Ferrum College Announces Partnership with Earn to Learn

And here we are again. Welcome home. Thrilled to see all of your smiling faces. I am honored today to unveil a truly, truly, truly remarkable initiative that I believe is going to transform the landscape of higher education in our state. This initiative represents a groundbreaking partnership that is providing students with a unique opportunity to earn money for their education with matching funds from both the Earn to Learn organization and Ferrum College. This program is the first of its kind in the state and its impact cannot be overstated. Education is the cornerstone of progress and opportunity. However, for many of our students, financial barriers can stand in the way of achieving their dreams. As a college of opportunity of Virginia, Ferrum College and Earn to Learn are changing that narrative by empowering students to actively participate in funding their education through their own efforts.

So here’s how it works: Students who participate in Earn to Learn commit to saving a portion of their earnings from work. And so, when they earn and save $500 and apply it to Ferrum College, both Ferrum College and Earn to Learn will each contribute two thousand dollars towards their educational expenses. So for $500, our students will receive $4,000 towards their education. This, as you can imagine, multiplies our student savings, but also demonstrates our shared commitment to each of our students’ success. What makes this partnership truly extraordinary is its holistic approach. It’s not just about providing financial assistance. It’s about fostering a sense of responsibility and ownership in students for their own educational journey and their own decisions. By encouraging students to save and invest in their own futures, Ferrum College and Earn to Learn instill important literacy skills that will serve our students well beyond their academic years here at Ferrum College.

Moreover, this initiative underscores the incredible power of collaboration. The partnership between Ferrum College, Earn to Learn, and our students exemplifies what can be achieved when this Panther Nation comes together with a shared vision of expanding access to education and empowering the next generation of leaders. As we look to the future, I wish to highlight the profound impact that this partnership between Ferrum College and Earn to Learn will have on the individual lives and our collective Panther family. It is paving the way for a more equitable, a more inclusive educational system where every student, every student has the opportunity to pursue their aspirations while minimizing their financial constraints.

One hundred and eleven years ago, our founding mothers envisioned a college of opportunity in southwest Virginia where students who had the ability, the intellect, the drive, the persistence, the work ethic, but perhaps not enough financial means could obtain a second-to-none education. A hundred and eleven years later, Ferrum College continues to affirm that mission by lowering our tuition by ten thousand dollars, launching our Panther Promise, which as you know, provides qualifying Virginia residents the opportunity to attend Ferrum College tuition-free. And now, by partnering with Earn to Learn to provide $4,000 in scholarships found after a qualifying $500 student earn match. This is transformational. This is the power of people who believe in coming together to help the next generation of leaders have access to a superb and affordable education. Together with partnerships like Earn to Learn, I have no doubt that Ferrum College will continue to be the beacon of inspiration and aspiration for all who seek to transform the world through education.

So I invite all of you to come and join our Panther promise. Come and join the innovation, the excitement, the passion, the family that all of us are when we come together as one. This is the place where dreams become reality. Thank you for joining me today and at this time I would like to introduce to you our Provost, Dr. Delia Heck, who will introduce Earn to Learn. Thank you.

Good afternoon. As Dr. Martin said, I’m Dr. Delia Heck, and I serve as the Provost of Ferrum College. I’m thrilled and eager to embark on this new partnership between our college and Earn to Learn. This collaboration signifies a profound commitment to advancing educational opportunities and supporting our students in innovative ways. By joining forces, we can leverage resources, expertise, and networks to enhance the academic experience and empower our students to reach their fullest potential. Together, we will cultivate a dynamic environment that fosters growth, creativity, and success for our entire community. I’m excited about the possibilities that lie ahead and look forward to the positive impact we will make together through this partnership.

I want to begin by welcoming Tim Cerebe home to Ferrum College. Tim is here as a member of the Earn to Learn team. But for Tim, this is truly a homecoming. You see, Tim grew up on this campus. His father was a longtime member of the Ferrum College staff. And he and his family lived in a house that is now where the Titmus Agricultural Center is. He even took classes at Ferrum and played basketball in the gym before embarking on a career in banking and finance. He was, as we say today, a campus kid.

