There has been a lot of talk questioning the value and even the necessity of a college education over the past several years. Is college worth it? According to a recent study by Helios Education Foundation, the answer is a resounding yes, on many levels.

The Helios report, titled “Florida’s Future Billions,” addresses the question from a research and evaluation approach that presents outcomes in numbers and data—that translates to individuals. It is a fascinating study, and I recently had the opportunity to discuss it on our Education Conversations podcast with co-author Kimberly Lent Morales. The results were stunning and worth sharing a few of my takeaways.

First, let’s define a “college” education. According to the report, it is any education beyond high school, including high demand wage trades and technical certificates. The report calculates the financial value of a degree for an individual student over their lifetime. For example, it shows on average that someone with a bachelor’s degree makes twice as much money in their lifetime as someone with a high school diploma and no further education or certification. An associate degree brings 20% more income on average than a high school diploma only. 

Yet there are more than individual fiscal benefits. To exemplify this, Helios looked at three areas that, if developed, could yield significant gains at the state and county levels: increase enrollment, improve postsecondary degree/certificate attainment, and close the inequity gaps among gender, race and ethnic groups—areas that each of us can impact. 

There are also social benefits to improving these areas. Research shows that people with education beyond high school have lower co-morbid diseases like diabetes and heart disease, are less likely to commit a crime, and rely less on public assistance. People are healthier and as a result, the state saves money. Win-win.

For Sarasota County, if we increased postsecondary enrollment by 10% the benefit for that one cohort of high school graduates equates to:

• an aggregate fiscal gain of $92M each year
• an aggregate social gain of $227M each year

That’s a lot of money left on the table. And students are missing out.

About 65% of Florida’s students pursue an education beyond high school. And we can improve this. There are approximately 6,500 high school seniors in Sarasota County, so a 10% increase in enrollment equals 650 students. That humanizes the data. And we start with each kid, one at a time.  

Is college worth it? It’s a relative question indeed, and the Helios report provides compelling data to help all of us contemplate that decision. I hope you’ll take a read and share your response with me. Here at the Education Foundation, we will continue to help ensure students get an education beyond high school. 

Jennifer Vigne is President and CEO of the Education Foundation of Sarasota County. 

Illustration courtesy Pixabay

There is a proverb often attributed to the Dalai Lama that I am keeping in mind as we begin 2025: “If you think you’re too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.”

This relates so clearly to our Community Foundation’s motto – and belief – that each of us can “Be the One” to make a difference. In our region, many do just that, and my hope for the New Year is that in each of our daily lives we can find hope and comfort in acts of service of all sizes and scopes of visibility. 

In Sarasota County, nearly 55,000 people volunteer on an annual basis, outnumbering paid nonprofit staff five to one. The financial value of their service is sizeable. On average, the value of a volunteer hour in the state of Florida in 2023 was $31.51. If the average volunteer contributes a seasonally adjusted estimate of one hour per month, Sarasota volunteers contribute approximately $20 million each year in nonprofit support.

Whether reading to children, distributing food to families, ushering for local theater productions, or many more activities, every volunteer brightens our communities, helping people and strengthening the incredible causes that enhance the quality of life here. Volunteers fuel the vital and valuable work of nonprofits, making it possible to deliver programs and services that make our community the special place that it is. 

When people come together to volunteer, they realize that these large and daunting challenges can be chipped away, bit by bit. That empowers our community, and it also empowers each volunteer. Realizing you can make a difference, whatever your means, helps shatter the myth that our destiny is in the hands of just a few people, or totally dependent on forces out of our control. There is strength in numbers, and a team of volunteers is evidence of that: uniting for a cause creates a groundswell of positive impact. Like a gorgeous tapestry, each thread is an important component of the outcome. It’s a reminder of the beauty, spirit and—yes, power—each of us has to build the future we want to see, one strand at a time.

Other benefits of volunteering have been well documented and provide myriad ways to combat the epidemic of loneliness that U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy has identified as our most pressing public health concern. Imbuing a sense of purpose, volunteering is good for physical and mental health, and learning new skills through volunteering keeps us connected, current and agile. 

Thankfully, we live in a community with thousands of opportunities for digging in and helping out. Finding opportunities for volunteering is as easy as logging on to TheGivingPartner.org and searching organizations with volunteer opportunities—a single click leads to dozens of ways our community can get involved. 

The start of a new year is a fantastic time to embrace the ethos of starting where you are, with what you have, of activating the idea that when we come together, we can achieve anything. Imagine if Sisyphus had a team of volunteers, all focused on the task of moving that rock—suddenly that strenuous lift, the struggle and pressure of it all, would melt away, propelling us forward with amazing progress.

Roxie Jerde is President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. 

Illustration courtesy Pixabay.