Project Finish Line awards final scholarships at Brunswick Community College

 BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY)- This month, Brunswick Community College gave out its final scholarships related to the Project Finish Line grant, a program started in 2014 with a $150,000 grant from the John M. Belk Endowment.

The goal of Project Finish Line was to reengage students who are within 20 credit hours of completing an Associate’s Degree, or two classes from completing a Workforce Development career pathway, and provide them the means and motivation to complete their course of study.

Project Finish Line also included money from the Dancing with the Stars scholarships. This month, $8,300 was handed out. With this, the BCCF’s total amount awarded for scholarships came out to $207,374.50.

As a part of Project Finish Line, the Dancing with the Stars Endowment has created additional opportunities for students with financial need to reach their goals. The Dancing with the Stars Endowment was funded with proceeds from the Dancing with the Brunswick County Stars events.

“We would like to extend a special thanks to all who participated in the DWTBCS in the past. Your legacy lives on as it continues to fund our completion students in years to come,” says Elina DiCostanzo, Director of Resource Development

With 11 students awarded with a scholarship this year, a total of 52 students have received help from the program.

The average age of Project Finish Line students is 33, with the oldest student being 69 and the youngest being 20. To date, over half of the students in the program have graduated and the remaining are well on their way to obtaining their goal.

The project has helped many former students re-enroll and apply for available financial resources and assist qualifying students with the high costs of fees for testing and credentialing. Project Finish Line has also worked with local employers to help place students in living-wage jobs after their graduation.

Since the grant was to be used over a two year period, the program will be coming to a close in December.