Jennifer Witherbee: Apple growers assist motivated students

Twenty-five years ago Washington fruit growers wanted to do more to help farmworkers and their families achieve the American dream. These hard-working people, many of them first-generation immigrants, struggled to afford college tuition for their children. To help bridge this gap, these fruit growers established the Washington Apple Education Foundation (WAEF) to identify these deserving students and provide financial and ongoing support toward achieving their educational and career goals.

While college costs have continued to grow, so has WAEF. Through voluntary contributions made by industry employers, WAEF provides over $1 million in scholarship support to students annually. This year, 330 students are on college campuses with tree fruit industry scholarships.

Currently, 80% of our scholarship recipients are first-generation college students. Many of the parents of WAEF students are working in entry-level and laborer positions in the industry. In the majority of these instances, attending college was not an option for our students’ parents, but it is a goal they have for their children. It is with tremendous pride they get to see their children graduate from high school and continue on to college with financial support made possible through their industry employment.

Our scholarship recipients are pursuing a wide variety of majors, each necessary in thriving rural communities. A common desire among WAEF students is to return to their home communities. They also share an interest in utilizing their college degrees to make a difference to their families and to others in the community.

WAEF’s interest is not just in getting students enrolled in college, it is in helping them succeed in college and meet their goals. To that end, activities occur year-round to boost the success rates of WAEF students.

Throughout the year, WAEF provides mentoring opportunities with volunteers in the community, career exploration tours, informational interviews with a diverse variety of professionals, workshops on a multitude of topics, individual coaching on resume writing and more. These activities occur with the help of over 200 volunteers annually, each year a growing percentage of those volunteers are our graduates.

Working with first-generation students, we have found that more is needed to transition to higher education than just dollars. We believe one of the keys to successful graduation from college is development of a vision of the future and the sense of security that they are a member of a supportive community that believes in them and will continue to support their dreams.

This year, 90% of our students will either graduate from college or have achieved renewal of their scholarships for the 2020-21 school year. Nearly 80% of this year’s graduates are graduating on time in fewer than four years. According to the Pell Institute in a May 2019 report, first-generation, low-income students across the nation have a 21% chance of graduating from college in six or fewer years. WAEF students far exceed that statistic.

Through our experiences we have found college can be accessible to these students with the right support, both advisory and financial. The majority of our students have family incomes of less than $70,000 per year and many have families larger than the state average. Scholarships paired with state and federal assistance provide a path for students to participate in higher education and create opportunities for entire families to advance.

As one of our students recently shared, “After I graduate I plan on helping other students so that they have the same opportunities I received – encouragement, motivation and someone to believe in them, because sometimes that’s all you need.”

We are proud of our students and of the tremendous support they continue to receive from the fruit growing community.

Jennifer Witherbee is executive director of the Washington Apple Education Foundation.