Tim started with Earn to Learn at the beginning of 2024, bringing with him extensive expertise in crafting nationally recognized financial wellbeing programs and services. His career has addressed various challenges, including housing, transportation, workforce development, financial literacy, financial counseling, and citizenship. Notably, Tim played a pivotal role in establishing Virginia’s first financial empowerment center, ensuring that no-cost financial counseling services are readily available to all residents as a public service. Building upon this impressive track record, Earn to Learn recognized the potential to enhance its financial services, already a crucial element of the matched savings program and a valuable resource for long-term success post-graduation. As the Director of Financial Wellness at Earn to Learn, Tim leverages his past experiences to develop the organization’s offerings further and to maximize students’ potential through educational achievement and preparedness. Embracing Earn to Learn’s core beliefs in inclusion, integrity, adaptability, innovation, empathy, collaboration, and empowerment, Tim strives to embody the expectations embodied in these values. Beyond his role at Earn to Learn, Tim extends his dedication to the community by serving on the boards of various local Virginian nonprofit organizations, advocating for literacy, immigration, and refugee resettlement.

As you can see, growing up in this special campus community had a lasting impact on Tim. He has lived the Ferrum College motto of not self but others throughout his career. So today we are especially proud and honored to welcome Tim back to campus.

Oh, wow. Okay. I was not expecting that introduction. All week as I’ve been preparing for this event and all of the excitement, I promised myself that I was going to stay on script. I have my script with me and I promised myself over and over again. So of course, after hearing the remarks of Dr. Martin and Dr. Heck, I’m now going to go off script just a little bit.

The words that you spoke, welcome home, that really resonates with me. As you all heard, I grew up in Franklin County, graduated from Franklin County High School, spent some of my undergrad years here at Ferrum on this very campus, grew up in the house right across the street where the Titmus Center is. So this really is a welcome home for me. This is a full-circle moment in my life and I’m just so happy to be here and be a part of it because now I get to be a part of this announcement for this truly groundbreaking partnership with Ferrum, so I have to start by sharing my appreciation for Ferrum College. Dr. Heck and Dr. Martin, thank you so much for your leadership through this entire process. Truly is a welcome home.

So over a decade, Earn to Learn has been helping make college a reality for thousands of low- and moderate-income students. Now we are thrilled to make our matched saving program, the nation’s largest and most successful, available to students and families of Ferrum College. Earn to Learn is a multi-investor strategy to financing higher education with the student as the lead investor. Our goal is to support students through degree completion while minimizing the amount of student loan debt they incur. At Earn to Learn, we believe that no student or family should have to go deeply into debt in order to pursue a college education.

As you already heard from Dr. Martin, at its core, the Earn to Learn program is a need-based matched saving scholarship program where participating students save $500 a year and are matched with $4,000, which is an incredible eight-to-one return on investment. These dollars can be used for educational expenses, which include tuition, fees, books, but also transportation, housing, and meal plans. The funding support itself is crucially important and can sometimes be the final piece of the puzzle to help students get across that finish line. But the true power, in my opinion, the true power of the program is that the scholarship dollars are combined with holistic support services, including personal finance training, academic and success coaching, continuing education, employer mentorships, and other assistance to improve students’ chance of success.

The Earn to Learn program and our unique model has over a decade of proven results. Nationally, if you look at Pell graduation rates, they hover just below 40%, meaning that under 40% of students that qualify for some sort of Pell funding assistance never complete their degree program and never graduate. But I tend to think about the reverse number in that statistic. This means that over 60% of students that complete the FAFSA get some sort of Pell funding, step on campus, start taking classes, end up leaving without ever completing their journey and without getting that degree. And some of those students end up taking out student loan debt and then are then saddled with that student loan debt without the degree and without completing their program.

