DAYTON — A group is celebrating one year of helping Dayton-area high school students get into and succeed in college.
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Mary Ely-Holden is finishing her first year of college; she’s studying communications at the University of Dayton’s Sinclair Academy.
It’s something she never saw for herself, until she got involved with the group Bottom Line.
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It wasn’t a problem of self-esteem; it was a real-life crisis- she was living out in her senior year of high school.
“Unfortunately, I became homeless in December of that year, and they became a big help while I was couch surfing and sleeping in cars. They opened doors for me,” Ely-Holden said.
It’s not just scholarships; Bottom Line serves high-schoolers in any way needed.
The ultimate goal is to get them through college and into their first jobs.
The program, which is available throughout the Miami Valley, is already proving successful.
“Last year we served 173 students last school year, which is our first year serving in Ohio, 90 percent of them enrolled in college. This year, we are serving 300 high school students in many different school districts,” Emily Broughton with Bottom Line said.
Bottom Line is a national program supporting high school students, often first-generation or low-income students, who have a desire to attend college.
While there, Bottom Line also helps in other, often non-academic ways.
“So if their car breaks down, they run out of gas, they couldn’t pay for a class, we try to come in and help them find solutions to those problems,” Broughton said.
Bottom Line is accepting applications now for students who are at least a junior in high school.
More information can be found here.
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