Community college improves students’ lives — for those who make it to graduation, that is.
The sad reality for many, however, is that they’ll drop out along the way. Only one out of every five students will receive their associates degree within three years, one year past the expected time. After five years, graduation rates rise only to a paltry 35 percent.
“With graduation rates that low, community colleges can be dead ends rather than gateways for students,” says Susan Dynarski, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan. “Graduation rates are low in part because community colleges can’t exclude poorly prepared students. Unlike selective schools, they are required to take anyone who walks in the door, and they have to work harder to get those students to graduation.”
A program at the City University of New York (CUNY) is working directly with low-income students to boost their success. Since 2007, Accelerated Study in Associate Programs, or ASAP, has reached more than 6,400 students, providing them streamlined access to all of CUNY’s resources. They’re hooked up with advisors and tutors, have early access to enroll in popular courses and receive funds for a metro pass, textbooks and any additional costs not covered by financial aid.
The costs of the program are steep — $5,400 a year per student, much higher than the $3,300 tuition — but backers say it’s well worth the expense. A randomized study released this year found ASAP nearly doubled graduation rates.
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Tag: graduation
How a Two-Week Bootcamp is Getting Vets Ready for Higher Learning
In 2008, Chris Howell began thinking of life after the military. He was serving in the Australian Army, Special Operations Command and was eager to head back to school, reinforced by some timely advice from his younger brother, David. “He said to me, ‘look, you can blow in a door and attack a room, but you need to learn how to read and write an essay.'” David, a top student at Sydney University at the time, took it one step further, putting together a crash-course of materials to help Chris prepare for college life. Five years later, this informal boot-camp became the basis of the Warrior-Scholar Project.
In 2012, Chris Howell partnered with Jesse Reisling and launched the project from Yale, offering a two-week intensive bootcamp for veterans returning to school. In addition to offering classes at Yale this year, they were also available at Harvard and the University of Michigan. By next year, the group plans to hold classes on 10 campuses.
Editors’ note: Since the original publication of this story, Jesse Reising, founder of the Warrior-Scholar Project, has become a NationSwell Council member.
Meet the Brave Student Who Started Helping Others While Battling Cancer Himself
Things might seem impossible until they’re actually done. That’s the story of Todd Blake, who was just a freshman at the University of Florida when he was diagnosed with stage IV Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, the most advanced stage of the rare blood cancer.
Not letting his diagnosis stop him from achieving his dreams of walking across the graduation stage, the young man continued to pursue his degree in business administration as he underwent 600 hours of chemotherapy and two bone marrow transplants, spending 63 nights in the hospital over five year period.
And not only did he accomplish his goal of graduating, he did it with the highest academic honors — a 4.0 GPA — and the honor of summa cum laude.
“It was really hard and there were a lot of times I wanted to give up and quit. I just kept pushing forward, thinking about that day when I would graduate and that accomplishment,” the now 23-year-old told the Today Show. “It was important to me to graduate and walk across the stage. It was symbolic.”
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During his time in the hospital, the Jacksonville native married his longtime love, Maja, and also co-founded the Live for Today Foundation. Blake realized the need for the nonprofit after noticing there aren’t social programs such as Make-a-Wish that help cancer patients over the age of 18. About 70,000 Americans ages 15 to 39 are diagnosed with cancer each year, and as he told Today, “I want to help them.” He hopes that his new degree can help parlay into a full-time job at his nonprofit.
Blake is still battling his cancer but is still determined to keep up the fight. “I honestly don’t know how much more time I will have,” he said. “I’m trying to buy time until something comes up that can cure me. I hope the research can come up with new treatments every year so I can keep fighting.”
The key, he believes, is to remain positive: “If you give up on what your dreams are and your aspirations, you really just give up on living.”
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After a Grave Injustice, This 73-Year-Old High School Graduate Finally Receives His Diploma
It has taken more than five decades to right this wrong, but at 73-years-old, Alva Earley finally received his diploma from Galesburg High School.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the retired attorney wept as he accepted what he had rightfully earned back in 1959.
Earley grew up in the deeply segregated city of Galesburg, Ill. When he was 17-years-old, he attended a NAACP-sponsored picnic in a park that was considered off-limits for black people.
