Gov. Tom Wolf wants to make higher education more affordable in the state of Pennsylvania with a new scholarship program. | Adobe Stock
Gov. Tom Wolf wants to make higher education more affordable in the state of Pennsylvania with a new scholarship program. | Adobe Stock
Gov. Tom Wolf (D-PA) hopes to both make it more affordable for people to receive a higher education and stabilize the commonwealth's workforce for future generations with the creation of a new scholarship program that would accomplish both goals.
Wolf's announcement earlier this month about the $200 million Nellie Bly Scholarship Program comes as the total amount of student debt for Pennsylvanians reached $71.5 billion, according to the Official Pennsylvania Government Website.
"A good education can set a person up for a lifetime of success. But pursuing that education can often be a dream out of reach as costs skyrocket and student debt looms," Wolf said, according to the website. "Let's help Pennsylvania students succeed and put money back into the economy, instead of shouldering them with debt equal to a down payment on a new home."
Wolf has proposed funding the program by using money from both the federal American Rescue Plan Act and the Race Horse Development Trust Fund. It would support student tuition and relevant costs of attendance, particularly for those studying fields that are in desperate need of workers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including those focused on health care, education and public service.
Pennsylvania continues to recover from the negative impacts of the global health crisis, and the Nellie Bly Program would make attending a state college or university more affordable while also adding to the workforce, since scholarship recipients would be required to work and live in the state of Pennsylvania -- or repay the tuition through a low-interest loan.
The $200 million program would build on Wolf's previous efforts that make education a priority and add to the legacy funding of education to make sure every Pennsylvanian has the chance to receive a higher education, make a career for themselves and improve the community.
Nellie Bly was an American journalist who was widely known for her record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days. She is considered a pioneer in her field of and launched a new kind of investigative journalism.
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