VSAC will be closed Tuesday, November 10 for a staff meeting and Wednesday, November 11 in observance of Veterans Day. We will reopen on Thursday, November 12.
Blog Archive: Applying for Financial Aid
“If you had asked me five years ago, I would have said, ‘no way would I be going to college,’” says Autumn Morse. In fact, she once doubted that she would even finish high school. And she wasn’t the only one; plenty of others assumed she would follow in the footsteps of her parents, who both fell…
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Almost exactly four years ago, VSAC first reported on Will Eberle, who overcame homelessness and addiction and went from high-school dropout to master’s-degree student, through equal parts personal determination and community support. But Eberle is quick to say that his success is no Horatio Alger…
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Devon Kimball has been hard at work this winter and spring, flipping a house in Rutland with his cousin. He recently took a break from painting and hanging siding to talk about his experience with VSAC, which he says has been instrumental not just for him, but for his entire family. Devon, who…
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Two weeks before the first day of her senior year in high school, when most of her classmates were enjoying their final afternoons at the pool or going back-to-school shopping, Calleen Ferris was moving cows. She had grown up on a dairy farm in Randolph, which both the cows and the family had…
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The future looks bright for 22-year-old Samantha Hadvab: She’s ready to graduate from the University of Vermont this spring with a degree in medical radiation sciences, and she already has a job offer waiting for her at the Lafayette Family Cancer Institute in Brewer, Maine, where she’s finishing up…
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First-generation college students — or students whose parents did not go to college — are much less likely to pursue and to complete postsecondary degrees than are their classmates whose parents did go to college. According to data gathered by the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC), first…
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Essex Principal Ashley Gray, right, with her wife, Rebecca and their son, Rio. Ashley Gray has never shied away from a challenge. When VSAC first profiled her in late 2019, she was a young principal at Peacham Elementary School in her native Northeast Kingdom. Though she grew up just 30 miles away…
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Every September, as families settle into their back-to-school routines, VSAC celebrates National GEAR UP Week, which promotes the wealth of resources and opportunities offered through this federally funded college and career guidance program. This year, National GEAR UP week falls on September 20–24…
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At 26, Nichelle Montanez had a job that she loved, working at a gas station in Westminster. She enjoyed her co-workers, loved the environment, and planned to stay and grow with the company. “I was going to work hard, become the manager, and be there for the rest of my working career,” she recalls…
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Too often, “peer pressure” plays a negative role in teenagers’ lives. But for Tyler Eugair, who graduated this spring from Proctor High School, knowing that his best friend would be going to Castleton was what led him to decide to go to college too. “Did I always know I wanted to go to college? Not…
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