Hartnell College invites media and the public to an August 8 news conference and celebration to launch the Salinas Valley Promise scholarship program, the college’s most ambitious student success program ever.
Beginning with the Fall 2019 semester, which starts Aug. 12, the Salinas Valley Promise is providing more than 600 first-time Hartnell students with leadership training, mentorship, a free laptop computer and free tuition, regardless of their family’s income.
Full-time tuition and other program benefits will extend to a second year for participating students.
The outdoor news conference, to begin at 11:30 a.m. on the Main Campus in Salinas, will include remarks by officials from four Salinas Valley governments that are joining with private philanthropists to fund the Promise. Private donors, the program’s director and newly enrolled students will also take part.
Participants will gather on the central plaza of the campus at 411 Central Ave. and be available for individual media interviews following the presentations.
“Hartnell’s Salinas Valley Promise is a scholarship program, but it really is much more,” said Hartnell Superintendent/President Dr. Willard Lewallen, who will be the event’s opening speaker. “It is a completion program, putting students on a path to complete a transfer degree or pursue a technical career.”
Building on existing programs
The Promise program was modeled after two of Hartnell’s existing student success programs, called WELI (Women’s Education and Leadership Institute) and MILE (Men’s Institute for Leadership and Education), which serve students who have already started college. They receive small-group training in leadership and such life skills as budgeting and communication, as well as individual mentorship and financial support.
In the example of WELI, which started in 2011, 72 percent of WELI scholars have graduated from Hartnell with a certificate or degree, compared with 41 percent of women students with a comparable GPA and course load who were not in WELI.
However, unlike WELI and MILE, which each serve about 25 students a year, the goal with the Promise is to reach as many incoming students as possible – as many as 1,000 or more in years to come. In 2018-19, Hartnell enrolled 1,361 students from high schools in its district, not all of whom are able to attend full-time.
Where WELI and MILE participants require to enroll in at least nine credits per semester, the Promise program requires students to take at least 12 units, considered a full-time course load. Research has shown that students who attend full-time are much more likely to stick with college and eventually graduate.
“I would like every student and every parent – and every counselor and teacher at the high school level – to know that there is a community of people here at Hartnell College who are rooting for them,” said Jackie Cruz, vice president of advancement and development and the Hartnell College Foundation.
The Salinas Valley Promise builds on the state-funded California Promise Grant, which provides free in-state tuition to income-eligible students, by extending that benefit to all first-time, full-time students in the Hartnell district.
It also includes a small-group leadership institute during the weeks of July 29 and Aug. 5, quarterly workshops with fellow Promise students and regular mentoring by volunteer Salinas-area professionals.
“We want to make sure that students have the social, emotional and academic support that they need to succeed,” said Bronwyn Moreno, director of student affairs for special programs, who is leading the Salinas Valley Promise program.
Public-private partnership
Because of the need to fund students who do not qualify for the state fee waiver, the Hartnell College Foundation has invited private donors and local governments in the district to lend their financial support.
The city of Gonzales was the first to approve funding for the Promise, in April. The largest public partner is the County of Monterey, whose Board of Supervisors voted April 23 to commit $200,000 to the Promise program. The cities of Soledad, King City and Greenfield are also making financial contributions.
District 3 Supervisor Chris Lopez, who represents south Monterey County, said he believes the investment by local government can spur other public and private partners to add their support in the future.
“Too many of our young people are convinced they do not have what it takes to earn a college degree,” Lopez said. “Others lack confidence when it comes to taking their new knowledge and training into the workforce.
“With its financial support, leadership training and mentorship component, I am confident the Salinas Valley Promise will enable students in our communities to get past those barriers.”
Among private donors who are stepping up to support the Promise program are Bud Colligan, co-founder of the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) and his wife, Rebecca, and Margaret D’Arrigo-Martin, chief executive officer of Margaret Inc. and vice president of community development for Taylor Farms.
D’Arrigo-Martin, who has been an active member of the Hartnell College Foundation’s Salinas Valley Promise Committee, said that the Promise is poised to help unleash the talents of the region’s young adults.
“The Salinas Valley Promise is an economic development model that supports the rich talent we have in our local students,” she said. “This program will help Hartnell build the community leaders of the future.”
List of speakers
The following individuals are expected to make brief remarks at the Aug. 8 news conference, beginning at 11:30 a.m.:
Aurelio Salazar Jr., president, Hartnell College Board of Trustees (welcome)
Dr. Willard Lewallen, superintendent/president, Hartnell College
Judge John Phillips, chair, Monterey County Board of Supervisors
Chris Lopez, Monterey County supervisor, District 3
Luis Alejo, Monterey County supervisor, District 1
Maria Orozco, mayor, Gonzales
Michael McHatten, city manager, Soledad
Paul Wood, city manager, Greenfield
Mike LeBarre, mayor, King City
Dan Burns, superintendent, Salinas Union High School District
Margaret D’Arrigo-Martin, CEO of Margaret Inc. and vice president of community development for Taylor Farms
Bronwyn Moreno, director of student affairs/special programs, Hartnell College
Salinas Valley Promise students
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