By Mackenzie Davis
On Wednesday, Feb 5. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made an appearance at Grand Rapids Community College to promote the Michigan Reconnect Program on its fourth anniversary.
Starting in the atrium of the Applied Technology Center building, the governor walked a path from the Foodology Cafe to the Machine Tool Lab and finally back to the atrium where she gave a short speech. While visiting a sampling of GRCC programs, Whitmer talked to multiple students to get a first-hand account of how the MRP has changed their lives.
The MRP was established in Feb. 2021 in hopes of reaching the goal “60 by 30.” At the time of the program’s start-up, only 45% of Michigan’s population had achieved a degree or certificate after high school. Gov. Whitmer hoped that this program, which paid for full tuition for students 25 years or older looking to get their first degree, would allow students to get over the financial burden that secondary education can cause. The MRP opened a short window for students 21 and up to join the program. Students who fall under this category and want to use the MRP must sign up no later than the summer semester of 2025. Her goal was to have 60% of Michiganders with a degree or certificate after high school by 2030.
“We got an opportunity to meet a number of students. I got to check it out, and this is what the reconnect is all about,” Whitmer said after walking around campus. “It’s about people. It’s about creating opportunity.”
Four years after the start of the program, with an increase to 52% of the population receiving a degree or certificate, Gov. Whitmer walked into GRCC’s Foodology to shake hands with chef and professor Audrey Heckwolf.
When asked about the event a day earlier, Heckwolf said she and her students were looking forward to Whitmer’s visit.
“We’re pretty excited, the students are really excited. They have been asking, ‘Are we going to be able to take a picture?’ ‘Can I give her a hug?’ They really love her,” Heckwolf said.
After the kitchen tour, the governor walked to the coffee stand, where student Nicholas Sutherland was waiting, ready to show her how to make a latte and share his story. Sutherland is now in his fourth semester in the culinary program and has used the MRP to achieve his goal of becoming a chef.
“It has been an absolute blessing. I would not be able to be here otherwise,” Sutherland said. “Financial aid is great but it only covers so much before you’re taking out a bunch of loans. It was once I learned about the Michigan Reconnect program that I was like “okay, I can actually do this!’”
Werner Absenger, program director of the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education, said state-funded programs have enabled many students in his program to achieve success.
“…the Michigan Community College Guarantee and the Michigan Reconnect Program have been absolute game changers,” Absenger wrote in an email to The Collegiate. “These initiatives have made pursuing careers as a chef, pastry chef, personal chef, or earning a craft brewing certificate significantly more accessible and affordable for Michigan’s high school graduates and career changers.”
Whitmer’s emphasis on the student experience was clear when she had Jenna Skar, a welding graduate, share her story at Wednesday’s press conference.
“Before Michigan Reconnect I was stuck in a job that did not fulfill me, I developed carpal tunnel, I was on disability. So, I decided one day to walk into MTEC and see what type of programs they offered. When an adviser told me…that schooling had the potential to be free for me, I was floored,” Skar said as she began to cry.“This has also given me the opportunity to not only start a new career path and start a degree but I’ve started in LLC and as well I have entered art prize for this past year and I plan to do it for many years going forward. This program is really designed to support students every step of the way.”
Whitmer then descended down into the machine tool lab, where assistant professor Jonathan Wyckoff showed her how to operate a machine that is used for Machinist and CNC Technician programs at GRCC. These job training programs are important for students who want hands-on learning and experience to enhance or start new careers in a short period of time. With a wide variety of opportunities, the MRP has offered crucial support for adults who are interested in these programs, like Skar.
Lisa Freiburger, Vice President of Finance and Administration at GRCC, kicked off the conference with a welcoming message and some important data on the MRP at the college.
“This past fall we saw possibly 12,400 students here at GRCC and over 20% of them, or 2,500 of those students, were here under the Michigan Reconnect program,” Freiburger said, “Since the inception of MRP, we are proud to report we have had 812 graduates with either an associate degree or credential here at GRCC. Those graduates are not just numbers, those are students—individuals that have overcome barriers and pursued education to better their lives, support their families and contribute to their communities.”
Executive director of Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential, Beverly Walker-Griffea, also made an appearance and talked about the continuing efforts that are still being made to reach the 60 by 30 goal.
“… I just want to say that the work is not done. If you know somebody that is 25 or older that has not gotten that college degree, that wants to do that, tell them to check out MR today at michigan.gov/reconnect we offer more than that,” Walker-Griffea said. “We have many different scholarships that we have navigators that help you to find out what you actually qualify for.”
Whitmer also spoke to the economic benefits of this program.
“These stories matter not just for personal reasons but for practical economic ones for our state as well. The data is clear: three-fourths of Michigan jobs require some education after high school. People with just the two-year degree or certificate make $24,000 more a year because of those two years than someone who simply has the high school diploma,” Whitmer said.
Coinciding with this event, the State of Michigan Budget Director, Jen Flood, proposed Whitmer’s $83.5 billion budget plan to lawmakers at the state capital. When asked about the proposal Whitmer shared a little on the importance of supporting families in Michigan and their education.
“…Part of what is reflected in the budget and the policies that have been built over the last couple of weeks, is a greater investment in our kids and scores that they need to be successful but also making sure that parents have information,” Whitmer said. “So accountability and transparency is important. Giving parents some tools to be able to assess how their kids are doing and give them the initial support that they need. Investments, $10,000 per pupil all across the state is not just the right thing to do, it’s absolutely necessary.”
The governor also addressed recently declining test scores in the K-12 system and the efforts taken by the state to fix them.
“It won’t be a surprise to anyone that we’re going to continue to do what we can to support and encourage people to go into the profession of teaching and support, teachers who are there, students who want to go into teaching, make sure that they don’t have to go into a massive amount of debt in order to do a job that we desperately need people to do,” the governor said. “There’s a lot of work to do. It’s so worrying to see some of the scores that have come out, it’s not acceptable, and that’s what we’re going to stay focused on.”
At the end of her remarks, Whitmer restated the success of the program and continued efforts to achieve the 60 by 30 goal for Michigan.
“We’ve made progress, we have more good work to do,” Whitmer said. “Together, let’s keep building on the success of bipartisan programs like Michigan Reconnect. Let’s make sure our fellow Michiganders know about this. Having reconnecters tell your stories is the most powerful ambassador that we can have. I thank you all for being a part of today’s work and highlighting the great things that are happening here at GRCC and I’m excited about what the future holds as we continue to walk this path together.”
More information on the MRP can be found on the Michigan Reconnect page on GRCC’s website.
