New early-awareness program helps youths and parents plan for postsecondary education

USA Funds program helps unlock the future for middle-school students

INDIANAPOLIS — USA Funds®, the nation's leading education-loan guarantor, announces that Unlock the Future™, its new early-awareness program for middle-school students and their families, now is available nationally following testing by more than 50 schools, community agencies and faith-based organizations.

Unlock the Future introduces students and their families to the benefits of and options for education after high school. The free program offers easy-to-use video presentations that schools, community agencies and faith-based organizations can deliver to students and families.

"Many students, especially those from families with no previous college-going experience, need encouragement to dream about and plan for the future," said Carl C. Dalstrom, USA Funds president and CEO. "Unlock the Future encourages middle-school students to include postsecondary education and training in their plans."

The early-awareness program offers separate presentations for students and families. Unlock the Future's student track is a 45-minute presentation that challenges participants to dream, informs them of their career and educational options and encourages them to plan for the future. Unlock the Future's family track complements the student presentation by encouraging adults to play an active role in their children's future.

USA Funds offers the program free of charge to the following organizations:

  • Those that participated in the Unlock the Future pilot.
  • Those located in Arizona, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada and Wyoming. USA Funds serves as the designated guarantor of federal education loans in these states.
  • Those connected with minority-serving institutions or with the local, state and national educational organizations that advised USA Funds in the development of Unlock the Future.

Additional information about Unlock the Future is available from the USA Funds Web site at.