Danita Mends tried to pursue a college degree after leaving Needham Public Schools in 2003 but financial setbacks got in the way.
She worked for the state before shifting to “corporate America.” But she realized she “was hitting ceilings, a lot of opportunities were passing me by. I was constantly overlooked.”
One career shift later into an interior design program at MassBay Community College and Mends was pregnant with her son. That eventually led her to take a break from school until a new state program came calling that allowed her to attend college for free this year.
“To have this financial burden lifted is amazing,” Mends said at MassBay Thursday. “And I’m excited for the opportunities that are going to open up and the things that are going to change my family. I have a son watching me now.”
Mends is taking part in a program that offers students 25 and older a free community college education. The program is expected to serve about 8,000 students during the first year and 10,000 the second year, though there is no upper limit on how many can participate, the Healey administration said.
The program, dubbed MassReconnect, was passed as part of the fiscal 2024 budget that Gov. Maura Healey signed into law earlier this month. Lawmakers and the administration have signed off on millions to fund MassReconnect, which officials have said could apply to 700,000 residents.
The Healey administration also handed each of the state’s 15 community colleges $100,000 to help with the “quick implementation of the program this fall.”
A student can still enroll for MassReconnect for the fall semester. The only requirements are enrolling in at least six credits per semester in an “approved program of study” that leads to an associate degree or certificate at a community college in Massachusetts and completing the federal Free Application for Student Aid.
“There is no deadline to sign up,” Healey administration officials said in a statement. “The majority of community college programs begin the first week of September, but there are scattered start dates throughout the semester, so students can enroll at any time.”
A student must be 25 and older on the first day of their classes and have been a permanent Massachusetts resident for a least one year at the state of the enrollment term. The program is limited to those who have not already earned in a degree.
“Fundamentally, we know that this is a long term investment, not just in the students, ultimately that redounds to the benefit of their families, but it is also an investment in our state,” Healey said.