The Educational Talent Search program at Northwest-Shoals Community College has been funded for $1,030,560 per year, an increase of over 10 percent from the previous grant cycle, by the U.S. Department of Education.

The Educational Talent Search program housed at NW-SCC consists of three projects within the multi-year grant, and it is anticipated to receive funding each year for the next five years. The Phil Campbell project, receiving the greatest portion of funding at $466,560, serves specified schools in Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale and Winston counties in Northwest Alabama. The Tennessee Valley Project ($284,160) schools in Lawrence and Wayne counties in Tennessee and Lauderdale County in Northwest Alabama, and the Tuscumbia Project ($279,840) serves specified schools in Colbert and Lawrence counties in Northwest Alabama.

“The Talent Search Projects along with the other TRIO programs at Northwest-Shoals are vital to so many of the people in Northwest Alabama and South Tennessee,” said NW-SCC President Dr. Humphrey Lee. “The services they offer are designed to remove obstacles toward a postsecondary education. Without these programs many students would not be able to realize their dream of a college degree.”

The program is aimed at students in 6th through 12th grades who will be the first in their families to attend college and come from lower income backgrounds. The program also encourages people who have not completed education programs at the secondary or postsecondary level to enter or re-enter and complete postsecondary education.

The Educational Talent Search Program identifies and assists those who have the potential to succeed in higher education. The program provides academic, career, and financial counseling to its participants and encourages them to graduate from high school and continue on and complete their postsecondary education.

The Talent Search program is one of three TRiO programs, including Upward Bound and Student Support Services, at NW-SCC. The programs are 100 percent federally-funded by the U.S. Department of Education.