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New Mexico Centennial Class
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Contributor: SFCC
Want to make millions? Here’s some advice: Don’t quit your day job for one of those get-rich-quick late-night infomercials. Don’t count on that lottery retirement fund. It’s probably also not wise to expect to become the Internet’s next YouTube or MySpace sensation, or the next big reality TV star of “Survivor” or “Flavor of Love.”
If more dollars are what you seek, then one time-tested solution trumps all. Buckle down, go to college and get that degree. A college degree is one of the best financial investments you will make in your life - and it can be worth millions. Workers with an associate degree average an extra $128 a week, compared to those with a high school diploma, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the course of a career, these dollars add up and help ensure job security. People with associate degrees are more likely to find well-paying jobs in an economy that increasingly favors education in areas like technology, health care and legal assistance.
For the past 25 years, Santa Fe Community College has helped Santa Fean's get closer to their financial and career goals by offering more than 60 degree, certificate and letter of qualification programs. Over the years, thousands of SFCC graduates have earned degrees and found more fulfilling careers or continued to pursue higher education. Through the college’s dual credit enrollment program, which enables high school students to enroll in college courses prior to graduation, SFCC is helping to usher high school students into the world of higher learning.
As tougher economic times hit New Mexican families, students at SFCC are brightening careers and growing talents, without breaking the piggy bank. Tuition prices at public four-year universities are rising and this fall, thousands of New Mexicans are taking advantage of the high value education offered at lessexpensive community colleges like SFCC, which hasn’t budged its tuition in two years.
A host of programs, such as federal financial aid, grants and scholarships are readily available to those students wise enough to contact SFCC’s financial aid office. With the help of an adviser, students can explore their loan options and apply for scholarships and grants, which are as good as free money. Despite the costs, experts say the payoffs of earning a degree are well worth the initial expense. An associate’s degree from a public college like Santa Fe Community College is a slam dunk when it comes to getting the most value out of your tuition money, said personal-finance author Liz Pulliam Weston. “These two-year degrees seem to result in a massive payback, compared to their relatively low cost, for a high school graduate,” Weston wrote in an “MSN Money” financial column. According to the U.S. Census, Americans with an associate’s degrees make an average of $31,936 a year. Salaries typically continue to increase as students enter the workforce with higher academic credentials such as bachelors, masters, doctorate or professional degree.
Of course, earning a degree isn’t all about the money. Education is a gateway out of poverty and route to success and respect. It’s a tool for making dreams come true and an excuse to turn a passion into a career. And if you’re doing what you love every day, then by many standards, you’re already rich.
by New Mexico Cabinet Secretary of Higher Education- Reed Dasenbrock, Ph.D.
Dear Readers,
In this presidential campaign year, we hear a great deal about the “American Dream.” With 300 million Americans there are probably 300 million different definitions of that dream, but central to all is the notion that in the United States, opportunity is only limited by one’s imagination, and a good life is available to all regardless of where we come from, what languages we speak, or what religious beliefs we hold. Polls show that the concept is as important to Americans as ever, but they increasingly express concern that opportunity will be more limited for their children. The path to opportunity is still there, and it is the same path it has always been: education. The further you go on the path of education, the more opportunities you will have: people with more education have greater average income, are far less likely to experience unemployment, are far less likely to be in prison, and are typically in better health and live longer.
Education is more important than ever, as the economy of the 21st century is one in which technology, knowledge and innovation dominate. Young Americans need to be better educated than any previous generation. The same is true in New Mexico, where great jobs in film, alternative energy, aerospace, and health care are there for the taking for New Mexicans graduating from our colleges and universities with the skills they need. The role of the New Mexico Higher Education Department is to do everything we can to make sure that every student has access to and is prepared to succeed in higher education. The concern we hear expressed by students and parents is financial: will I be able to pay for college? The answer is a resounding yes: there are numerous federal financial aid programs, including Pell Grants for low income students. At the state level, every high school graduate has the opportunity to earn the Legislative Lottery Scholarship, and there are programs to help supplement the Lottery as well as to help students not eligible for it.
In addition, a new program called the Education Trust Board Pathways Scholarship will help students with financial need and a good academic record. We will award 500 New Mexicans $1,000 each Fall in that first semester before they become eligible for the Lottery. Additional financial aid resources are online at www.hed.state.nm.us or visit the Financial Aid Office at any college or university. No one who wants to go to college should not do so because of lack of resources: the aid is there. We are here to help, as are the many organizations working to expand student access in New Mexico. Every student needs to plan on attending some form of education after high school, and each student needs to be academically ready. If you are ready, we will be ready for you: you will be able to afford higher education, particularly if you absorb the information and resources available to you contained at carveyourpath.org.
Good luck: the future is waiting for you!
Reed Dasenbrock, Ph.D.
Cabinet Secretary of Higher Education
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