LYNN – A new statewide initiative to educate high school students on financial aid opportunities kicked off yesterday, Feb. 4, at Lynn Classical High School.
The Higher Education Financial Aid Road Show is a program in which Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler and Higher Education Commissioner Noe Ortega emphasize the state and federal resources available to high school students, such as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the free community college programs. They also encourage students to continue their educations without worrying about the price tag.
Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll implemented these roadshows to address the need to increase K-12 students’ exposure to and access to higher education.
“We want to spread the word and let students know there’s a historic level of financial aid available right now in Massachusetts,” Tutwiler said. “Higher education is about opportunity and socioeconomic upward mobility, breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty. Post-secondary education not only leads students to fulfilling and rewarding careers, but it also helps build a talented workforce and improve the overall economy.”
According to Ortega, “in two years, the Healey-Driscoll Administration and state legislature have more than doubled state financial aid,” putting the total dollar amount of available state financial aid around $400 million.
Tutwiler noted that, although there are plenty of resources to go around, FAFSA application numbers have declined recently.
“Having these on-the-ground, in-the-school, face-to-face conversations with students, we think moves the needle,” Tutwiler said, echoing his hope that more
Massachusetts students will utilize the financial aid options available.
Lynn Classical junior Owen LaPierre, a 17-year-old who hopes to follow in his parents’ footsteps by becoming a teacher, said he felt “informed and inspired” after attending the Road Show.
“(The Road Show) aligns with the reason I became an educator in the first place,” Tutwiler said. “Our mission is to help create the conditions for students to realize their dreams, and we see FAFSA completion and all that happens after that as a piece of that.”
The next Road Show will be at Athol High School this coming Monday, but there will be several other presentations throughout this month and into March.
