February 5, 2020
Page 5
Community Colleges is
How We Bridge the Gap
Cascade
Connections
by Dr. Karin Edwards
When I was a little girl grow-
ing up in the Bronx, in New
York City, my borough may
have well as been a million
miles away from the glittering
skyscrapers and townhouses of
Manhattan. The people there,
by virtue of their position and
privilege, were able to make
choices, to exert a level of con-
trol over their lives that seemed
beyond what was possible for
most folks in my neighbor-
hood. There was even a phys-
ical barrier -- the Harlem River
– that seemed to emphasize the
difference between us.
Things changed for me,
though, in middle school,
when I received a scholarship
to attend Columbia Grammar
and Preparatory School, a
prestigious institution across
the river in midtown Manhat-
tan. Suddenly, I was studying
side-by-side with the sons and
daughters of privilege, people
whose career goals and aspi-
rations were limited only by
their ambition and the choices
they made.
I was grateful for the op-
portunity afforded to me, and
determined not to let it go to
waste. But more importantly,
I realized that education was
the key to opening up one’s
future, to exerting control over
one’s life. This realization was
so profound that I decided to
make education my career.
But I also realized that not
everybody gets a chance to
go to a Columbia Prep. When
my career path took me to a
job at a community college,
the pieces fell into place and
I understood: This – commu-
nity college – is how people
everywhere can live the lives
they want.
The fact is, if we didn’t al-
ready have community col-
leges, we would need to invent
them. They are the best way
we have to connect people
with fulfilling careers, with
living-wage incomes, with the
next stage in their educational
journeys, if that’s the way they
want to go. Community col-
leges are how we bridge the
gap between people’s current
circumstances and their life
goals.
The reason that community
colleges are so successful at
this is because they’re the seg-
ment of the higher education-
al continuum with the fewest
barriers to entry. Tuition and
fees are very low in compar-
ison with virtually any four-
year institution. There are no
standardized test requirements
for admission, no expensive
fees; we take people as they
are, where they are, in good
faith and without judgment.
And – as the name suggests –
community colleges are, for
most people, located close to
home.
Simply stepping foot onto
a community college campus,
though, will not magically in-
stall you in the career or your
dreams, or instantly grant you
the life you want. Make no
mistake – anything worth hav-
ing is worth working for; and
if you go to college, you have
to do the work. Fortunately,
community college has you
covered there, too.
For example – at the Cas-
cade Campus of Portland
Community College, where
I am the campus president,
there is a whole range of ser-
vices and programs designed
to help you make the right
decisions to reach your edu-
cational goals, and to support
you along the way. There are
advisors to help you plan your
choice of classes. There are tu-
tors, both students and faculty,
who can help you to master
your coursework. There is cut-
ting-edge technology in our
workforce training programs
to ensure you’re ready to hit
the ground running in your
new career. There are opportu-
nities to serve your communi-
ty and develop your skills as
a leader. And when times are
challenging, there are counsel-
ors to help you find your way.
There’s another reason,
too, that community colleges
are an essential component
of American life. Earlier, I
mentioned another barrier,
the Harlem River, and how it
came to symbolize far more
than just the physical sepa-
ration between my neighbor-
hood and midtown Manhattan
– and between me, a young
black girl, and the life I want-
ed for myself.
Here it is: Community col-
leges are the engine that can
lift people of color and mem-
bers of other underserved
populations from the cycle of
intergenerational poverty that
has kept too many of us down
for too long. Community col-
leges are how you can cross
that river.
Students from underrepre-
sented backgrounds can often
be the first members of their
families to go to college, and
are thus unfamiliar with cam-
pus life and all that it entails.
Many may never have consid-
ered college to be a possibili-
ty, and as a result can feel like
an impostor, like they don’t
belong. Many aren’t aware of
the support systems available
to them, and are vulnerable to
dropping out during times of
stress.
So let me be very clear: If
you’re a person of color, if
you’re a first-generation stu-
dent, if you’re queer or an im-
migrant or differently abled –
you are not an impostor. You
do belong at community col-
lege. You do deserve the ca-
reer and the life that you want.
There are people at communi-
ty college who look like you,
who have shared experiences
similar to yours, who have
struggled with that same feel-
ing of being on the outside
looking in – and they are wait-
ing to welcome you and help
you succeed.
What are you waiting for?
Dr. Karin Edwards is pres-
ident of Portland Community
College’s Cascade Campus.