Baker College, Michigan’s largest independent not-for-profit college, has awarded Rochester Adams High School Senior, Melissa Carolan, the opportunity to pursue a bachelor’s degree of her choice with four years of free tuition as part of its “Be More in Four” competition, hosted in partnership with iHeartMedia.

Hundreds of aspiring college students entered the contest by writing a personal essay on why they are striving to “be more” and how a four-year bachelor’s degree from Baker College could help them pursue a brighter future. Melissa is in her senior year at Rochester Adams and plans to pursue a degree in business at Baker.

“I’m passionate about building a career in the business field and hope to work for a big corporation in the future,” Melissa said. “I’m honored to have this opportunity to attend Baker for free because I understand the value of a college degree. I know Baker has a great business program, a friendly environment and it’s located close to home, which is important to me because I want to be near family and friends.”

A formal presentation to honor Melissa’s winning entry took place on Oct. 4, 2018 at the iHeartMedia Offices.

Melissa’s essay impressed the panel of judges, comprised of Baker College and iHeartMedia representatives, because it painted a picture of the type of person she is, what motivates her and what her career plans are, according to Bart Daig, Baker College system president.

“It was a difficult decision because so many of the essays we read demonstrated a great combination of passion and potential, like Melissa’s,” said Daig. “We’re excited to be providing her with this opportunity to join the ranks of the BakerProud, as we’re honored to help our roughly 16,000 students at campuses all across Michigan ‘be more’ with a world of career opportunities.”

Baker College has been offering quality academics and preparing students for the changing workforce for more than a century. This year, Baker College conferred more than 2,500 degrees across its 100 program options available both on-ground and online.