A village store and a Covid-inspired scholarship program shape a young woman’s path Phoebe Stoddard spent most of her high school career at Craftsbury Academy waiting for her “Eureka moment.” When, by senior year, it still hadn’t come, Phoebe didn’t know what she wanted to do. And with college…
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Blog Archive: Student Aid Options
Dalib Bulle’s life history may be what we all envision as the ideal immigrant story. He came to America from a war-torn country, got a job right away, and has been able to help hundreds of families from his native Somalia gain their own foothold in Vermont. Now, with the help of VSAC’s Educational…
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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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During September, National College Savings Month, families are reminded to look ahead to their children’s education as they settle into their current back-to-school routines. But with so much going on as school resumes, we understand it’s hard to look beyond immediate schedules and to-dos. To make…
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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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Ranjita Sarki, who graduated from Colchester High School this spring, is a soft-spoken and modest young woman who nevertheless makes quite an impression. Her VSAC outreach counselor, Liam Danaher, said she was one of the students who had the greatest impact on him during the past academic year, even…
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Twenty-one-year-old Victor Hinojosa will graduate this winter from Norwich University on a full military scholarship. He’s an Eagle Scout, attended Boys’ State in high school, and secured a coveted internship in the Governor’s office his freshman year of college. He’s now working full time as an…
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Gabriel Unwin grew up fast. The second child born to a teenage mother before her 18th birthday, Gabe spent his childhood and early teen years living in a two-bedroom trailer in Highgate, where he and his older sister mostly raised their three younger siblings. Their mom, who was busy working three…
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