By Joshua Phelps and Kevin Bailey
The Scene staff
Many Forest Park students don’t realize that St. Louis Community College has a private foundation that provides scholarship money to help them pay for tuition, books and other supplies.
The St. Louis Community College Foundation distributed more than $700,000 in scholarships in the last fiscal year.
They’re all listed on the website, said Executive Director Jo-Ann Digman. “They’ve mostly been established by individuals, corporations, retirees and faculty members to support students in a variety of ways.”
The foundation switched to an all-online application process in the spring of 2017 to make it more convenient for students to apply.
The web address is stlcc.edu/admissions/scholarships.aspx.
Through the site, students “can submit one general application, and that will inform them about other scholarships in our system,” said Executive Associate Nicole Higginbotham.
The foundation scholarships won’t cover all college costs, but they help. Most students receive $500 to $1,000.
“They may need a little bit of funding to finish a semester or finish a certain program, and this can be really beneficial for working students,” Higginbotham said. “Students have families to support or other things to support, and it takes some of that load off.”
Some scholarships are available only to students enrolled in certain programs, such as culinary arts or travel and tourism.
The foundation received more than $1 million from the Jerome and Lorraine Wallis Revocable Trust last April and established the Jerome and Lorraine Wallis Endowed Scholarship Fund to help Forest Park nurs-ing students.
To get scholarships, students must meet some basic criteria, including grade-point averages of 2.5 or higher.
Higginbotham stresses that students need to pay attention to deadlines when applying for scholarships.
“Students will have to apply each semester for scholarships, so there is a limited time for them to submit their applications,” she said.
After students apply for scholarships, they need to check for emails to follow additional steps required with some scholarships.
“Follow-through is paramount,” Higginbotham said.
Forest Park clinical lab major Andrea Barbaga, 40, said she has never applied for a scholarship, but she sees how they could come in handy.
“It gives students a chance to make their education more affordable,” she said.
Nursing major George Raeth, 26, hasn’t applied for scholarships, either. He gets Pell Grants, but said scholarships are good for students who aren’t eligible for grants.
“It’s for people that can’t afford to go to school otherwise,” he said.