Community Foundation offers scholarships to essential workers.

– OCP file photo

Community Foundation offers scholarships to essential workers.

PENTWATER – The Community Foundation for Oceana County has announced the availability of adult student scholarships aimed at students accepted into the Futures for Frontliners program enrolled at Muskegon Community College or West Shore Community College.

Futures for Frontliners (F4F) is a state-run program that offers free tuition for essential workers attending community colleges at in-district tuition rates. Since there is no institution of higher education in county, most Oceana students do not fully qualify for free tuition, leaving a portion of costs uncovered by the F4F program. The Community Foundation and a donor supporting additional scholarships through the Oceana College Access Network have scholarship funds to assist with these gap costs.

Beginning immediately, scholarships will be offered to Oceana County residents who have been out of high school for at least one year and/or have a gap in their post-secondary education. Students must be attending West Shore or Muskegon Community Colleges, accepted into the F4F program and taking at least six credits.

Higher selection priority will be aligned with Oceana CAN! goals to impact degrees and certification achievement for persons of color, first generation college students, or low income. Adult students may also have other identifying criteria, such as full-time employment, parenthood, care of elderly parents, or prior military service.

“We encourage all F4F adult students to apply, regardless of their ability to meet these criteria. We are excited to expand our program to help meet local employment needs and increase career options for Oceana residents,” said Foundation Scholarship Program Officer, Danielle Siegel.

The Foundation’s 2021 adult scholarship program is accepting applications now through Jan. 22, 2021. Applications are submitted through the Community Foundation website at https://oceanafoundation.org/scholarships/adult-student-scholarships/. Adult students can complete their applications in three easy steps, and applicants should expect to hear from the foundation within two weeks of the submission deadline.

The Community Foundation maintains the largest scholarship program in our area, offering nearly $220,000 last year to 140 new and 59 renewing students. The Community Foundation aims to make higher education more accessible in our community through local donors’ generosity. To learn more about the foundation’s general scholarship process, visit https://oceanafoundation.org/scholarships/how-to-apply-for-a-scholarship/.

Please consider helping to fund local news. Mason County Press and Oceana County Press are available for free thanks to the generous support of our advertisers and individuals who support our service. Click on the PayPal donation button located on the top right of our website.

This story is copyrighted © 2021, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.

As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.