Chair of the Minnesota State Colleges
and Universities (MnSCU) Foundation,
Erickson arrived at the ARCC Coon Rapids
Campus at 8 a.m. Aug. 21 to begin his
tour. For the past four years, Erickson
has biked to each of the 53 campuses
in the MnSCU system to bring awareness
to the financial needs of part-time
students. The goal of the month-long,
2,300-mile trek is to raise money and
build public support for making more
financial aid available to Minnesota’s
part-time college students, who often
struggle to balance college with family
and full-time work.
Erickson noted the importance of helping
these students: “Part-time and
non-traditional students have a hard
time paying: It’s harder to qualify
for financial aid, but they need it
many times more than others.” And
does the tour have any other benefits? “It
makes us stay in shape!” Erickson
said.
While addressing the audience, ARCC
President Patrick Johns remarked to
Erickson, “Bob, it’s a
remarkable thing you do to support
the work of students.”
At the kick-off, Anoka-Ramsey Community
College raffled off two brand new Trek
bicycles to raise funds for the Bob
Erickson Part-time Student Scholarship
program. Ramsey Bicycle in Ramsey,
Minn. and Outdoor Edge in Cambridge,
Minn. donated the bicycles for the
raffle, and Bob Erickson selected the
winning names. First-place winners
Ravae Anderson of the Coon Rapids Campus
and Andrea Brambrink of the Cambridge
Campus took home the bicycles. In addition,
other winners received tickets to the
Scholardazzle Dinner Fundraiser, Prairie
Home Delights and the Minnesota Zoo.
The ARCC community raised $860 for
the program, which will assist in funding
two $500 scholarships for ARCC students.
The 2006-2007 recipient of the Non-Traditional
Student Scholarship and vice
president of student senate, Kevin
Bottiger, said, “You
can’t
begin to know how much we appreciate
what you do,” about scholarship
program beneficiaries.
If you’re interested in making
a contribution, which is tax deductible
as a charitable contribution, it may
be made to: the Anoka-Ramsey Community
College Foundation, the Cambridge Community
College Foundation, or the system foundation.
All donations raised in connection
with Erickson’s ride will be
applied to student scholarships. To
contact the Coon Rapids Foundation
office call 763.433.1220. To reach
the Cambridge Community Foundation
office, call 763.433.1298.
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
system comprises 32 state universities
and community and technical colleges
serving the higher education needs
of Minnesota. The system serves about
240,000 students per year in credit-based
courses and an additional 130,000 students
in non-credit courses. About 43 percent
of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
students are enrolled part-time. The
average age of part-time students is
30.
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