Finish What You Started: Erikka Saueressig

Erikka Saueressig lives in Aspen and attends the CMC Spring Valley campus outside Glenwood Springs, where she is a veterinary technician student.

"I grew up here and knew CMC was affordable, so I enrolled," Erikka said. "I think I read about the Finish What You Started grant in an email that said I qualified."

Part of the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative at CMC, the Finish What You Started program can provide students with up to $4,000 based on a student's field of study and financial need. If students remain in good standing, their grants can be renewed.

Erikka had just moved out of her parent's home, so the grant offered timely financial assistance.

"Last semester, we had to get rabies vaccines shots [for a class] for ourselves and I paid for it with that money," she said. "That was around $800. It's also helped me pay my bills."

Like other grant recipients, Erikka attended college earlier in life but didn't finish "for several reasons. Then COVID-19 hit so I had to take a break," she said.

Erikka started the vet tech program at Spring Valley in 2021 and plans to finish her college education in 2023.