TruWest Credit Union and Mesa Community College (MCC) announced their partnership to support success in higher education and financial literacy of students. The Tempe-based credit union has donated $25,000 to the MCC First Year Experience program, providing scholarships to first-generation college students, and will teach financial literacy classes this fall.
“Helping students achieve their educational and financial goals is extremely important to us at TruWest,” said President and CEO of TruWest Credit Union Alan Althouse. “We believe in what the First Year Experience offers participants and are proud to support MCC as they develop these students’ skills. This is only the beginning of TruWest and MCC making an impact together.”
The MCC First Year Experience is a year-long college program focused on providing first-year students with the services and support needed to successfully transition to college. Participants must have attended one of six high schools in the Mesa Public Schools system and come from a family where neither parent earned a bachelor’s degree.
Along with monetary support for MCC students, TruWest representatives will deliver two financial literacy trainings for program participants and their parents and have committed to sponsoring the college’s food pantry and clothing closet.
“It is tremendous that TruWest wants to provide scholarships for First Year Experience students. However, they wanted to do more.” said Dr. Richard J. Haney, MCC president. “TruWest is also giving of its time and expertise to help teach financial literacy and it plans to help stock shelves in the Mesa Market, our student food pantry, and aid in the development of a space usable for the college to establish a clothing closet so students may ‘dress to impress’ for job interviews.”
Learn more about the MCC First Year Experience program at mesacc.edu/students/foundations-student-success/first-year-experience. For more information about TruWest Credit Union, visit truwest.org.
