For the past year or so, every time an advertisement for Silver Lake College has been played on the radio, or put up on a billboard, they have been telling us about their SLC Works program. We recently sat down with the head of that program, Matt Goff, and he told us, “…it’s kind of a three tier concept with work, learning, and service. What it means is every student that is a residential student, or who lives on campus, is required as a part of their enrollment to participate in work. They need to be successful in work to be able to live and go to school at Silver Lake.” A worry some may have about the program is that it would detract too much time away from school work. However, the students only are required to work 10 hours a week, which totals around 300 hours a semester. SLC is not just using their students as free labor however. Goff told us for all their hard work the students get a tuition credit. He went on to say that debt reduction is a big reason SLC started using their work model. Goff said, “College debt is a huge thing that’s going around America right now. Silver Lake has taken a big step in saying we want to answer that, and SLC Works is how we are doing that.” As for how this program helps the students find future employment, Goff explained, “One of the biggest things employers say is students that are fresh out of college struggle with soft skills. Critical thinking professionalism, teamwork, and a lot of those types of things…SLC Works is, again, a direct answer to that.” Students begin working on those soft skills right from day one. If you, or someone you know is looking to start college, or go back to college, go to www.slc.edu for more information on Silver Lake College, and SLC Works.
