By Gwen Davis

"A lot of people have asked me, ‘Would have you gone to college if the 13th Year Promise Scholarship hadn’t happened?” said Carmen Berrysmith, a student at South Seattle College and featured speaker during the college's major scholarship announcement Monday morning.

"And the answer is ’no.’” she said. "My mom has a full-time job but there are five children in the house, and there are mortgages to pay and grandparents to take care of. There are car payments. You know how the bills pile up. I didn’t want to ask my mom who’s given me so much in life, for another thousand dollars per quarter. That’s not something you want to do to people who are struggling."

Seattle College announced big plans to support tuition-free community college for recent high school grads. Currently, high school grads from various underserved schools can attend South Seattle College tuition-free for one year. Under this recent proposal, which will be tackled in the legislature this coming session, the one-year would be stretched to two. Berrysmith would have an additional year of tuition-free college to finish out her studies and transfer to a four-year college where she wants to major in social work.

"A lot of people need at least that first year of education because maybe they didn’t learn enough in high school and that first year will be catching them up to college level classes,” Berrysmith said. "And a lot of people come from cultural backgrounds and home lives, and there’s a lot of stress that goes along with that. With the 13th Year, money takes a back seat. It's not something you have to think about,” she said.

"It gives students a chance to focus on school. Last year, I got on the honor roll list and a 3.77 with my GPA,” she said. “It gives people a chance to shine and gave me a chance to shine.”

The announcement featured South Seattle College president Gary Oertli, Washington State Senators Pramila Jayapal (37th LD) and David Frockt (46th LD), Berrysmith, as well as an audience of around 70 people, including students and stakeholders.

The event is in conjunction with President Obama’s “Heads Up America” initiative which aims to make tuition free at community colleges nation-wide. South Seattle College’s current 13th Year Promise Scholarship, has been offering one year of free tuition to high school graduates from Cleveland, Chief Sealth and Rainier Beach high schools since 2008. The scholarship has opened the doors to those who have been traditionally underserved in higher education.

“In our 13th Year program, we assess their skills to see if they're if they’re ready for college level classes and if not, have them take their placement classes and move up in their placements,” Oertli said. "We monitor them while they’re here to make sure they are successful. The 13th Year program has double the completion rate of other students. This is real economic development for our community."

Oertli talked about how this will further economic growth for the city.

"I think it’s [not that in the great city of Seattle and in South Lake Union we have to import people to get jobs,” Oertli told the audience. "It’s critical that the students who graduate from our Seattle public high schools have access to these jobs. If we could get them the education they want, they could get those jobs, so it’s really about economic development. We here at South wholeheartedly support the concept of Promise Scholarships,” he said.

The president said this plan is noncontroversial.

"I also really believe that this is a bipartisan issue that everyone can support,” he said.

Senator Pramila Jayapal took the floor.

"I love the phrase 'economic development for our community,’” she said. "How do we meet the workforce needs of our economy? There is a middle class that can’t afford higher education anymore."

South Seattle College already has the groundwork for the scholarship extension, she said.

"We are trying to think about all the assets we already achieved and how to put them in place so that those coming out of high school will have them,” she said. "Tennessee and Oregon have implemented the Promise Scholarship program. We want to work on it and introduce it in the next legislative session so we could serve the highest number of people.”

Additionally, Jayapal made note that the scholarship should be for everyone, regardless of age.

"We want a Washington Promise program that gives promise for those willing to work for it,” she said. “And we want to extend it to not only those out of high school but also to adults."

According to the College Success Foundation, the Washington Student Achievement Council attainment goal confirmed by the state legislature is that by 2023, 70 percent of Washington adults ages 25-44 will have a postsecondary credential. To date, 51.2 percent have one. The foundation states that the challenges of hitting the goal include that postsecondary enrollments declined slightly and persistence at public two-year institutions has declined. Community colleges also have more limited resources than four-year institutions.

Studies have found that the probability of enrollment in a community college is higher by about four percentage points per additional $1,000 worth of aid. In other words, the more aid there is the more likely students will enroll, the College Success Foundation stated.

In the Washington State proposal, the scholarship would include two years of free community college, there will be a stipend for expenses, it will be available to all WA state residents and all ages will be welcomed.

Studies have shown that the median annual earnings for those with an associate’s degree are 33 percent higher than those with a high school diploma. Matriculation to a four-year college is additionally beneficial. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree earn 73 percent more than those with a high school diploma, according to the College Success Foundation.