Alexandra Bernadotte was the first in her family to attend college. The Haitian-born first-generation American remembers the day her acceptance letter to Dartmouth College arrived, and the celebration that followed. “We treated the moment almost as though we won the lottery. We thought OK, we’ve made it, this was what the dream was about,” she says. Bernadotte’s parents had moved to the United States when she was very young, leaving her to grow up with her grandmother in Port-au-Prince. She eventually joined her parents and sister in inner-city Boston, and from that point on had been instructed that getting into college was the path to a better life in this country. But, she says, even though she was accepted to the college of her choice, the real challenge was yet to come. “We assumed the most difficult part of the journey was over… But I completely bombed my first year at Dartmouth. I failed academically, socially and emotionally.”
Bernadotte learned a lot from her first year at college. She sought help, bounced back and graduated. But most low-income students in college aren’t so lucky. According to a recent New York Times article, roughly 25 percent of college freshman from poorer backgrounds will end up getting their diploma. Bernadotte founded the national nonprofit Beyond 12 to try and increase that number by providing high schools and colleges with more information so they can better prepare low-income and immigrant students like herself for a successful postsecondary education.
MORE: Delaware Pushes to Get More Low-Income Students Enrolled in Higher Education
Tag: Beyond 12
Big Bets: 8 Game-Changers Shake Things Up to Solve Our Country’s Challenges
We know about the challenges.
We know that too many young people are struggling to find employment and a ladder up; that too many children fail to receive the sort of education they need to flourish in the 21st century world; that more young people should be given the opportunity to partake in some form of national service — and that too few actually do.
At NationSwell, we are deeply concerned about these problems, and we are always grateful to find a smart report or analysis of the challenges. Developing a true and deep understanding of a problem is the first step in solving it.
But it’s what comes next that truly excites us — and defines our mission.
It’s the innovators, the pioneers, the change-makers who not only understand these national challenges and all of their complexity, but who also dare to solve them. At NationSwell, we are ever-focused on finding them, telling their powerful stories and driving action in support of their efforts.
Who are these leaders, what are their visions for change, what motivates them — and what, exactly, are the big bets they are making to advance our country?
NationSwell sat down with eight innovators at the Gathering of Leaders, an annual event held this past year in Napa, Calif., hosted by leading venture philanthropy organization New Profit, for a series of extraordinary conversations in which we posed some of those very questions.
The answers we got were as varied as they were illuminating — and, to us, heartening. If the odds are anything like Vegas, some of these risk-takers will fail and some will succeed. But, in thinking creatively and acting boldly, what these men and women are doing to tackle our biggest national challenges demands our consideration — and participation.
We invite you to watch and be part of the conversation as we present the NationSwell series: “Big Bets”.
All the best,
Greg Behrman
Editor-in-Chief
NationSwell
MORE:Big Bets: How to Bridge the Gap Between Practitioners and Policy Makers