education. Therefore, I set a goal to hold at least one workshop related to federal financial aid and college access before the end of my term of AmeriCorps VISTA service. Though a partnership with the Iowa College Student Aid Commission, just such a workshop will take place!
On Saturday, August 4th “Your Course to College” will talk about how to pay for college and much more. This free workshop will focus on three main topics:
• Getting to college: Choosing a school and major, applying for admission
• Affording college: Types of financial aid and how to get it
• Succeeding in college: Making a successful transition from high school, completing a degree
This free workshop will take place at the Barnum Community Center, 302 NE 4th St in Decatur City beginning at 2:00PM.
Elizabeth Sedral, Communications Coordinator for Iowa College Aid says that “College opens so many doors, but we know that getting there can be an intimidating process–choosing a school, lining up financial aid and making the transition from high school. We’re here to guide students and families through every step.”
For those who are unable to attend we plan to live-stream the event via the Decatur county Development Corporation AmeriCorps VISTA Facebook page. We want to ensure that if you are unable to attend the event in person that you are still able to access the information. Any handouts from the event will be made available via the AmeriCorps VISTA section of the Decatur County Development Corporation website www.dcdciowa.org and Facebook page www.facebook.com/dcdcav.
Over the remainder of my term of service as a VISTA, I encourage anyone who has questions, comments or ideas about how to improve the quality of life in Decatur County to contact me. I enjoy having conversations with individuals who wish to share their own personal experience and am always willing to visit with any individual or group. Please feel free to contact me by phone at (641)455-2896 or by e-mail at jbolinger@dcdciowa.org.