How this Virginia college program is helping its students get 'Back on Track'

PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY, Va. -- For most students, the COVID-19 pandemic completely changed the way in which they learned.

For others, it completely altered the course they had planned for their educational futures. Now, a local junior college is aiming to help some of those students get back on track through a program funded by a federal grant of over half a million dollars.

When 19-year-old Janiya Nabinett first started thinking about what she wanted to do after high school, her plans were shattered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said the lack of in-person interaction and looming fear of getting sick impacted her mental health drastically. "I felt really isolated," Nabinett said. "I felt like I couldn’t reach out to people for help when I needed it and it was very frustrating."

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It was something 16-year-old Kailyn Pond said she also experienced.  "When I was stuck in the house and everything, it was really hard for me to reach out to anybody and I just got really anxious and it just wasn't a good time," Pond said.

Though, as restrictions eased up both said despite life being different, their desires to get a degree remained the same, so the two found a program at Richard Bland College of William and Mary in Prince George that would help them still achieve their goals.

The program, called 'Back on Track', is for students who have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It funds college classes, training courses, job placement support, and mental health resources.

"I wouldn’t be here without the back-on-track program," said Nabinett. "I felt like it was tailored specifically to me personally but I know that so many students have been impacted the same way I have."

Nabinett is in her first year of college and said she was inspired by the opportunities made available to her through the program. "I’m also going to create a business surrounding mental health," she said.

Pond is a dual enrollment student and said the grant money is essentially paying for her first two years of college before she even graduates high school. "I’m taking four classes this semester," Pond said. "All of my classes are paid for."

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U.S. Senator Tim Kaine sits on the educational committee and helped secure the funding. On Tuesday, he stopped by Richard Bland for an update on how those dollars were directly helping students.

"I wanted to see how this grant is going, how are the students doing and what are you thinking about the future. I think the takeaway is particularly for students who have been through these challenging years," Kaine said. "How can they be academically successful, and you have to do more around it on the mental health, stress management skills for them to be real successful."

Pond and Nabinett said they are grateful for the various resources, education, and financial relief this program offers and hope more and more students can take advantage of it.

"Relief to both of my parents honestly that two years of my college is just paid for," said Pond.

My hope for this program is to get as many students back in school as possible and to let them know they still have a chance.

The goal was to help at least 100 students, but the administration said they've been able to help 150 and believe they'll be able to help at least 300 students by the end of the school year.

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