South Carolina secondary schools receive nearly $2.6 million in grants

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Citadel is among secondary schools in South Carolina that will share grants totaling $2.6 million from the state’s Department of Education.

The agency announced five grants Friday that target critical needs in higher education systems and creates secondary education opportunities for students from underrepresented communities.

Claflin University and Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College will also benefit from the grants.

Claflin University and Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College received a Postsecondary Student Success Program grant which creates opportunities and helps ease students who resume their education after time off.

The Citadel received $600,462 for The Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success Program grant that supports student veterans through services addressing their physical, social, financial and academic needs.

Veteran Student Success Center Director Sally Levitt says not only is the grant going towards enhancing veteran programs already in place- it also funds creating veterans advisory groups on campus.

“We’ve also created a veterans advisory group which is of our stakeholders on campus our registrar’s office our treasurer’s office our financial aid office the deans of departments to gather once a quarter and talk about those needs that our veteran students require or if there’s any things that we can shore up that were not doing already for them,” Levitt said.

Citadel Junior Aurel Edyvean, who is also the president of The Citadel Student Veterans Association, served for active duty in the Navy for six years. Edyvean says this grant will help create more of a community for veterans.

“I think it helps veterans out including myself at the veterans’ lounge create, like social events, things of that nature,” Edyvean said.

Devitt also said the grant gives student veterans access to academic, career, and resiliency coaches and is proud to be one of the 14 schools to receive this grant.

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