Mountain America Donates 70 Computers to Salt Lake Community College Students

Most college students rely on computers to complete their homework. With education costs continuing to increase, many students have difficulty budgeting a computer on top of tuition and other education costs. The Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) Student Life Center recently developed a program that provides computers to students who cannot purchase one on their own. As a long-standing partner of SLCC, Mountain America donated 70 desktop computers to the Student Life Center at the Redwood Campus.

The students receiving the computers have spent long hours in the computer lab or relied on public computers to complete homework assignments. “What Mountain America has done cannot be measured in dollars,” says John Fackler, director of corporate and alumni relations at Salt Lake Community College. "Removing barriers allows students to have more time to focus on their studies and ultimately be more successful in school and their future careers."

The first recipient of the day, Tim Mugridge, 56, is the oldest student at the Redwood Campus, and a disabled Army veteran who is a freshman working on his film degree. “This is a big-time game changer for me,” Tim says. “I used to have to practically live on campus, spending an average of 15 hours a day here to do my work,” Tim hopes to use his degree to bring hope to veterans. Last fall, he produced a video on suicide prevention, which led at least three community members to seek help.