First Lady Jill Biden to visit Sauk Valley Community College

DIXON – First Lady Jill Biden will be visiting Sauk Valley Community College on Monday to talk about the college’s program that would allow students to earn tuition by volunteering in the community.

Biden, a longtime community college advocate and a professor of writing at Northern Virginia Community College, will be joined by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona during the visit, according to the White House.

It will be Biden’s first visit to Illinois as First Lady.

Lori Cortez, dean of institutional advancement at Sauk, said they were contacted by officials last week to see if they could “highlight the great work the college is doing and the impact program.”

The college is looking to raise $10 million to fund the Sauk Impact Program, which would allow high-schoolers to earn up to 3 years of tuition and fees in a career or transfer program at the college.

Students would need to meet five criteria to qualify, consisting of registering for the program by Sept. 1 of their freshman year, graduate on time or early with their class, participate in 25 hours of community service a year totaling 100 hours, graduate from high school or an accredited home-school program within the district, and apply for at least one other local/state/national scholarship as well as complete FAFSA. More information on the program can be found here.

“I think this is an excellent opportunity to showcase the great work of our students, faculty and staff, and the Sauk Impact Program,” Cortez said.

Cortez said she also looks forward to highlighting areas that provide the backbone of workers for the community, including nursing, TRIO, welding and multi-craft programs.

Further details of the visit have not been released.