WATERVILLE, Maine — Help is on the way for students with financial hurdles who want to go to college.
The state is giving Thomas College in Waterville close to $2 million in grant money so it can welcome more students in need. This is part of the State of Maine's Economic Development Plan to promote workforce development initiatives.
The money will help students who are eligible for Pell grants, or with families of low income. The scholarships are designed to support eligible students to obtain undergraduate or Master's degree study, with an interest in "future economy" fields such as cybersecurity, computer science, education, criminal justice, and psychology.
Provost of Thomas College Thomas Edwards stated the plan is to actively seek out potential students at high schools and students currently enrolled at the college.
"So whether there's a graduate student who wants to get the certificate of advanced study or a Master's degree, or that undergraduate student who says 'I want to be a classroom teacher' and [wants] to have an impact on the State of Maine," he said. "We are gonna look for those students in those majors and provide them with the help that they need to get the education that they want and the career that they deserve."