WSCC students attend College Access Advocacy Day in Lansing

WSCC students attend College Access Advocacy Day in Lansing

WSCC News is a presentation of West Shore Community College in partnership with Mason County Press. 

LANSING — Four members of the West Shore Community College Student Senate recently attended College Access Advocacy Day at the Michigan Capitol. 

College Access Advocacy Day is an event sponsored by the Michigan College Access Network (MCAN) in partnership with Michigan Associate of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (MACRAO), Michigan Association for College Admission Counseling (MACAC), Michigan Student Financial Aid Association (MSFAA), and Michigan Promise Zones Association.
Participants convene, meet with legislators and policymakers, and rally around postsecondary access and attainment. Participants included school counselors, local college access network coordinators and team members, higher education professionals, community-based organization leaders and staff, philanthropic leaders, and more.

Representing WSCC were Athena Dila, Margherita Hill, Gabriella Sutter, and Aidyn Terry.  The four are also ASM Tech Early College students. They met with Representative Joseph D. Fox of State House District 101, Representative Curt VanderWall of State House District 102, Senator Jon Bumstead of State Senate District 32, and Senator Rick Outman of State Senate District 33.  The group also observed a hearing of the Senate Education Committee in which they discussed Senate Bills 0161 and 0162.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for students to use a powerful advocacy tool, personal stories, on issues of their interest,” said WSCC President Scott Ward. “This is also a fantastic occasion for student development through exercising those essential skills of effective communication, professionalism, and critical thinking.”  Ward serves on the MCAN Board of Directors.
Two partners of the college were also at the event. Jody Maloney from the Mason County Promise Zone and Mason County College Access Network and Alyssa Merten from the Oceana County College Access Network.

MCAN provided breakfast, lunch and provided a list of talking points: support Michigan college access infrastructure, make college affordable, and increase early college credit. 

“We were free to advocate for any other topics relevant to expanding college access,” said Director of Enrollment and Engagement Annie Jacobson. “In our meetings we discussed expanding on-campus housing for community college students, increasing support for student basic needs (such as transportation, which is a barrier for many students in rural communities), and increasing access to college credit for high school student through programs such as CTE, dual enrollment, and early middle colleges such as ASM Tech.”