Upcoming Events

Aug

ESPP: Educators Supporting Post-high school Planning

9:00am - 4:00pm Community College of VT Upper Valley

VSAC Aspirations is offering professional development for educators! This is a semester-long course that ends October 26. This course is designed to support participants to integrate post-high school exploration and...

Sep

VSAC's Annual Financial Aid Training for Education and Agency Professionals: Financial Aid 101

9:00am - 10:30am on Zoom

Financial Aid 101 This virtual training session is geared toward education and agency professionals who are newer to discussing the financial aid process with potential learners, would like to hear...

View All Events

Main Content

Blog Archive: A Parent

20 Aug

‘That special relationship’ inspires Megan Rippie to study special education

Written by
Sabina Haskell

Megan Rippie, who graduated from Milton High School this spring, has always been a mentor and support for her brother, who is two years younger and on the autism spectrum. “Tyler and I are very close,” she says. “He’s more like a best friend than a brother. We never bickered, growing up.” That…

20 Jul

For Sophia Desrochers, change is a leadership opportunity

Written by
Sabina Haskell

Sophia Desrochers embraces change as a leadership opportunity, inspiring others to adapt, grow, and lead with confidence in any situation.

15 Jun

Kayce Gorton: “Listen to what’s in your heart.”

Written by
Sabina Haskell

Visit the website for Northern Vermont University-Johnson, and near the top of the announcements list you’ll find a link to a special “virtual celebration” of the graduating Class of 2020 — a group of accomplished young Americans who will always be remembered as the “COVID-19 class,” graduating in a…

05 Jun

VSAC Salutes the Class of 2020: Courtney Carr, a small-town Vermonter expands her horizons

Written by
Sabina Haskell

Courtney Carr, who graduated from UVM last month with a bachelor’s in psychology and minors in law & society and sociology, is intently focused on starting her career with a criminal justice nonprofit. However, she didn’t always know exactly what she wanted to do. “It was a bit of a roller coaster,”…

19 May

VSAC congratulates 2020 graduates: Cassie Piper achieves her dreams through grit & determination

Written by
Sabina Haskell

“I never thought I would have gone to college,” says 21-year-old Cassie Piper, a native of Derby. It’s an incredible statement from a young woman who will graduate this month from NVU-Johnson with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a minor in Anthropology and Sociology, an associate’s degree in…

08 May

VSAC congratulates 2020 graduates: Alexis Lape is prepared for the future and current uncertainties.

Written by
Sabina Haskell

When asked about her “goals for the future,” Alexis Lape pauses. “Right now, it's up in the air given the state of the economy … and the pandemic … and my living situation … but I'd like to maybe pursue real estate as well as music. I'm a business major so I don't have set plans.” Born in Brandon…

09 Apr

Trent Cross: From sports standout to exercise science student

Written by
Sabina Haskell

When asked to talk about his journey from a kid growing up in Milton to a successful college freshman, Trent Cross tells a story marked with the typical challenge facing first-generation college students: “None of my family had ever gone to college, so I didn’t really know what way to go.” “But when…

04 Mar

Financial aid offers: 4 steps before you sign

Written by
VSAC Staff

For families with a high school senior, now is when most college acceptances arrive in full force (congratulations!), and with them, financial aid offers. It’s an exciting time and—let’s face it—also a bit overwhelming as deadlines loom: Most colleges require a deposit by May 1. That means that…

19 Nov

Ashley Gray brings the world back home to the NEK

Written by
Sabina Haskell

When Ashley Gray was selected in 2016 to be the new principal of Peacham Elementary School, officials from the Caledonia Central Supervisory Union knew they were fortunate to have found such a strong candidate. “Ms. Gray possesses strong leadership skills and a desire to work with the community,”…

8 high schools introduce innovative math course ‘EMC2’

21 Oct

Math = success in college

Written by
Sabina Haskell

Eight high schools are now teaching a new, much-anticipated course to strengthen math proficiencies in high school students before they graduate. Dozens and dozens of students have enrolled in Essential Math for College and Careers, or EMC2, at Green Mountain Union High School, North Country Union…