McDonald's Corp. is earmarking $150 million for college-tuition assistance for its employees, the fast food giant announced Wednesday, March 29.

The money will fund its Archways to Opportunity education program, which assists employees with college tuition assistance at community colleges, universities or trade schools and connect them with English language courses and education advising services.

McDonald's said the funding was available through changes in the U.S. tax law implemented by the Trump administration, which lowered the corporate income tax rate.

Eligible crew members can get up to $2,500 and managers up to $3,000 a year in college tuition assistance, starting May 1 and retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year.

Lansing resident Renee Draves started working at the fast food restaurant at the age of 16 as a crew member and now operates eight restaurants in Battle Creek and in the Lansing area.

She has been a part of the McDonald's company for more than 40 years and said she has been the biggest cheerleader for the Archways program since its launch in 2015.

"I knew, because I am also a mother of two college students, how much college costs and how much a good education can change your life," Draves said.

Draves said has used the Archways program to provide more than 50 eligible employees with almost $60,000 in tuition assistance since its launch in 2015.

Dominique Sumerix started out as a crew member like Draves and is using the tuition assistance to pursue a degree in accounting from Kellogg Community College. The education she is gaining plays into the role she recently took on as a department manager with McDonald's.

"I manage everything from the schedules we create and have our employees work and all of the training involved with that," Sumerix said.

She just started receiving tuition assistance for the spring semester, and said she plans to keep applying as she moves from Kellogg to Davenport University to continue her education in cost accounting.

"It's meant a lot, it gave me a really big opportunity to go to school and be able to work full time and be able to afford it," Sumerix said. "It's been really helpful when it comes to paying for books. A lot more people should take advantage of it."

Even after she earns her bachelor's degree, Sumerix said she would love to continue working for McDonald's.

"I love what I do, I love my job," Sumerix said. "It helps a lot be able to do what I love to do and be able to pursue other interests and further my education."

McDonald's U.S. Chief People Officer Melissa Kersey said one employee learned English through the program and was promoted three times in 18 months and is now serving as a model for other employees at her local McDonald's location.

The additional investment in the Archways to Opportunity was a result of hearing from crew members about additional services that could help them succeed, along with changes in the U.S. tax system, she said.

"When the tax law came into play, it helped us accelerate and move faster and look at ways to invest even more money than we had originally planned," Kersey said.

Changes in eligibility requirements went into effect Jan. 1, and the company has already seen a 10 percent increase in usage of the Archways program that Kersey attributes to employee knowledge of the program and its benefits.

Draves is most looking forward to talking to the people who are now eligible, after the company made a move to allow employees to apply for benefits after 90 days of employment versus nine months and dropping weekly shift minimums to 15 hours compared to the previous 20 hours required.

"I cannot wait to have that conversation," Draves said. "I always believed and am certainly an advocate for McDonald's being the best first job. If this doesn't solidify it, I don't know what does."