Press Release from the Branford Rotary Club

College students who don’t go straight from high school to college make up the majority of undergraduates in America, yet these older, “nontraditional” students, many of them working parents, struggle to find financial aid.

Branford Rotary has now rallied to that cause, creating the first dedicated nontraditional student scholarships at CT State Community College, Gateway.

Starting in the fall of 2023, Branford Rotary will award $5,000 a year to Gateway, the largest campus of the state’s recently combined 12 community colleges. The money will be used to help nontraditional students from Branford ages 26 and older and can be awarded to multiple students seeking degrees or technical certificates.

“It’s not easy for nontraditional students to juggle work, school, family, and finances,” said Branford Rotary past President Sandy Carter. “Our scholarships are directly aimed at these folks, not just for tuition, but to buy textbooks, or cover licensing fees, or purchase tools of their trade.”

“The Gateway Foundation is thrilled that Branford Rotary has recognized how great the need is and how big an impact its scholarships will have,” said Gateway Foundation Chair Thomas Beirne III. “This is Gateway’s first scholarship program exclusively for nontraditional students, and we hope it’s the first of many as other communities come to realize what a difference these programs can make.”

Who are nontraditional students?

Generally, 25 and older, nontraditional students are primarily working people, many of them parents with young families who are paying for school themselves while also holding down jobs. Others are veterans attending school during or after their service.

These undergrads often want to change careers or finish their education after time off and seek not just two- or four-year degrees but certificate programs to pursue careers in fields like electronics, automotive repair, water management, firefighting, and countless others.

Gateway student Leah Nichols is one example, said Beirne.

“Leah is a single mom, taking classes full-time and working part-time to build a better life for her son,” said Beirne. “She’s studying to be an automotive technician and has to cover tuition, books, food, rent, utilities, child care, health care, and transportation. And she has to purchase tools. Scholarship aid makes education possible for Leah and students like her.”

More than 70% of all undergrads are nontraditional students, and one in 10 is over 40, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. But most scholarships in this country go to graduating high school seniors, leaving adult students to fend for themselves. This particularly affects students in certificate programs who are not eligible for the federal Pell Grant program.

Branford Rotary’s involvement stemmed from an email sent to the Club by a single mother in her 30s who wanted to become a nurse. She asked if the Rotary had scholarships for adults.

“Our club awards $12,000 a year to graduating high school seniors, but we had never considered older students,” said Branford Rotary’s Andy Marlatt. “After we got that email request, we were forced to ask ourselves, ‘Why not?’”

It’s a question Branford Rotary hopes other organizations will ask themselves.

“This is really a national problem, but solving it starts locally, and we hope this is the start of a movement across the country,” said Marlatt.