Janice Bettis, executive director of Sevier County Partners in Progress Education Foundation, expressed her appreciation for the continued support of the Partners in Progress Scholarship.

Janice Bettis (Contributed/Janice Bettis)

“Since 2003, Sevier County had put up $100,000 a year to give students scholarships to go to Walters State Campus here in Sevierville,” said Bettis.

“At that time, we decided what we were going to do with our money,” said Bettis. “We wanted to create this program that, for students in Sevier County, they could begin school in kindergarten, they can go to Walters State for two years, tuition free, and then we would provide tuition for them to go to ETSU their junior and senior year, and ideally a student could graduate with a four-year degree having paid no tuition or have no tuition debt.”

The Sevierville Walters State Community College campus opened in 2003. The Tennessee Promise, however, made tuition free at community college, so Bettis and her colleagues reallocated the scholarship money.

The program also helps cover the cost of dual enrollment for high school students pursing an associate’s degree. The program began during the Fall 2016 semester, and eight students received funding.

“We ended up paying a little over $67,000 out in scholarships this Spring to 39 students,” Bettis said.

The program has continued to grow. The county provides $100,000 each year, and Bettis is responsible for raising the rest of the money to ensure the scholarship can fund any student who applies.

“We’ve raised over $100,000 each year that we’ve had this event,” said Bettis. “Last fall I didn’t think we were going to be able to have it.”

The community, however, pulled together, providing a venue and food free of cost.

“I had somebody in the community that covered the cost for us, so we had no expenses for the lunch,” said Bettis. “All the money we raised went straight into our scholarship fund.”

Bettis loves her job and the amount of support she receives from the community to give back.

“I didn’t know anybody here,” Bettis said of when she started the position. “As I would meet people, I would tell them I was at Walters State, and they would say, ‘Well, if there’s anything you need, give us a call,’ and I found out that that’s really true. If they can help or make it happen, they do. So, I love what I do.”