In the News

Video recap of Great Lakes FAST Fund Consortium

Milwaukee County Grants $100,000 in Aid for MATC Students Facing Housing Insecurity

“Milwaukee Area Technical College is the only college in Wisconsin that has a majority of its students are people of color,” Shea said during the committee meeting Thursday. “Many of them come with all kinds of economic challenges attending school; some of our students are homeless; many of our students are single parents… They’re not asking for a handout as so much as a hand-up.”

As Student Need Rises, More College Faculty Set Up Emergency Aid Funds

Even as FAST Funds help to fill gaps in social services today, labor leaders think that in the future, the movement has the potential to organize faculty and staff around advocacy for campus policies that actually close those gaps for low-income students and educators.

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FAST Fund gives diapers, peace of mind over holidays

While being short on money has been part of college life for decades, for some students the need can force them to quit school. Liz Franczyk, Director of MATC's FAST Fund, is trying to relieve that financial stress for students.

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AFT's Randi Weingarten visits Milwaukee to support MATC union-run financial aid program

The president of the nation’s second-largest teachers' union was in Milwaukee Thursday to throw support behind a pioneering college affordability program at MATC.

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FOX 6 news highlights Partnership with MATC FAST Fund

Click here to watch video footage of Mayor Johnson's announcement of a $200,000 grant to the FAST Fund

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FAST Fund to receive $200,000 from Milwaukee for MATC students' basic needs costs

The Faculty and Students Together (FAST) Fund is partnering with the city of Milwaukee and Mayor Cavalier Johnson as the city approved a $200,000 grant to the FAST Fund which will go students of MATC to help cover basic needs costs.

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MATC FAST Fund publishes 2020-2021 Annual Report

Clink on the link to read about the struggles MATC students endured during the 2020-21 school year but also their triumphs; read faculty testimonies; learn about our amazing donors, the Mary Anne Gross Memorial Endowment fund and more.

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MATC Student Stories: Corey Lee went back to college to set example for his kids

In the last installment of the StoryCorps-inspired series, we hear from Corey Lee. He’s a father of two who graduated with a business management degree in December.

During his time at MATC, Corey turned to the faculty-run FAST Fund for emergency financial aid. He got to know Michael Rosen, a retired economics professor who founded the FAST Fund. The fund has helped hundreds of students stay in school.

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MATC Student Stories: Tiffany Mosby learned to read as an adult before attending college

Tiffany Mosby dropped out of high school as a junior, after struggling to read for years. As an adult, she took classes at Literacy Services to improve her reading so she could get her GED and go to college.

Mosby is about to graduate from MATC with an associate degree in business management. She sat down with her close friend, Andrea Pabon.

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MATC Student Stories: Liana Howard was inspired by grandmother as she juggled school, work and kids

Liana Howard, 29, is a hospital critical care technician, college student and mother. She took classes at MATC over the past couple years with the goal of enrolling in the nursing program.

She spoke with her grandmother, Linda Tolbert, who helped Liana take care of her kids while she was attending classes and they were in virtual school.

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MATC Student Stories: After incarceration, Troy Muns returns to school with goal to help others

Inspired by the long-running StoryCorps series, WUWM invited Milwaukee Area Technical College students to talk about these questions with someone who has helped them on their education journeys.

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When Attending College Means Losing Your Home

Nearly 60 percent of college students report struggling to access basic necessities, including food and housing. A national program is providing emergency funds to change that.

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MATC faculty-run emergency aid program sees increased need during pandemic

"We've seen a greater need since the pandemic, but at the same time I think all the pandemic did is exacerbated an already existing issue," Franczyk said. "That need was there, it just got worse."

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The FAST Fund keeps students in school

AFT Local 212’s FAST Fund has helped 1,426 students with basic needs costs over the last five years

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Survey Indicates Emergency Aid to Students Keeps Them in College

The most stunning finding of the report is that 93% of FAST Fund students remained enrolled, transferred to another college or university, or graduated from MATC.