The best thing about education is its ripple effect.
The more you understand how certain things work, the more likely that knowledge will serve as a springboard to learning other new concepts and skills, benefiting not only your own prospects but of those around you.
Joe and Janie Works of Humboldt have taken that premise to establish The Humboldt Promise, a program that provides nearly every Humboldt High graduate the opportunity for a higher education.
“It’s an opportunity to empower our youth,” Joe Works said of the scholarships established by his and Janie’s foundation, The Works Family Foundation.
The decision reflects the couple’s philosophy toward life.
On their bathroom mirror is taped a quote from the novelist George Eliot: “What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?”
The couple squirms when given credit for living up to the axiom.
For them, it’s simply addressing a need.
Though the program is limited to Humboldt High graduates, its effects will be far-reaching as families from other communities send their children to Humboldt’s schools to take advantage of the scholarships.
Wherever the students eventually land, they’ll be equipped to better navigate the world with a post-secondary degree under their belts.
“Our hope is that it benefits all of Southeast Kansas,” said Janie.
The need is great, said the Workses, adding that their children impressed on them the number of local graduates for whom college is not an easy option.
Knowing some of these students on a first-name basis helped spur the couple to get the program set up so that it would benefit today’s graduating class.
The Workses credit their children Beth Barlow and Tony and Josh Works, for doing the legwork necessary to get the program implemented in a timely manner.
“The trajectory of how fast higher education costs is going up is very daunting,” said Joe. “And what if costs continue to rise?”
More than ever, conversations around the kitchen table focus on the immediate costs to attend college, superseding the long-term value and earning power of a higher degree.
