Free Degree Promise Creates Access for First-Generation College Student

Where Are They Now: Faith's Story

Faith Holbrook always knew she wanted to attend college. Even as a young child exploring and playing in Essex, she saw herself growing up and getting her degree. Her grandparents, who adopted her and her little brother when she was seven years old, always emphasized the importance of education and she credits them for nurturing her academic enthusiasm.

“They had a family at a young age and didn’t attend college, and none of their four children experienced college,” Faith explained, “but they saw through friends and family what having a degree could do for a career and life.”

Knowing the financial hurdles of college, Faith proactively consulted her school counselor early in her freshman year at Essex High School. “I knew I could not afford to pay for school and asked, ‘What can I do to be able to go to college?’” she remembered. Her counselor told her about the state’s Early College program at the Community College of Vermont (CCV), through which high school seniors can enroll full-time in college courses at no cost, and Faith was thrilled to pursue it.

When her year at CCV was coming to an end in 2022, she received an email from the McClure Foundation about a new program for students who complete Early College at CCV, called the Free Degree Promise. “I’d get to finish my associate degree at no cost,” she recalled. “I read it once, twice, a third time… My grandparents and I hovered around the computer in awe.”

The Free Degree Promise builds on the state’s Early College program to offer Vermont’s young people a fast-track to a debt-free degree the year after high school graduation. In addition to covering fees, tuition, and a living stipend, the Promise connects students to career and education advisors.

Since the program launched, CCV has welcomed a 70% larger cohort of Early College students representing over 80% of Vermont’s high schools. The college has also seen a 150% increase in the number of low-income students enrolled in Early College, the large majority of whom intend to complete their associate degree.

“When you remove the financial barrier, students view their future with clarity, hope, and excitement. They can focus on setting goals and planning a pathway to a degree,” said Sarah Kresser, the Early College Degree Program Manager at CCV. “This gives them more agency and motivation."

With the Free Degree Promise, and family support, Faith embarked on what she calls an “opportunity of a lifetime.”

A Pathway to a Career in Management

Faith is a natural leader, and her curiosity around careers in leadership grew when she studied business in a high school elective. Curiosity turned into opportunity when she began taking classes at CCV. She wanted a career in management and majored in Business Administration. “I felt like it would open the most doors for me and it certainly has,” she said.

Today, Faith is a salaried manager, and she has already been promoted once during her nine-month tenure with the company. Her management style combines a strong work ethic with empathy. She cares deeply about her team and takes pride in positively impacting the people she supervises.

“You spend more time at work than you do with your own family, so you should love it and thrive in the environment,” she remarked. “You should feel like you get to be your best self.”

A Bright Future

Faith will graduate from Bellevue University (where she takes online classes) with her bachelor’s degree this June, which she says would not have been possible without her associate degree “being taken care of by the incredible Free Degree Promise.”

When she isn’t working or doing her coursework, she likes to hike and spend time with her family and friends. She has even built her own computer for gaming.

After gaining more management experience and saving enough money, Faith and her fiancé plan to start their own business purchasing and managing properties. At the heart of her work ethic is a commitment to make the work feel meaningful and to continue to support others. “I am able to make a difference in a big way, and want to always do that.”

Back home in Essex, her little brother is turning sixteen and she is encouraging him to pursue the Free Degree Promise if it’s made available to his class. She told him: “It sets you up for success and makes figuring your adult life that much easier.”

Affordable Degrees Benefit All

The McClure Foundation, an affiliate of the Vermont Community Foundation, invests in accessible and affordable postsecondary education as a part of its vision of a more equitable and resilient Vermont. It hopes the early impacts of the Free Degree Promise will inspire the state of Vermont to continue the initiative beyond the Foundation’s five-year commitment, so that younger Vermonters can also count on accelerated associate degrees. Visit mcclurevt.org/free to join the campaign in making the Free Degree Promise permanent.