“We paid city taxes, we paid state taxes, we paid federal taxes,” he told People magazine. “So why should we have to be in a dump when we could be in a park that was state-of-the-art? We went there to convey a message.”
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“We were just trying to send a message that we are people, too,” Earley said. “We just had lunch. For that, I didn’t graduate.”
Not only was he banned from graduation for challenging segregation, but also two universities rescinded their acceptance letters because of Earley’s lack of a diploma. According to People, Earley was considering the Air Force until the president of Knox College in Galesburg, Ill. decided to admit him after hearing about the park incident.
With his incredible persistence, Earley then went on to graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also earned a degree in law and a doctorate in divinity.
Although he was always angry about being denied his diploma, Earley had kept quiet about his graduation ban until a high school reunion last year. Stunned after hearing his story, his classmates pushed for the school district’s current superintendent Bart Arthur to award Earley’s diploma. After reviewing the old records, Arthur agreed.
“Alva deserved it,” said classmate Lowell Peterson told the Tribune. “When people have been mistreated, we owe it to them to address the injustice. This is just a little chance to make something right.”
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The Heartwarming Reason Why This Teen Refused to Walk at His Graduation
High school graduation is one of the most important milestones in a teenager’s life, but Austin Coppola was ready to give it all up for his twin brother, Ty.
As the Huffington Post reports, the 17-year-old graduating senior refused to walk at his commencement from Fairport High School in New York unless his brother (who has Down syndrome and did not attend the school) could receive his diploma with him.
“He’s been with me throughout every memorable moment I can think of,” Austin, who was born at the exact same time as Ty, says in the video below. In other words, since they’ve always stuck together, Austin didn’t want to leave his brother behind.
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The twins’ mom, Cheryl, recalled the touching moment when Austin insisted that Ty also deserved to don a cap and gown. “‘Mom, Ty has worked harder than me, he’s endured more challenges,'” she shared with WHAM-TV. “‘Yeah, I’ve earned it, I worked hard for my degree, but he’s worked hard in a different way.'”
The proud mom, who always wished to see her sons graduate, decided to make the arrangements, WHAM-TV reports. Fairport High School was happy to add Ty’s name to the list for the big day. And when Cheryl called Josten’s for Ty’s cap and gown, they were so touched by the brothers’ story that the company decided to donate the traditional graduation clothing free of charge.
On the day of the ceremony, the brothers indeed walked down the big stage together. The crowd went wild with applause and also gave them a standing ovation.
Austin tweeted, “That standing ovation for Ty brought me to tears. The FHS class ’14 will always hold a place in my heart. I hope to see all of you again !!”
The selfless young man will attend Nazareth College in Rochester, New York — just minutes from his home — to study physical therapy so he can help others with disabilities.
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What a great moment. Ty and Austin Coppola share the stage and graduate together! Fairport HS #2014 #brothers #twins pic.twitter.com/ydmh9uhaTp
— Patrice Walsh (@PatriceWalsh13) June 27, 2014
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This Army Dad’s Mission? To Attend His Daughter’s Graduation
Kids who have a parent serving in the military must grow up knowing that their mom or dad faces the very difficult challenge of balancing their responsibilities in the Armed Forces with their family life.
That was the bittersweet reality facing Ruby Robinson as she celebrated receiving her degree from Columbia University’s engineering program. Ruby’s father, U.S. Army Reserve Captain Keith Robinson, had been stationed in northern Afghanistan for the last six months, and she understood that he would not be able to make it to her commencement ceremony.
However, in an amazing stroke of luck, the Captain was given approval to leave his unit. To make it to the ceremony in New York City, he embarked on a journey that lasted more than 14 hours — leaving Kuwait and making stops in Washington, D.C., and Denver along the way. Miraculously, he made it just in time for the ceremony.
With a bouquet of flowers in hand, the proud father greeted and gave a warm embrace to the new Ivy League grad. Tears of joy immediately flow from Ruby’s eyes and the crowd goes wild with applause and cheers.
“Congratulations, young lady,” he tells her in the clip. “I’m so proud of you.”
As Today.com reports, the army captain will remain in the U.S. for two weeks before returning to Afghanistan, where he will remain until the fall. As for his daughter, Ruby will be moving to California in the summer to start a job at Amazon.
Despite being apart, it sounds like they’re both fulfilling the duties that they trained for.
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