Open Door Grant provides scholarships for hundreds of students

CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Open Door Scholarship is quite literally opening doors for students at St. Petersburg College (SPC). The state’s Department of Education awarded SPC $1.3 million this school year for the Open Door Grant, which provides scholarships for workforce programs.

College officials say this is a unique scholarship that will potentially help close to 400 students receive the certification they need for their career.

“It serves a population that’s really in need. A lot of these programs we’ve chosen to highlight are ones that don’t usually get financial aid because they’re short term, because you don’t get a college degree at the end, you still get a credential of value, so for those students who may be in need but aren’t able to apply for aid, this is a perfect example for them,” said St. Petersburg College Project Director Marie Couch.

Zach Blankem is enrolled in SPC’s Fire Training Program, and he received the Open Door Grant to pay for it.

“What really appealed to me about the fire service is on top of keeping you active, every day is different, it’s in the medical field, you can walk into it with no idea of what you’re doing, no experience, and if you work really hard, within one calendar year, you can meet the requirements to get hired with a department,” said Blankem.

Paul Govoni, who is also in the Firefighting Academy, agrees, and says after working for himself as a business broker, he decided it was time for a career change. “I am 32 years old. I am self-employed. I have a daughter and a wife, and I was looking for something to do that would fulfill me a little more than just the pursuit of money, so really, I thought public service is something that could do that for me.”

Both Govoni and Blankem are there thanks to the Open Door Scholarship. It’s funding from the state that covers all the tuition for students pursuing career and technical education, like the firefighting academy.

“To put it simply, I wouldn’t be here without it. The biggest roadblock to anyone improving themselves is typically financial, and I can understand that because I was working full time, and working paycheck to paycheck like most people, so the idea of going no employment, no income, it was terrifying, but we need more firefighters, we need more EMTs, we need more paramedics and grants like Open Door opens more opportunities for people like me to better ourselves,” said Blankem.

Typical scholarships don’t cover short-term programs, which can hold people back from pursuing these careers, even though the director of SPC’s fire training center says these types of jobs are always in demand.

“Lately, everybody in the state of Florida is hiring, just about every fire department in the state is hiring. The opportunity for these students when they’re finished with our program, as long as they pass everything, they’re certified firefighters and they can be hired,” said Steven Marfongelli, the Director of Fire Training Center at SPC.

That is the main goal, and the Open Door Scholarship allows these students to pursue an important career in public service. “The men and women who decide to go through the academy, not only are they selflessly choosing to serve their community, but now they’re also having to pay for it, and go on their own, so it’s very hard,” said Govoni.

The main requirement for the Open Door Scholarship is Florida residency — other than that, students must be enrolled in an approved workforce program.