Tom Grady of Quest for Success talks one on one with and Golden Gate High School Students
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At Summit, Rick Scott Urges On Florida Colleges, Universities To Help Students Graduate Sooner
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Will you make the Quest4 $100,000 Pledge? It’s the Power of 4!

“Learn, baby, learn so you can earn, baby, earn!”

Dr. Martin Luther King was right: learning leads to earning. The returns on education are well documented, and Florida Governor Rick Scott has just announced how to make those returns even greater. In launching his “Finish in 4” challenge, he explains that a student can make $100,000 simply by graduating on time in 4 years. In response, Quest for SuccessChairman Tom Grady has announced that Quest has accepted the Governor’s challenge and launched Quest4 to make it happen.

Quest4 is a project of Quest for Success, now in its third decade. Quest’s mission is to change lives, one child at a time, by aligning their career ambitions with good college choices –and then finding the cash to pay for it. Over the last few years, Quest students have received an average of over $15 million per year in scholarship offers. Most students are from first-time-in-
college-families and on scholarship at Quest.

According to Grady, “Quest’s vision is that its students graduate from college in 4 years or less, with little or no debt, and with a useful degree that represents skills sought by employers offering good jobs. In turn, they gain self-sufficiency, self-esteem and economic freedom.”

Quest asks its students (and the colleges and universities that seek them out) to make and keep the Quest4 $100,000 Pledge:I gladly make the Quest4 $100,000 Pledge! I commit to graduating from college in 4 years, not 6, and look forward to cashing in by realizing my potential salary, benefits and tuition savings of $100,000 or more. This is my Quest 4 Success!/s/ Quest StudentBy making this pledge, Quest students quickly benefit. Just add salary and benefits for two years, plus tuition, book and fee savings, and in just 2 short years a graduate is ahead by $100,000. Imagine!

But that’s not all. On-time graduates are also 2 years ahead of their 6 year colleagues in earnings power, accrued retirement benefits and life experience. Just by adding a class here or there, and avoiding excess hours or major pivots, 4-year graduates earn an impressive head start on life (after all, graduation from college is not the end, but merely the beginning). Tax payers benefit, too, because the taxpayer cost of producing degrees declines considerably and productivity and jobs jump.

So, what can you do? Grady says it’s easy: “Join Gov. Scott and pledge today! Quest invites all Florida schools, colleges and students to make the Quest4 $100,000 Pledge.”

For more information, visit www.quest4.com. There, you can find out exactly how much students stand to gain and make your own Quest4 $100,000 Pledge today – and learn and earn sooner on your Quest for Success!

Tom Grady is a private investor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, educator and lawyer in Naples, Florida. He is Chairman of Quest for Success and serves on the State Board of Education.