A recent graduate who attended college with the help of Michigan Reconnect, Kaleb Aethyr wants others to know there are plenty of ways for people like him to go to college.
It took Kaleb Aethyr a few years to figure out what he wanted his life to look like.
The 23-year-old Canton resident knew he needed to figure out what he could do to support himself, especially after dropping out of high school after dealing with some family issues. After spending some time working, he began looking at earning his GED and going to college.
“For me, no one is going to change my situation,” Aethyr said. “No one is going to do that for me. I had to whip myself into gear.”
Fast forward a few years and Aethyr has done just that: not only has he completed his associate degree right here at Schoolcraft College, but he’s off to study at the University of Michigan to study aerospace engineering, with goals of eventually becoming an astronaut.
His first experience at Schoolcraft College was before he was a student: he signed up to take his GED test through the Testing Center in the McDowell Student Center. After spending time on campus and learning more about what the College had to offer, he applied and began taking classes, albeit it somewhat reluctantly.
“I was scared,” he said. “I didn’t see myself as someone going into higher education.”
Aethyr took a year of coursework to get himself acclimated to college but really found himself blossoming his second year: after originally deciding on cybersecurity as a major, he took some courses and found it wasn’t for him. Thinking he could go the engineering route, Aethyr realized he needed a better foundation in math. So, he spent a whole summer teaching himself the math he didn’t learn in high school.
The hard work paid off: he earned a 4.0 GPA in his Precalculus class and – more importantly – discovered a passion for mathematics and science. After seeing success, Aethyr found his groove: he got more involved on campus, joined the Schoolcraft Scholars Honors Program and participated in events such as the STEAM @ Schoolcraft conference.
Errin Stegich-Moloney, the director of the Honors Program, said she saw plenty of potential in him once she met him. Like she would with all her students, she found herself motivating Aethyr in order to achieve his goals of attending U-M.
“As I got to know him, I recognized that his drive and determination and commitment were very strong,” she said. “He’s motivated, he’s bright. He’s a great young man.”
His role in the Honors Program – which is part of the part of The Center for Experiential Learning – gave him some additional resources as well: The LSA Transfer Bridges (TB2H) Program is also a part of The Center for Experiential Learning, which provides numerous resources to help students transfer to U-M.
Not only did his hard work help him succeed, but some assistance from the State of Michigan made it possible to pay for his education. Aethyr was one of the students that took advantage of a temporary change through the Michigan Reconnect program, which allowed residents 21 and older without a degree or credential to go back to their local community college and earn a degree tuition-free. While the typical criteria for the program requires participants be 25 or older, the state temporarily reduced it to 21 around the time Aethyr attended Schoolcraft College.
Without that, he said, he would never have been able to afford the tuition.
Aethyr felt so passionately about it, he joined several other students and administrators from the College to attend the Michigan Community College Association Capitol Day to meet with legislators to urge them to reduce the Reconnect age permanently to 21.
“That’s why I want so badly this program get pushed down to 21,” he said. “It’s important to catch people when they’re 21, because if you lose them, they’re probably never going to come.”
The fact that Aethyr wants to help others succeed isn’t a surprise to Stegich-Moloney, who has seen him constantly find ways to assist others.
“He always finds way to give back to his community. He wants to create those opportunities for others,” she said. “That’s just who he is.”