This May, after a long journey, Greenville’s Stella Faigin will graduate from Greenville Technical College with a degree in medical laboratory technology.
Faigin is an adult student at Greenville Tech who started classes in 2018 while working a full-time job. She’s been working towards this degree a few classes at a time, only becoming a full-time student in her final year.
It’s a moment of triumph for Faigin, and it’s thanks in part to the Greenville Tech Foundation that she’s been able to finally complete her degree program.
Founded in 1973, the Greenville Tech Foundation has spent 50 years providing resources to both Greenville Technical College and its students through fundraising, collaborative partnerships and innovative programs. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is separate from the college but operates to benefit the institution and its students.
The foundation is driven by the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to pursue their dreams in higher education. By expanding access to education, it ignites personal transformation and contributes to the economic vitality of our region.
Perhaps most importantly for Faigin, the foundation has over 200 endowed funds and offers more than 1,000 scholarships in an average year, and through the application process the right scholarship can be matched with the right student.
“I had a class last year that I needed to pay off the rest of, and someone with the school asked if I’d heard of the Greenville Tech Foundation,” Faigin said. “So I went to the Greenville Tech Foundation office and filled out a form, and the Keith & Heidie Miller Endowed Scholarship Fund, established by the college’s president and his wife, paid for the rest of that class.”
In her final year at Greenville Tech, she went to the foundation again, receiving a medical laboratory technician scholarship that ensured that Faigin would complete her degree program.
Faigin said she was surprised at how easy it was to complete the application.
“You just fill out one general application and then they match you to scholarships that best fit you,” she said. “The application process helps match a variety of student attributes — from major, to community involvement, to financial need — with a donor’s passion for helping students. The end result is a connection that’s life-changing for the student and meaningful for the donor.”
Faigin says that thanks to the foundation, she has peace of mind, which allowed her to fully concentrate on her degree.
“It was a blessing to be able to receive that first scholarship,” she said. “It gave me the ability to help continue to pay for school, continue to be an independent student who pays their own way and to pursue my goals of becoming an MLT and graduating.”
Faigin said she has been telling others to look into the Greenville Tech Foundation.
“I tell people to think about contacting the foundation,” she said. “They’re there to make sure you can continue your education and not get interrupted.”
About the foundation
Greenville Tech Foundation scholarships are provided by employers, alumni, community members, faculty and staff, and many others who are connected to the college’s mission of transforming lives through education. Scholarship funds are established by donors and managed by the foundation. Scholarship awards are issued from these funds during an annual cycle, based on spending policies established by the board of directors and in accordance with the criteria outlined by the donor in their fund agreement.
