Milton Hershey School and Indiana University of Pennsylvania Announce Partnership to Support Low-Income, First-Generation College Students
On Friday, Dec. 8, Milton Hershey School and Indiana University of Pennsylvania signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The formalized partnership aims to provide more focused and sustained support to low-income, first generation college students—a demographic that includes many MHS students.
“This partnership demonstrates IUP and Milton Hershey School’s combined commitment to helping students from low income backgrounds realize their postsecondary goals through individualized attention and resources,” MHS Vice President of Graduate Programs for Success Tanya Barton said.
“We have been very proud to educate students from Milton Hershey School, and we are pleased to expand our existing partnership and support for Milton Hershey School students, focusing on our goal of helping all of our students to succeed,” IUP President Dr. Michael Driscoll said. “The Milton Hershey School does a great job in preparing students to achieve their higher education and life goals.”
The agreement will provide MHS students with more tools and resources to set them up for success at IUP as well as individualized academic coaching to enhance the MHS student experience and graduation outcomes.
“Together, we are taking an active role in supporting first-generation college students so they reach graduation, graduate on time, and succeed academically,” Barton said.
The formal partnership supports the School’s commitment to student success following graduation. Milton Hershey School’s Graduate Programs for Success (GPS) Division provides students and alumni with a multi-tiered system of support that addresses their individual needs while fostering independence. Through the GPS Division, dedicated career counselors, teachers, and transition specialists support students and alumni of all ages beginning in middle school and continuing to their time in college, technical programs, the workforce, or the military.