Contrast that with the Earn to Learn program where our students’ graduation rates are above 80%. And when we look at the breakdown of those students, 63% are first generation college students, 84% are students of color, and 72% are STEM scholars, meeting highly sought workforce development needs throughout the state and throughout the nation. But best of all, probably most importantly of all, most Earn to Learn students graduate with little to no student loan debt. That bears repeating. The majority of Earn to Learn students graduate with little to no student loan debt. I just think that is incredible. So I have to again just share my deep, deep appreciation for Ferrum College. In this moment, we’re all here to share in this announcement. I am both excited, I’m grateful, and I’m humbled.

The other thing that’s really resonating with me today, not just welcome home, but also the journey. This opportunity and this groundbreaking partnership is a journey. And like all other journeys in life, they’re not experienced alone. So I have to give some thanks. Thank you again, Dr. Martin, for your visionary leadership. Thank you, Dr. Heck, for being there from the very beginning. Thank you, Allison. Thank you to the entire leadership team here at Ferrum College. And I have to give thanks to also Kate Hoffman, who is the founder and the CEO of Earn to Learn. Kate, I know you’re out there watching. This was your dream, this Earn to Learn program, over 10 years ago at your kitchen table when you wanted to make an impact and help people with their educational journey. And I’m just so proud to be introducing this here in this state, here in Virginia, here at Ferrum College to be the first, the very first, and that is very, very important. Last but not least, to the students of Ferrum College, really, I’m most excited for you and what this program will mean for you. And I’m so excited that Earn to Learn gets to be a part of your journey. So thank you.

Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Makaila Veney, and I’m a junior here at Ferrum College, and I came to Ferrum College because of the welcoming experiences that I had when I visited. I come from a hardworking family, and while I’m very grateful for their support that provides me, I also work too. A lot, actually, like most of the students here at Ferrum College and to support myself through the college journey. The demands of balancing my time between classes, study time, studying, going to practice, competing as a student athlete, and working are very overwhelming at times. This is why today I am excited about this fantastic new program we just heard about called Earn to Learn, which is changing the game when it comes to student funding.

I understand that this program is designed to reward hard working and dedication by providing a remarkable eight times the funding, $2,000 from Ferrum College, $2,000 from Earn to Learn, when we work, save, and contribute $500 to our education. Just think about the impact this could have on our educational journeys when it is covering tuition costs, purchasing textbooks, or easing the financial burden of our daily expenses. Ferrum College and Earn to Learn have opened up incredible opportunities for students to thrive, reducing the stress of financial constraints.

This program isn’t just about earning money; it is about empowering students to take control of their financial futures and investing their education like never before. And with this three-way partnership, we have the chance to maximize our efforts and see tangible rewards that can make a great difference in our academic and personal lives. It will certainly make a difference in my life. So thank you. I wish to express my gratitude to Ferrum College and Earn to Learn for having the vision to partner and ensure every student at Ferrum College has the ability to achieve excellence in the classroom and on the athletic field while minimizing our financial burden. Thank you.

So thank you for joining us today. Thank you for Tim and Earn to Learn for believing in the wellspring of talent that we have here at Ferrum College and investing in it. I am truly looking forward to witnessing firsthand the transformative impact that this new partnership will have on our students’ academic journeys as well as their financial wellbeing throughout the years to come.

As I close, I want to underscore that Ferrum College’s commitment to providing an affordable, superb education, latent to industry skills, is a way of life for us. Together through this innovative and first-of-a-kind partnership, we’re embarking on the journey, a journey that is going to provide us excellence in the classroom and on the field while fostering a community where hard work meets opportunity and where dreams become reality. I’d like to have Vinnie come forward along with Tim and the Panther. This is a pilot program. This is our first year so Earn to Learn will invest in 100 students and from there we will grow it year over year over year. So that translates into an investment of $200,000 that Earn to Learn will provide Ferrum College so that its students will achieve the educational success that they deserve. Thank you for coming today. We look forward to being part of your transformation so that you can go out and change the world. Thank you for coming. God bless.