RVHI | VFCCE

As a little girl growing up in rural Giles County, Helena wanted to be a doctor. By the time she entered high school, everything had begun to change. "My junior year, I said, 'There's no way I can go to college.' Then I met my RVHI coach and she became my everything—from financial aid and finding the right program to helping me get back on track when my dad died. Because of her, I know I can do this."

Helena, Health Sciences Major

New River Community College

For Students:

Rural Virginia Horseshoe Initiative (RVHI)

Depending on where you live and how much your parents earn, Virginia presents two very different futures.

Draw a line from Virginia’s Eastern Shore, westward across Southside to Southwest Virginia, and then up the Shenandoah Valley, and you would trance an arc that represents 75% of the Commonwealth’s geography. This “Rural Horseshoe” is home to 2.1 million Virginians.

In the Horseshoe, nearly one quarter of the population have less than a high school education. As a result, Virginia ranks 31^st nationally in the percentage of the population with at least a high school equivalency, despite the high achievement level of the non-Horseshoe areas.

The ramifications are real, as the fiscal and social costs of supporting a large portion of the state’s population endanger the prosperity of the state as a whole. Former Virginia Governor Gerald L. Baliles understood this, and his idea for assisting students in his native Patrick County inspired the VFCCE statewide Rural Virginia Horseshoe Initiative.

The program is designed to help you reach major educational milestones and to build the skills you need for a fulfilling and high-earning career.

"We want to see all Virginians moving forward. Investing in people who want to work, who want to be productive, is the right thing to do."

Michael Smith, Vice President of Valley Proteins

"Great Expectations expands educational opportunities and offers hope for a brighter future to an important group of deserving and disadvantaged young Virginians: youth transitioning out of the foster care system."

Anne Holton, Former Great Expectations Program Director and Former First Lady of Virginia

"Knowing that you have help means a great deal to someone like me who can see the future, but is not able to afford the path to get there."

Lisa Mullins, Davenport Fellow

"We want to give people who may not have thought they had a future in higher education an opportunity to earn family-sustaining wages."

Karen Barrs, EquipVA

"The biggest thing young people need is some kind of support. Somebody who can say, 'I believe in you, and I can help.'"

Barbara Fried, Great Expectations Program Founder

"Scholarships are a powerful vote of confidence that can spur talented students to unimagined heights—especially those young people who do not have a family history of attending college."

Gaye Montgomery, VFCCE Board Member

"We've all had days when a kind word or an unexpected smile from a stranger makes our day. I like to think that VFCCE scholarships go one step farther to 'make the day' for our students by making their dreams of attending college possible."

Karen Petersen, Former VCCS Executive Vice Chancellor

"Most people don’t realize how little it takes to change a student’s life."

Eleanor Saslaw, Virginia State Board for Community Colleges

"A gift to the Foundation empowers and changes lives."

Dorcas Helfant-Browning, Former VFCCE Board Chair

How It Works: Bridging the Journey from High School to College to Career

In 2005, Virginia’s community colleges launched the Virginia career coach program. Today, more than 100 coaches work with students like you to achieve remarkable results.

Modeled on the successful Patrick County coaching program, these career coaches serve in rural high school to fill the gaps that the school’s guidance staff simply cannot provide. Coaches help you plan for college and career, as well as help locate scholarships and financial aid opportunities that may be essential to your college completion and success.

High school students cited the following as the leading benefits of working with a career coach:

Start planning earlier and set realistic future goals
Learn about community or technical colleges
Learn about financial aid, grants, and scholarships
Apply to college and choose a major
Understand career options and make informed decisions about career fields and jobs
Gain confidence about the future

14%

is the increase in graduation rates for Great Expectations students compared to national average

75%

of community college students in Virginia who transferred to a 4 year institution subsequently graduated

2.6 Million

estimated middle-skilled jobs in Virginia that will need to be filled by 2026

Incentives for GED & Adult Education Students

In addition to improving high school graduation rates, the Rural Virginia Horseshoe Initiative awards incentives to recent GED recipients to encourage continuation of your education in workforce programs and other areas of study.

The VFCCE awards thousands of GED incentives per year to enable GED recipients to begin your post-secondary education, as well as allowing you to serve as an inspiration for those without a GED to earn one. Incentive awardees receive comprehensive support from adult career coaches on community college campuses.