Grand Rapids — If it weren’t for the Grand Rapids Promise Zone Scholarship, college might not be in the cards for Kaylani Ponce. But thanks to the program and its recently announced expansion, the Union High School senior is bound for not only an associate degree, but a bachelor’s as well.
Since 2020, the Promise has offered free tuition at Grand Rapids Community College for qualifying Grand Rapids students. In September, the Promise Zone Authority announced an upcoming partnership with Grand Valley State University and Ferris State University that will allow scholarship recipients who earn an associate degree at GRCC to receive funding for four-year degrees at those institutions.
Promise scholars will soon be able to receive up to $7,000 per academic year for tuition and fees as they pursue bachelor’s degrees at GVSU and Ferris, and the universities have both also pledged to provide up to $7,000 per student to help fill funding gaps.
The expansion officially starts in January 2026, but Kaylani, at Union, is already changing her plans in anticipation.
‘More communities should have this opportunity to be able to get their education and get the job they want without having to struggle.’
— Union High School senior Kaylani Ponce
“I didn’t really think about (doing) the full four years before, but now I’m set on doing at least four years,” she said.
Kaylani, who hopes to work in the medical field, originally planned to aim for a two-year degree or a certification as an ultrasound technician, but now she’s setting her sights on earning a bachelor’s, and becoming a registered nurse.
“It honestly feels good to know that I don’t have to pay for college, because I personally don’t have the money to afford it, and also my family doesn’t have the money for it,” she said, adding that by taking advantage of the expanded Promise, she and other students can focus on their education without worrying as much about expenses.
The scholarship, she said, gives Grand Rapids students a tremendous opportunity to get help achieving their dreams.
“It means a lot. It’s like a reliever,” Kaylani said. “A lot of people struggle just to get their education. More communities should have this opportunity to be able to get their education and get the job they want without having to struggle.”
‘More opportunities’
That’s a sentiment that Kaylani’s classmates, Noelle Kemp and Magaly Diaz, both share. Noelle and Magaly technically have college paid for through the Challenge Scholar program at Union, but Noelle may end up using the Promise to start off her college career at GRCC, rather than heading directly to Ferris to complete a bachelor’s degree in an arts- or fashion-related field of study.
“I feel like that might be the best for me,” Noelle said of GRCC.
‘I feel even less stressed about transferring from a two-year to a four-year college. I feel like I have less things to worry about and more hope.’
— Alexsandra Aguilar-Delgado, 2024 City High grad and current GRCC student
Magaly noted that Union’s current sophomore class will be the last to be eligible for the Challenge Scholar program. She has younger siblings who won’t qualify, and she’s glad the Promise is around for them.
“It’s just opening more opportunities for them, and I’m really grateful for that,” she said. “My older sister goes to college, and I’m going to college, so I really want them to go, and the Grand Rapids Promise Zone offers that opportunity.”
Noelle concurred.
“I think it’s really awesome that we have these opportunities,” she said. “College is expensive, and in this day and age, nobody’s got money for that.”
‘A clear path’
Alexsandra Aguilar-Delgado, a 2024 City High Middle School graduate now attending GRCC, is already making use of the Promise to earn her associate degree, and she said she’s definitely planning to take advantage of the expansion to earn a bachelor’s in plastics and polymer engineering technology at Ferris.
She said she’d probably be able to get her four-year degree without it, but that would mean going into debt, which is something she’d love to avoid.
“Now I don’t have to worry about that aspect, and I can focus on other aspects of college life,” Alexsandra said.
She’s always planned to get a bachelor’s degree, and the expanded Promise is allowing her to do that with significantly less financial hardship.
“It’s going to be opening up even more doors,” Alexsandra said. “Now that I know about the expansion, I feel even less stressed about transferring from a two-year to a four-year college. I feel like I have less things to worry about and more hope.”
Alexsandra said she’s the first person in her family to attend college, and she’s hoping other first-generation students take advantage of the Promise.
Promise Zone Director Ashlee Mishler said the expansion was a “natural next step” for the Promise.
“We’re just excited for the expansion,” Mishler said. “I think it gives students a really great opportunity. … This kind of gives them a clear path.”
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