Blake Clark never imagined he would be fully employed with a college degree by age 20. Chelsea Tatro couldn’t see a path for herself beyond high school and thought higher education was only for the “highest achieving people.” Donovan Arnold had outgrown the math classes in his rural high school by his junior year. He was interested in college but didn’t want to be saddled with debt.

Vermont’s Free Degree Promise proved a game-changer for all of them. Funded by the J. Warren & Lois McClure Foundation, the Free Degree Promise offers all students in the Vermont high school classes of 2023-2026 the opportunity for an accelerated pathway to a free associate degree through the state’s Early College program at the Community College of Vermont (CCV).

Today, two years out of high school, Blake has his associate’s degree in business and a five-year plan to launch his own HVAC business.

Chelsea, whose degree from CCV now hangs in her dorm room at the University of Vermont, will earn her B.S. in Secondary Education. “Having a degree is life-changing,” she said. “Not only do employers look for it, I feel so confident and accomplished.” She plans to become a history teacher after graduation.

“With an associate degree, I could get a great accounting job at the age of 19,” Donovan said when he started the program. “But even if I go on to a bachelor’s or master’s degree, I’ll still be in my early twenties when I graduate. That feels like a really big win for me.” He graduated this spring from CCV with a bookkeeping certificate and a degree in accounting.

Three years into the five-year Free Degree commitment, students are graduating at twice the rate and in half the time as community college students nationally. CCV has seen a 150% increase in the number of low-income students attending Early College, and about half of this year’s 70+ graduates are first-generation college students.

Celebrating Lois McClure

“In every age, in every generation, crisis or no, someone has to care. Our job is to multiply our talents, to make sure we are broadening the base of those who do care.”—Lois McClure

When Lois McClure passed away in January 2025 at age 98, Vermont lost one of its most caring and visionary philanthropists. Lois will be remembered by many for her belief that all people should have the opportunity to pursue their goals. Those who knew her will also remember her love of Vermont, her deep curiosity, her unwavering sense of responsibility to serve her community, and the profound impact of one woman’s commitment to an enduring question:

How do we make Vermont a better place for all?

Lois and Mac McClure’s forward-thinking approach to philanthropy was decidedly place-based. Their intent was that their wealth, generated through the sale of the Burlington Free Press, benefit Vermont communities. And they believed that community service, especially, is how friendships are made and relationships are strengthened.

They were early champions of the VCF among many other Vermont organizations, giving tens of millions to and through the Community Foundation, including through the J. Warren & Lois McClure Foundation which they established thirty years ago to formalize the family’s philanthropy.

Under the leadership of their daughter Barbara Benedict, the ongoing efforts of the McClure Foundation will continue to be guided by Lois’s love for Vermont and her belief that education improves the conditions for people to bloom where they’re planted.