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Spartanburg Community College President Henry Giles said he knows exactly the toll
unexpected emergencies can take on struggling college students.
He said those unexpected problems that seem to spring from nowhere can sometimes make
all the difference between dropping out or finishing strong with a degree in hand.
That s why he said he s fully supporting an ongoing fundraising ride by Dr. Tim Hardee,
the president of the South Carolina Technical College System. Hardee is in the midst
of pedaling his way across the state, using his vacation time to raise money for college
scholarships.
He launched the most recent leg of his journey Friday morning at SCC, pedaling off
into the rain toward further stops in Greenville and Anderson. When it s all over,
he ll have visited each of the 16 technical colleges in the state s system.
So far, Giles said Hardee has raised some $85,000 in scholarship dollars - the end
goal is $160,000 - that will be awarded to the schools. Giles said SCC s share of
the funds have been earmarked for emergency grants for Spartanburg Community College
students.
Sometimes life just gets in the way of an education, Giles said. We re going to use
that money to allow existing students to stay in school if something happens.
Giles said the nature of the technical college system brings together a mix of freshly
minted high school graduates with older, nontraditional students looking to jumpstart
or retool their careers.