The Muskegon Area Promise has reached a million dollars in funding, surpassing initial funding goals, and officials say it's on track to expand county-wide.
The budding two-year scholarship program through Muskegon Community College and Baker College of Muskegon announced new donations on Friday, and welcomed its first 14 recipients from three area schools.
Megan Byard is a Promise coordinator with the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District.
"It’s a complete game changer for igniting a college culture, for igniting positive college communities," she says, "and for igniting that dream that we want our Promise scholars to have."
The program is currently offered to eligible students at Muskegon and Holton public schools, and the Muskegon Heights Public School Academy System.
Byard says the program will expand to all eligible county public, private and charter school graduates in 2017.
The concept of the Promise scholarship began in Kalamazoo, and has since spread to communities across the state.
