Special to NKyTribune
Thomas More College President Dave Armstrong played Santa last week to a special All-Scholars gathering of NaviGo Scholars. He surprised everyone there with the best gift ever: The announcement that all NaviGo graduates will quality for a scholarship to Thomas More that will pay up to half their tuition.
NaviGo Scholars is a college and career prep training program for high school students, founded by former Kenton County schools superintendent Tim Hanner. It is in its second year with the Northern Kentucky Education Council.
Now the students have a unique opportunity to consider when choosing a college.
The Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati NaviGo Scholars were invited to the special All-Scholars evening aimed at connecting Scholars and their families with the program’s sponsoring businesses, as well as with experts from Gateway (representing two-year colleges), Thomas More (representing four-year colleges), and higher education partners such as Education at Work, Northern Kentucky FAME and the Kentucky Career Center.
Thomas More College President Dave Armstrong surprised the crowd by announcing that NaviGo Scholars, who successfully complete the program and are accepted into Thomas More, will qualify for a scholarship that would pay up to half their tuition.
“NaviGo is helping to shape the kind of students that excel at Thomas More College. We’re always looking for bright, hard-working, dedicated students with quality mentors who want to make the world around them a better place,” said Thomas More College President David Armstrong. “We are excited to be able to offer all NaviGo graduates up to half off tuition to continue their education at Thomas More.”
The Northern Kentucky Education Council’s NaviGo Scholars program is in its second year. Company sponsors include Toyota, Duke Energy, Pomeroy, C-Forward, Citi, Toyota Boshoku, Mazak, Heritage Bank, Skyward and SD1.
Each company handpicks students from local high schools. The company leaders identify workforce needs and choose students with a passion for their workforce. Selected Scholars, in turn, receive career coaching from a company sponsor and are matched with a NaviGo Coach for college and career coaching until they graduate high school. It’s a win-win partnership that is feeding the workforce pipeline in the Tri-State.
“The Northern Kentucky Education Council’s overarching goal is to ensure that every one of our youth is prepared for college, career and life. The NaviGo Scholars program provides Scholars with the opportunity to connect on a personal level with local businesses for meaningful career exploration and helps prepare them for future success.”
Thomas More College has shown continued support for the NaviGo Scholars program, and this week’s announcement goes even further to secure the Scholars’ future.
“We are proud to provide the NaviGo Scholars program in Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati. The program provides Scholars with a personal college and career coach, along with with experts in their field of interest who help guide them to success,” said NaviGo President Tim Hanner. “We work with 150 NaviGo Scholars from 17 area high schools. The announcement by President Armstrong affirms the belief in our Scholars and in their success as they transition beyond high school.”
The NaviGo Scholars program is an innovative way to help serve the region’s workforce needs, and assist selected students with preparation of needed skills beyond high school.
NaviGo is a non-profit college and career coaching service dedicated to helping high school students find the path to success based on a customized curriculum. For more information, please visit www.NaviGoPrep.com or call (859) 905-7830.