Close Achievement Gap: Helios Vice Chair On Urgency of Education Access
Jane Roig, vice chair of the board of directors of Helios Education Foundation, receiving the Leading Philanthropy Award at the recent Power Up conference. Vince Roig, founder of Helios, is on the right. (Photo by Karianne Mundstedt)
“Each generation wants their kids to have it better than they did,” says Jane LaRocca Roig, vice chair of the board of directors of Helios Education Foundation that has invested more than $300 million in educational initiatives and scholarships since 2004.
““Each generation wants their kids to have it better than they did,” says Jane LaRocca Roig, vice chair of the board of directors of @HeliosEdFnd that has invested more than $300 million in educational initiatives and #scholarships since 2004. ”
“Every child in this country deserves access to education and the ability to be successful in their educational careers,” says Roig, who recently accepted the Leading Philanthropy Award for Helios Education Foundation at Take The Lead’s Power Up Conference.
Roig’s origin story of education and access aligns with her mission and commitment for every person in the country to have access and the financial resources to complete a postsecondary degree.
Read more in Take The Lead on education loans
Her personal history is what “makes education a priority for me,” says Roig, who has been recognized for her work on behalf of students by College Success Arizona, National Council of Higher Education Resources (where she was elected to be the first woman to chair the Council’s board of directors.) She also served on the Kentucky Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators board of directors.
““Every child in this country deserves access to #education and the ability to be successful in their educational careers,” says Roig, who recently accepted the Leading Philanthropy Award for @HeliosEdFnd at @Takeleadwomen #PowerUp Conference. #studentsuccess”
Read more in Take The Lead on Jane Roig
Going back to her roots, Roig says her maternal grandmother was born in 1880 and “graduated from college in Indiana in 1900 with a teaching degree and taught in a one-room schoolhouse. in South Dakota.” Roig’s own mother did not go to college.
Her paternal grandmother came to the U.S. from Italy in 1912, Roig says. “She was a widow in 1923 with four children under the age of 7.” She then put her children in an orphanage until she could get a job, set up the household and reunite with them.
With this lineage of strong women informing her own educational journey, Roig says, “My personal story aligns with the foundation story and even with the grant programs.”
Read more in Take The Lead on leaders in education
Born in Omaha, Roig says she and her family lived in Nebraska, Iowa, Louisiana and Kentucky, as her father worked for General Electric and moved often. Roig started at the University of Kentucky in 1974, but did not graduate until 1986, just four weeks before her son was born.
“Roig’s origin story of #education and #access aligns with her mission and commitment for every person in the country to have access and the financial resources to complete a postsecondary degree. #highereducation #equity”
“I dropped out of school the second year and began working,” Roig explains. “I wound up working at a bank in the student loan department. I went to work for the bank because they paid for education.”
She started her career in banking as a Student Loan Manager and later joined the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority where she served as Director of Program Administration as well as Director of Federal Relations, Policy, and Client Services.
Gender discrimination in her early career was a given—particularly in banking and nonprofit work, she says.
“When I started in banking in 1977, there was a gender bias,” Roig says. “Women were not allowed to wear slacks to work unless it was below 32 degrees. At a later job at a national organization, we were dubbed ‘The Broads.’ A man named us that and it wasn’t a compliment.”
Read more in Take The Lead on ed tech leaders
Roig persisted in her career in financial services, and says, “I tell women to find your people. We learn so much from each other. We work together on projects and learn to broaden our thinking.”
“Roig persisted in her career in financial services, and says, “I tell women to find your people. We learn so much from each other. We work together on projects and learn to broaden our thinking.” #womensupportingwomen #careersuccess”
As an advocate for student loan programs at Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority working as director of program administration and later as director of federal relations, policy and client services, Roig met with leaders across the country in student loan management. Vince Roig, who ran the student loan program in Arizona, Southwest Student Services Corporation, was one of those colleagues.
“We were friends for 20 years,” Roig says. In 2001, she went to work for Southwest Student Services Corporation, becoming executive vice president and chief operating officer, before it was transformed into Helios Education Foundation in 2004, the year she and Vince married. Vince Roig was founding chair of Helios, and Roig joined the board in 2010.
