MOLINE, Ill. — First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will fly into the Quad City International Airport around 11am on Monday, April 19. From there, she'll make her way over to Dixon, Illinois, to give remarks to Sauk Valley Community College.
The First Lady will be joined by the Secretary of Education, Dr. Miguel Cardona.
They'll be touring SVCC and then giving a speech on community colleges in general, challenges faced by rural schools, and transportation and infrastructure for rural students, including broadband internet connection.
But why she specifically chose to visit SVCC is for their new Impact Program, set to fully roll out in the summer of 2022.
The college's program is modeled after similar ones in Tennessee, and will be available to all high schoolers and home schoolers in their district, which includes nearly all of Lee and Whiteside counties and parts of Ogle, Carroll and Henry counties.
If high schoolers in those areas complete 100 hours of volunteer work before graduating, they'll be eligible for up to three years of free tuition at SVCC - no matter their major.
To qualify, students must sign up by September of their freshman year. Signing up does not bind them to going to SVCC and students are able to opt out at any time. Additionally, they must complete 25 hours of volunteer work each year, totaling up to 100 by their graduation. They have to graduate on time, and fill out the FAFSA or the FAFSA Forecaster.
And finally, students must apply to one other local, state or national scholarship. They don't have to actually win the scholarship, but SVCC wants to prepare them for that process, as many students chose to transfer from SVCC.
"The basics of the program is we want this to be a very inclusive opportunity for all students in the Sauk alley area," said Dr. Lori Cortez, Dean of Advancement at SVCC.