For the first time, both the Dave Sarther Teamwork Award and the Innovation of the Year Award were presented to the same team – and for good reason. The Greer Scholars Program team, comprising Dr. Michael Bates, dean, Science, Business and Computer Technology; Dr. Paula DeAnda, professor, Mathematics; Dr. Jo Ann Jenkins,
dean, Student Success; Kristy McGreal, executive director, Moraine Valley Foundation and Elizabeth Onyejiaka, student success specialist, Student Success, reflects an unparalleled spirit of teamwork and commitment to innovation.
The program
The Greer Scholars Program aims to increase access to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs and careers by financially and academically
supporting students who are pursuing a career in STEM and demonstrate financial need. These scholars benefit from one-on-one advising and mentoring, plus rigorous cross-disciplinary STEM experiences. With the establishment of the Greer Scholars Program, students can pursue training and education in trending fields without financial barriers.
All Greer Scholars receive an annual $2,500-$3,000 scholarship for Moraine Valley courses and a $5,000 transfer scholarship, funded entirely by the Greer Foundation and awarded in addition to existing financial aid packages. Scholarships are renewable for students who maintain full-time enrollment, a 2.5 GPA and active participation in program requirements.
A spirit of teamwork
Before the Greer Scholars Program was launched in 2023, DeAnda discussed with Dr. Ryen Nagle, then-dean of Science, Business and Computer Technology, how the college could reach high-achieving students in local high schools. DeAnda and Jenkins attempted to find a funding source through the Moraine Valley Foundation; however, McGreal shared that the project was outside of the Foundation’s scope – and then she was contacted by the Greer Foundation.
“The Greer Foundation is actually in Alsip, so they’re right in our backyard, which is unusual,” McGreal said. “They were looking to get a community college partner, for the first time really, in the United States.” McGreal continued, “I reached out to everybody and said, ‘I have a funder. It’s not exactly what we want, but it’s close,’ and it really was — it ended up being perfect.”
The program, now supporting its third cohort, is a testament to the collaborative nature of the college. DeAnda shared, “I think one of the reasons we were able to do it is because we were already doing so much of it on our campus that it was really just about bringing all these different departments together to collaborate and offer it as a cohesive program.”
Jenkins shared that a large piece of the program’s success hinges on holistic support. “For the Greer Foundation, one of the selling points is they really want these students to be successful, and they recognize it’s not just academics. They will need that support – that student — for us to wrap our arms around them and guide them every step of the way.”
In fact, Onyejiaka serves as a student success specialist completely committed to the journeys of the students in the Greer Scholars Program. Onyejiaka meets one-on-one with each student at least two times per semester. “Those check-ins are generally to talk about academics, at the start, but also just to dive in and see how they’re doing overall – making sure that we’re supporting them, like we say, in every way that we can,” she explained.
With support from Bates as dean, DeAnda’s expertise as STEM Center coordinator, McGreal’s facilitation with the Greer Foundation, Jenkins’ experience in Student Success and Onyejiaka’s one-on-one guidance for cohort members, the Greer Scholars Program truly is a team effort.
A commitment to innovation
More than a team endeavor, the Greer Scholars Program is a one-of-a-kind innovation. While the Greer Foundation previously has established similar programs at traditional four-year universities across the country, Moraine Valley boasts the only program of its kind in a community college nationally.
McGreal worked closely with the Greer Foundation to keep them informed about how a community college’s culture differs from a traditional college or university. She also researched other programs in the United States that might offer one-on-one guidance for multiple cohorts of students. “When we first started, one of my tasks was, who else does this thing? Where you have funding years that are different groups of students, then these students would go off and sometimes you have to track them? And so, I found a couple of schools that do it around the country and they all said, ‘It’s impossible.’”
Not only has Onyejiaka proven the impossible to be possible, but she often receives requests from students to find more ways to remain connected with their cohort. Further proof of the program’s efficacy is in its student outcomes. Across all three cohorts, the combined year-to-year retention rate of students in the program is 90%, with most departures attributed to successful transfer to four-year institutions. As the first community college to implement this model, the program establishes a scalable bridge between two- and four-year institutions, creating continuity that is uncommon in traditional STEM support programs.
Furthermore, because it builds on cross-departmental collaboration and existing student support infrastructure, the program’s model is highly transferable. The program’s three pillars – community-building, cross-disciplinary STEM engagement and integrated financial and academic support – provide a flexible framework that other institutions can adapt to their own structures, partnerships and student populations.
McGreal shared existing support infrastructures at Moraine Valley make innovations like the Greer Scholars Program achievable. “It’s a lot of support that we have to provide, and Moraine Valley didn’t even hesitate,” she said. “And I don’t think they’ve had another community college partner yet because the schools just aren’t ready to say yes, but Moraine Valley said yes, which I think is very innovative to what we do here at the college.”