“With governmental, marketplace and financial pressures building against not-for-profit student loan providers, our board made the decision to convert the organization to a for-profit organization, sell the company’s assets (the loans) and created Helios Education Foundation, with the goal of improving educational opportunities in Arizona and Florida,” explains Roig, who serves on the boards of Arizona Science Center, Phoenix Suns Charities, the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy, and the Leadership Council for the Pastor Center for Politics and Public Policy at Arizona State University.
At Southwest, “The programs had become unnecessarily complex, and, for a number of reasons, were no longer achieving what they were originally designed to do, which was to assist middle income families with paying for college,” Roig says.
“We knew that Southwest’s financial aid work had helped to improve many lives, but it was basically one life at a time. With an educational foundation designed to last in perpetuity, we could partner with others to move the needle and change lives for large groups of students and families from early childhood to post-secondary education and even lifelong learning initiatives,” says Roig who was a 2020 recipient of the WNBA Phoenix Mercury’s Believe in Women Award and recognized for her commitment and work on behalf of students by College Success Arizona, National Council of Higher Education Resources and the Kentucky Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
Read more in Take The Lead on degree needs
”Investing in education is critical for governments and philanthropy,” says Roig. “That is so young people enter the workforce with the skillsets they need. They need access; tomorrow’s jobs will all require some level of training.”
“”Investing in #education is critical for governments and philanthropy,” says Roig. “That is so young people enter the #workforce with the skillsets they need. They need access; tomorrow’s jobs will all require some level of training.””
This nearly two-decade commitment from Helios puts total student debt in this country in perspective.
The White House’s recent announcement of cancellation of $10,000 in student loan debt “for low- to middle-income borrowers and $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients,” is only a small beginning, according to Insight To Diversity.
“Since 1980, the cost of both four-year public and private colleges has nearly tripled while federal support issued through Pell Grants has remained essentially the same, according to a White House press release. Most undergraduates complete school an average of $25,000 in debt, compared to approximately $8,000 in 1980. Despite this, Pell Grants have continued to hover around $6,000,” reports Insight to Diversity. Additionally, they report, “Black student borrowers see a disproportionate debt burden. A 2019 study estimated that Black students who began college in the 1995-1996 academic year still owed 95 percent of their original debt.”
Partially due to COVID’s impact on education access and in-person learning, an achievement gap has become more pronounced in this country.
“Partially due to #COVID’ s impact on education access and in-person learning, an #achievement #gap has become more pronounced in this country. #educationforall ”
“There is an achievement gap no doubt, it is income-based, influenced by socioeconomic status and ethnically based,” Roig says. “In Arizona, there is a large achievement gap with Latino students. In Florida, there is a significant gap among low income students and Black males.”
Paul Perrault, senior vice president of community impact and learning at Helios, recently told KTAR of the urgent need to address these achievement gaps, recently highlighted by results of standardized test scores.
“COVID brought a significant learning loss,” Roig says. “Every state needs a comprehensive funding plan. We need to close the achievement gap.”
This is why the focus for Helios is “constantly evolving,” Roig says. “Ten years ago, Helios had significant advancements in women and STEM. We know that STEM is a gateway to opening individual opportunities essential to careers. We saw STEM learning as a key strategy.”
Read more in Take The Lead on filling the STEM pipeline
But philanthropy in education has seen “a shift in recent years to early childhood preparation, pre K, and reading by third grade. At Helios, we work with the entire education continuum, from early learning to college graduation,” Roig says.
“Every child in this country deserves access to education and the ability to be successful in their educational careers. These young people are going to be our leaders and controlling our destiny.“
““Every child in this country deserves access to #education and the ability to be successful in their educational careers. These young people are going to be our #leaders and controlling our destiny.“ —Jane Roig, vice chair of the board of directors of @HeliosEdFnd.”
They need to be ready, just as Roig was ready to address the need for education access and lead with her own mission that aligns with her history.
