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West Shore School News is a presentation of West Shore Educational Service District in partnership with Mason County Press.
The Mason County Promise Zone recently hired two full time post-secondary advisors to serve local high school students. The advisors will have the goal of supporting in-person students in planning for their aspirations, regardless of whether a student plans for college, workforce, military or a gap year. The two new advisors are Tess O’Neal and Emily Merten.
O’Neal most recently served as the Ludington High School college adviser. She will be assigned to Ludington High School. Merten will support students at Mason County Central and Mason County Eastern high schools. Both roles are designed to help high school juniors and seniors to form concrete plans for life after high school, to prepare for these plans while in school, as well as to identify key next steps to take after graduation.
Until 2024, the Promise Zone provided match funding for two-year AmeriCorps-based college adviser roles at area high schools. The implementation of longer-term post-secondary advisor roles will provide more consistency for students and schools.
“Here at Mason County Eastern were are excited for the opportunity to have a post-secondary advisor working with our students to help them as they work through decisions about college, trade schools and careers,” said Paul Shoup, superintendent of Mason County Eastern Schools.
Ludington High School principal Steve Forsberg said he was grateful to the promise board “for investing in our kids and community. We’re excited to have (O’Neal) back on board and hopefully keep her around for a long time.”
“Students and parents will now have a great deal of support in the application process, which can be overwhelming,” said MCC high school principal Jeff Tuka, adding that MCC’s “guidance counselor’s office, students, and parents can work with the post-secondary advisor to complete college, FAFSA (Free Application for Student Aid), and scholarship applications.”
Chad Riffle, a Promise Zone board member and assistant principal at West Shore Educational Service District’s Career & Technical and ASM Tech programs, said local school administrators are looking forward to greater support for their students to leave high school with an informed plan and support to bring that plan to fruition.
The advisors will work year-round to support local students’ career aspirations, and during summers, will strive to help residents across the county who are eligible for the Promise Scholarship get on track for their college goals. The roles will also support Promise-eligible high school alumni in their FAFSA and Promise Scholarship renewal processes as needed.
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