Chesapeake Beach, MD – The path to a college degree with the ultimate hope of a rewarding career is filled with obstacles. Not the least of these impediments is the huge speed bump comprised of the selection, application and financing process. In Calvert County, there is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit that has successfully navigated students and their families through the process for nearly a decade.

As it begins its tenth year, Southern Maryland College Access Network (SoMD CAN) is now serving all grade levels in Calvert County Public Schools.

The founder of the SoMD CAN, Sonia K. Wagner (pictured above, to the left), had been involved in the higher education field as a financial aid counselor at two New England colleges prior to moving to Calvert County. She started a program providing college financial aid consultation in 2002, which involved doing a presentation at Patuxent High School.

What today is SoMD Can was started by a grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation in 2005. “They were focused on college access for underserved students,” said Wagner.

Originally, all three Southern Maryland counties were involved but Charles and St. Mary’s subsequently left to develop their own programs.

Southern Maryland College Access Network administers in-school programming for minority, low-to-modest income and first-generation college-bound students maintaining a 2.5 or better grade point average.

According to SoMD CAN pre-college advisor Dana Langley, the programs she conducts at Northern High and Patuxent High schools are two years. “We begin the process by helping them [students and families] research cost benefit, find the best college for them,” said Langley. The program is 30 sessions a year for juniors and seniors. “We like to think of us as an extension of the [high school] guidance office and they [guidance office] would agree,” said Langley. “We collaborate with the guidance counselors on a weekly basis.”

“We have great support from the school system,” said Wagner.

The advisors also do seminars on such topics as resume writing. Bowen described most of the questions on a typical college application as “pretty generic.” However, some students face a daunting task in completing the essay in which they must write about themselves. “The essay shows the college who they are,” Langley said.

Some of the students write essays that convey the challenges he or she has faced growing up, such as divorced parents or other difficult situations at home. “I usually cry when I read their essays,” said Langley. 

Additionally, SoMD CAN hosts financial aid workshops for students and families at Calvert County’s four public high schools and The Calverton School, a “line-by-line” workshop on Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and gives a presentation on understanding college financial aid award letters and student loans.

The effort to provide financial aid for deserving students led Wagner and others to develop the Calvert Local Scholarships Application (CLSA) Clearinghouse. Wagner describes CLSA as a “common local scholarships application” that lists over 50 area grant providers.

This year CLSA, which is in its seventh year, had nearly 200 applicants, 48 local scholarship providers and approximately 88 recipients who received over $135,000 in local aid.

This academic year SoMD CAN has initiated several new programs. The “I CAN” program is being piloted by several Calvert County Public Schools (CCPS) elementary schools, which will deliver a presentation/workshop to engage parents and guardians in the fundamentals of financing a higher education. Wagner stated her organization will partner with the Calvert County Council of PTAs on the initiative.

Also new this year is the “WE CAN” program for CCPS high school freshmen and sophomores. Members of the local business community will be sought to become mentors for the program.

For the fourth year in a row, SoMD CAN is providing a special program to aid eighth-graders in long-range planning for college. That program is called “You CAN” and its curriculum is delivered at Calvert Middle and Southern Middle schools.

Wagner and Langley both noted the SoMD CAN program has had success stories, including a group of 2007 PHS seniors who have gone to careers in education, law and engineering.

“I feel like I can help any student who comes to me,” said Langley.

In addition to a contractual agreement with CCPS, SoMD CAN receives funding from Dominion, Patuxent Partnership and Help Association Inc. of Owings. They are always looking for more corporate partnerships.

For more information visit www.somdcan.org

Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com