'This is changing lives': New scholarship to cover up to 100% of college tuition brings tears of joy

BATTLE CREEK — Kimberly Carter wanted to make sure everyone heard her correctly.

Speaking to students, families and community members inside W.K. Kellogg Auditorium Wednesday afternoon, the superintendent of Battle Creek Public Schools reiterated the announcement, that a new scholarship dubbed the 'Bearcat Advantage' will cover up to 100% of college tuition and fees for all eligible BCPS graduates, beginning with the graduating class of 2023.

"The community is investing in you, students, because we believe in your potential," Carter said. "I want to make sure you heard me."

The news sparked a crescendo of cheers from the crowd. Many stood up and applauded. More than a few wiped away tears.

But for Jamaiya Nowling, things took a bit longer to register.

"It didn’t really sink in until I seen my mom," the Battle Creek Central High School senior said, fighting back tears.

Nowling has attended Battle Creek Public Schools for all of high school and plans to enroll at Jackson State University — one of nearly 100 Historically Black Colleges or Universities included in the Bearcat Advantage — to study criminal justice, with a minor in business.

She aspires to be a lawyer.

"As a parent you always want to see your kid do better than you," Nowling's mother Mariama Wurie said. "To have this opportunity just for being a Bearcat, not having your child come out of college with a lot of debt and being able to give back to her community fully without the financial stress and going into school without the financial stress is truly a blessing.

"I’m still emotional and overjoyed," Wurie continued. "It’s happy tears."

The Bearcat Advantage scholarship seeks to eliminate opportunity gaps for graduating students and improve access to higher education. It's being made possible thanks to support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The investment builds off the progress of the school district’s transformation work that began more than six years ago and ensures that the next generation of BCPS students can "continue on the path to career, college and community success" after they graduate.

"This is not only for you, it’s for your family, it’s for your siblings, it’s for our community and it starts today," WKKF President and CEO La June Montgomery Tabron said. "We are investing in all of you. We’re investing in you because we believe in you. We believe in the community of Battle Creek."

A student must have attended BCPS (at either Battle Creek Central High School or W.K. Preparatory High School) for at least all of high school in order to be eligible for the Bearcat Advantage.

The scholarship will:

• Cover up to 100 percent of tuition and mandatory fees at any public or private four-year college or university in Michigan, or at any of the nearly 100 eligible Historically Black Colleges or Universities across the country for eligible graduates of BCPS.

• Award scholarship amounts on a sliding scale based on the length of time a student has been continuously enrolled at BCPS.

  • For example, those who have been a student at BCPS for at least every year of high school will be eligible to receive a 65% scholarship. Those who have been a student at BCPS for all of K-12 will be eligible to receive a 100% scholarship.

• Be available to use for a four-year undergraduate degree for up to six years after high school graduation.

There are no income restrictions.

"I feel real good with the Bearcat Advantage," Imry Williams, a freshman at Battle Creek Central, said. "I just feel that it helps me take a further step ahead and helps my family out, too."

The scholarship serves as the culmination of a transformative journey at BCPS sparked by WKKF's five-year, $51 million investment in 2017 that supported a district transformation with the goal of increasing racial equity by reducing barriers to success for children in the community.

The transformation has spurred new opportunities for students to thrive by rolling out new academic and extracurricular programs and increased systems of support for BCPS families. As part of the effort, Battle Creek Central High School was reenvisioned with a Career Academies model to provide all students with the opportunity to explore different career paths through hands-on, experiential curriculum, developing the skills necessary to excel in school, the workforce and beyond.

"We really worked to make sure that we were improving the rigor of the instruction, creating new student experiences so that they would have a foundation, an anchor, a context that they could then leverage to be successful in college," Carter said.

The Bearcat Advantage scholarship serves as the next step and will play a key role in ensuring the success of each student after graduation.

"I have been holding back tears all day because I recognize and understand what this means for childrens’ futures," Carter said. "Our students now have opportunities that they weren’t going to access (otherwise). A student who I was just talking with said, ‘I wasn’t going to college and now because you’ve provided this opportunity for us, I’m definitely going.’ So this is changing lives. ... It means a lot to me."

For more information, visit battlecreekpublicschools.org/bearcatadvantage.

Contact reporter Greyson Steele at gsteele@battlecreekenquirer.com

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Scholarship to cover up to 100% of college tuition for BCPS grads