Samantha Constantine and David Satran Published 8:13 a.m. ET Sept. 8, 2017 | Updated 3:40 p.m. ET Sept. 8, 2017
Samantha Constantine graduated from Sussex Tech in 2011 and earned an associate in arts, a bachelor's in social studies education and a master's degree in world history from the University of Delaware.(Photo: Submitted)
About this time six years ago I sat nervously in a classroom at Delaware Tech's Owens Campus in Georgetown. That summer I had graduated from Sussex Tech and enrolled in the University of Delaware's Associate in Arts Program (AAP), a partnership with DTCC.
AAP students set out to earn an associate's degree in Georgetown, Dover or Wilmington before transitioning to UD's Newark campus. There they can complete a baccalaureate degree and choose a major from more than 150 fields of study.
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This fall, more than 350 students will begin their UD education like I did, at a campus outside of Newark.
Like many of my classmates, I didn't yet know what I wanted to study and felt uncertain of what my future held. It's a feeling that many of this year's new college students at post-secondary schools up and down the state may share.
David Satran is director of UD's Associate in Arts program. (Photo: Submitted)
Their parents may also be feeling uneasy sending their high school grads off to college, even if the students are day commuters like me who return home after class.
Fortunately, many Delawarean students and parents won't have to worry about crippling college debt this fall, and neither did I. The Student Excellence Equals Degree (SEED) scholarship, generously supported by the State of Delaware, is available to Delaware high school graduates who study full time with the AAP or at DTCC.
SEED began in 2005 with a bill sponsored by Sen. Harris McDowell. It covers tuition costs while students complete their degree, provided they earn good grades and make steady progress. Students and their families need only pay for books and some fees.
SEED is especially valued by students like me who may not be quite ready to leave the nest and want to be Blue Hens while remaining at home in Kent or Sussex County.
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It may surprise some folks that SEED is need-blind. They may associate scholarships solely with the highest-achieving students or those who come from trying financial circumstances. Instead SEED is available to all Delaware high school graduates who have done well in school and not been convicted of a felony.
While there has been and continues to be overwhelming support for SEED in Delaware, some express concern over the cost to taxpayers and the soundness of a free education. They question how much students can value what they pay nothing for.
They don't want to see money wasted on students who aren't serious. Like us all, they want to see taxpayer dollars spent well.
While there's certainly merit to these views, I'm grateful SEED applies to students in the middle like me. The federally funded Pell Grant serves those who are most in need of financial aid, while competitive merit scholarships reach the brightest.
SEED gives other Delawareans a chance at college success. Without the scholarship, many students in the middle might not bother applying to UD, they and their parents turned off by the prospect of debt. They may not feel they're high-achieving enough to pursue the top scholarships; while their parents may feel they earn too much to be eligible for state aid. SEED is a lifeline for a lot of Delawareans, and our state is a national leader by making it available.
As a need-blind scholarship, SEED is easy to explain and understand: It provides Delawarean students a nearly risk-free shot at a top-rate education.
SEED isn't perfect and could be improved further still by covering tuition for winter and summer terms that it currently excludes. Although this change would require greater state support, it would help students maintain their full-time status and complete their degrees.
Ultimately, SEED allows students to stay close to their roots while expanding their horizons. It's a state-supported program that's having a positive impact on students and their families in all three counties.
A college education may not be for every Delaware high school graduate. But every graduate ought to give it serious consideration and have the chance to attend. We all benefit from a diverse applicant pool and student body that makes room for students in the middle like me. I always thought I would be the next Steve Irwin, but it was in a classroom in Georgetown six years ago that I discovered my passion for history. Had SEED not given me the opportunity to explore different subjects, I would not have recently graduated with a master's degree in world history from UD.
So with all of those possibilities in mind, I hope that present and future students will take full advantage of the opportunities presented to them by SEED and that one day they will be proud to contribute as taxpayers to this scholarship. I know I am.
Samantha Constantine graduated from Sussex Tech in 2011 and earned an associate in arts, a bachelor's in social studies education and a master's degree in world history from the University of Delaware. David Satran is director of UD's Associate in Arts program.
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Source: SEED scholarship works for students 'in the middle:' Delaware Voices
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