FLINT, Mich. – On August 31, during an event at Mott Community College, Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist touted the bipartisan Fiscal Year 2023 budget’s inclusion of $55 million to fully fund the Michigan Reconnect program and encouraged working-age Michiganders to join the more than 100,000 people who in the last 18 months have taken the first step towards earning a college degree or skills certificate through the Michigan Reconnect program.
Michigan Reconnect is the largest effort in state history to ensure that Michiganders who are 25 or older and do not have a college degree have an opportunity to earn an associate degree or skills certificate with free or deeply discounted tuition.
The event’s aim was to highlight how programs such as Michigan Reconnect and Futures for Frontliners are creating a rewarding path to in-demand careers for Michiganders and to encourage more participation in the Michigan Reconnect program.
“I am proud to celebrate the historic progress we have made helping more Michiganders get tuition-free education and skills training,” said Gilchrist. “In the 18 months since we launched Michigan Reconnect, we have seen more than 100,000 people accepted into the program and provided ongoing funding through next year’s state budget. Those are big wins, but the biggest winners are the hardworking Michiganders taking advantage of this trailblazing program. Governor Whitmer and I are grateful to our legislative partners and Reconnect advocates for their hard work, and we will continue working with anyone to create opportunity for Michiganders in every community.”
Gilchrist was joined by Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s Office of Sixty by 30 Director Sarah Szurpicki, Mott Community College President Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea, Flint and Genesee Group COO Kristina Johnston and Michigan Reconnect students Kai Washington and Jennifer Cronkright.
“As a state, we’re obviously focused on the economic benefits of education: to individuals, their families and their communities,” Szurpicki said. “But what we hear from our Reconnect students is that the benefit goes far beyond the economic impact. They set out to accomplish something difficult, and they feel pride. They feel hopeful. They feel confident. And their families feel proud of them, too. And I believe those rewards, while harder to measure, will continue to benefit them throughout their lives. We need to encourage even more Michiganders to start on the road to higher earnings and a more secure future.”
Dr. Walker-Griffea praised the Reconnect and Futures for Frontliners programs as vital in overcoming the barriers that often stand in the way of a college education for so many adult students. She pointed to the growing number of enrollees at Mott Community College. Since the programs began, the college has enrolled 1,094 Reconnectors and 1,142 Futures for Frontliners participants.
Kai Washington, 27, credits Michigan Reconnect with changing her life.
Her college dreams were dashed after she suffered several major medical problems, the loss of her infant son and mounting educational debt.
While she was recovering from a stroke, a friend suggested she look into Michigan Reconnect — and that has made all the difference. She plans to open a soup kitchen focusing on food justice after she graduates with a degree from Mott in culinary arts.
“My journey in culinary is nontraditional, just like my life,” Washington said.
Lt. Governor Gilchrist also highlighted $6 million in grant funding now available to help cover other costs that often keep adult learners returning to college or enrolling for the first time.
The new grants, which will be distributed by the state’s community and tribal colleges, can be used for books, childcare, internet access and transportation to help students pursue associate degrees or skills certificates. Mott Community College and other eligible institutions can distribute the allocated funds directly to eligible students who have completed at least one semester with their scholarship program – with as much as $550 available per student per academic year.
To be eligible for the grants, students must:
Be Michigan Reconnect or Futures for Frontliners scholarship participants.
Have completed at least one semester within the respective scholarship program they are participating in.
Be enrolled already or be in the process of enrolling for a qualifying semester.
In Genesee County alone, there have been approximately 5,700 Reconnect applicants accepted into the scholarship program.
More information is available at Michigan.gov/Reconnect.
