New program offers free community college tuition to frontline workers

The story of one man and his son is the inspiration behind a career aimed at helping others help themselves. 

"My dad was a person from Brazil who immigrated and we had almost nothing," said Henry Ford College President, Russ Kavalhuna. "He found his way to the American dream and to the middle class through community colleges and it sent my family and myself on a trajectory that changed our lives. And I know we can do that for other students. In fact, we're going to do it even better for those that serve our frontlines."

What Kavalhuna is excited about is a new program in the state helping frontline workers get free tuition at a community college. 

This means if you're a frontline worker and you worked during the pandemic and applied for Federal Financial Aid, you can get free tuition, Kavalhuna said. 

"And I tell you, Henry Ford College is excited about this because we can help those people who served us on the frontline, we can help them move up the economic ladder," he said. 

While this is for any community college in Michigan, Kavalhuna is proud to say that his college boasts an average increase of 12,000 in salary for those who graduated from the schools he leads. Frontline workers deserve the boost given what they gave of themselves during one of the toughest times in recent history. There is a deadline to apply. 

"If you're out there and your family, or some of your friends worked on the frontlines, you have until the end of this year to apply and you can go to the community college in your neighborhood," Kavalhuna. 

For more information on the program, click here.