Grant helps college focus on individuals

A $90,000 grant will help Lake Erie College provide individualized attention to each student.

Lake Erie College has received a major grant that will help fund one of its new programs.

Cleveland Foundation’s Fenn Educational Fund awarded the private Painesville college $90,000 to support the long-term sustainability of Pathway to Empowerment, according to a news release.

Pathway to Empowerment, referred to as P2E and which continues to evolve and expand after successful pilot projects, will offer a unique college-to-career approach that further incorporates experiential learning and internships within the educational experience at the college.

The Fenn Educational Fund of the Cleveland Foundation concentrates its resources on promoting and assisting cooperative education and internship programs at institutions of higher education in Greater Cleveland.

The funds from the Cleveland

Students will work with faculty and staff members on a personal level as they reflect on their aspirations to gain a better appreciation for their unique skills.

Foundation are being used to provide the tools and infrastructure needed to support P2E for all students moving forward, the release also said.

By expanding programming with an emphasis on internship and real-world learning, experts said P2E will support and grow more personalized support and individualized strategies.

The P2E program offers a four-phase sequence that addresses skills and characteristics such as learning about their strengths and areas of growth, creative problem solving, development of strong personal attributes and teamwork.

Students will work with faculty and staff members on a personal level as they reflect on their aspirations to gain a better appreciation for their unique skills.

Alongside their peers, they will work to develop projects that will help the community and provide invaluable experiences for them.

This program identifies and responds to modern career and workforce demands.

“Labor statistics tell us that a person may have around 11 jobs in a lifetime,” said Bryan DePoy, vice president for academic affairs and chief academic officer. “What are colleges and universities doing to prepare students for this reality? This signature program is, in part, Lake Erie College’s answer to that question.

“Individualized and personalized learning is a powerful benefit of our educational approach and Pathway to Empowerment will add even more to our value as an institution.”