SCC secures $1.3M grant to guide students to higher education

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Spartanburg Community College has been awarded a TRiO Talent Search Grant worth $1,386,720 over the next five years. 

The grant will be used to operate the federally funded Talent Search Program project at the SCC Cherokee County campus to facilitate outreach to middle school, high school, and alternative school students in Cherokee County and help them plan for and achieve their goals in higher education, according to a news release.

"This is a gamechanger for Spartanburg Community College and will help us to have a crucial and dynamic impact on the future of Cherokee County," Michael Mikota, president of SCC, said in the release. "As a college, we are dedicated to improving the educational outcomes of all students and to eliminating barriers that prevent individuals from reaching their goals."

The Talent Search Program was established to offer aid to disadvantaged individuals with great potential for success in a postsecondary educational program, and provides academic, career, and financial counseling to its participants. It encourages participants to graduate from high school and successfully complete a postsecondary education.

“We are thrilled to further our partnership with SCC in order to continue driving toward our goal of ensuring every student in Cherokee County School District graduates future ready," Donna Fall, superintendent of Cherokee County Schools, said in the release. “This commitment on the part of SCC shows just how deeply our community shares that same vision."

SCC aims to address obstacles such as chronic absenteeism, lack of academic support and other under-addressed academic and socio-economic problems by providing high quality tutoring services, assistance in college entrance examinations, applications, financial aid, guidance in secondary school reentry, technology training, and other forms of aid, the release said.

This is the first time SCC has received this grant funding, the release said. It is the only college in the Upstate and one of just five colleges statewide to have been awarded a TRiO Talent Search Grant.