The Movie Black Swan

I highly recommend the movie The Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman from Star Wars and Mila Kunis from That 70s Show.  The movie features Nina (Portman) as a ballerina with a prominent New York ballet company who is asked to dance the parts of the Queen Swan from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and the evil Black Swan.  Nina has to transform herself from the graceful and beautiful White Swan to a dark, sadistic, and alluring Black Swan.  Here in lies the struggle, the movie portrays Nina as a timid, conservative prude that has the perfection of the White Swan down to an art, however as the Black Swan she fails to connect with the audience of her lust and passion because of her inability to "let go" of her control and obsession with perfection.  Without giving the movie away, it travels with Nina as she tackles her darkest demons in order to bring out that Black Swan within her.  Many times you think Nina is on the verge of her own sanity.  It is visually stunning, and if you are in dance the way I am, you are at the edge of your seat the entire time they are on stage.  The dance sequences are typically short put full of cinematography that makes you feel like you're right in the audience of the actual ballet.  I highly recommend seeing this movie, it's passionate, dark, gritty, and visually amazing.

Selecting the Students for ACE

ACE is a scholarship program, meaning not all the students who apply get in.  Out of the 400 students that apply every year, only about 180 are selected.  The students are selected based upon financial need and an essay that they are asked to write.  The program is not an academic based program, meaning we accept applications from any sophomore that applies regardless of high school GPA.  However, in order for the students to be taken into consideration they must acquire two letters of recommendations from current teachers.  Typically, if the students are not doing well in their high school classes, they will not be giving a good recommendation.  What we find is that the students who are serious about taking college classes while they are in high school are students with fairly good, to excellent GPA's.  Currently we have been accepting the new applications for the new cohort of 2011.  It took us four weeks to schedule and present to all the sophomores at 8 high schools in our footprint.  Out of those high schools, we handed out over 1000 ACE applications, and out of those we have received close to 400 applications.  Once we evaluate the applications and selected the fortunate few, the students will start the program the first summer semester in June at South Mountain Community College.

ACE Planning Events

This last month we planned for the following semester.  Aside from the classes that the students take, they also have to participate in workshops.  The workshops for the following semester are different for juniors and seniors.  Our juniors will continue to take the 7 Habits for Highly Effective Teems by Sean Covey which helps them manage their time and creat healthy habits in order to be successful in high school as well as with ACE Program.  In addition to the 7 Habits Workshop, the junior males also participate in the 6 Most Important Decisions, also by Covey, which helps our young men make right choices and take ownership of those choices.  Our seniors will be taking workshops to understand and apply for FAFSA and scholarships to help them find the funds that they will need to finance their education.  It is our job to make sure these workshops happen, we need to book the rooms on the campuses, hire the facilitators, order the food that will keep the students from leaving (if you feed them, they will come), ACE is not only about taking college courses, but also about being successful in as many aspects of college as possible.

ACE Registration for Spring 2011

In reality there isn't anything particularly fun about registering 300 students for classes next semester.  However, seeing that I have already written about all the fun stuff the ACE Program does, a lot of the behind scene task that need to be done are behind the scene for a reason.  This last week, exactly a week, I stayed in my office and individually registered 300 students for their classes next semester.  I bring up the student's profile, check their test scores, check to see what classes they have already taken, and register them for the classes that they have not taken.  Keeping in mind that as a program we request a certain amount of classes from the college and the classes we request we have to make sure they fill.  So another one of my jobs is to make sure that all the classes have a full roster, if not then the college will drop the course for under enrollment and the department chairs as well as the instructors will be upset for not filling the class.  The work is slow, tedious, and redundant, but if the students are not enrolled, we wouldn't have a program.

South Mountain Community Colleges Affluent Latino's

When I first started at South Mountain Community College (SMCC) I didn't know what to expect. I figured it was going to be the same as working at Phoenix College (PC) where I was for three years.  The first thing I realized was that PC and SMCC were nothing alike.  First of all PC has approximately 12k students where as SMCC has about 5k.  In terms of diversity PC is much more diverse than SMCC, this is where I saw the most distinction.  Although PC is more diverse, because it is an inner city college, the majority of the students that enroll in PC belong to the inner city, which are typically poorer than the suburbs.  Now, I am generalizing and these comparisons are based upon my own personal and anecdotal experience.  When I first arrived at SMCC, immediately I realized that there where more Latino's than any other ethnicities.  Additionally I realized that in my perception they were more affluent than the Latino's that I grew up around.  Drawing comparisons from my experience growing up in an inner city school and working for an inner city college I made these following distinctions.  The majority of the parents that I came across at Alhambra High School, and PC, were lower working class.  My mom cleaned houses, my dad worked in construction.  Both lived paycheck to paycheck, poorly educated, and weren't able to help me get through college because they had no clue what college was all about.  Many of my friends parents lived in the same conditions.  Adversely, speaking to some of the students that attend SMCC, I found that their parents, although still working class, had better jobs that paid more.  Many of the parents were college educated, professors, and professionals, this was something that in the inner city is not seen as often.  So naturally it gives them the ability to move to the suburbs, with nicer houses, safer neighborhoods, and better schools.  The houses around the SMCC are more expensive, and in order to live here you obviously need more money which means you need a better job.  I found that although PC and SMCC are in the same city, they served different pockets of society, even within the Latino community.  So although we are all Latino's we grew up very differently, which is okay.  It was simply walking into a different world for me.

Personal Post - Book: The Lost Symbol

Another Dan Brown book that you can't put down.  Or at least I couldn't, even when I knew I had to read other books for class and what not, but Brown has the ability to hook you in every single chapter.  Brown's main character for the third time, Robert Langdon battles the forces of evil using clues, solving puzzles, and running from authorities that are good, but can also be bad and you never really what's going to happen.  Which is why I find his work very enjoyable and fun to read.  This time the action takes place in our nation's capital, but as usual, all of it happens in one night.  Which again why I find his reads so much fun, at the end of every chapter there is a hook that forces you to read the next, and next, and so on.  In my opinion as a average reader I find Brown's work very entertaining, uses a lot imagery, so much so that it's hard not to imagine what he's writing.  All the action plays our right in your mind as though it were a movie script you were reading.  I also like it because I am a staunch liberal who deeply believes in the separation between church and state.  Without getting too deep for a class, he speaks of God as something so omnipresent that God doesn't need a religion to exist.  I agree with this notion, too often I find that people are so blinded by religious dogma that they can't see the forest from the trees.

Personal Post - Cooking

I have made it a goal to go to culinary school after I finish my studies at ASU.  Growing up with my mom in the kitchen of our home as well as the restaurant she inherited from her family undoubtedly had some influence in me feeling most comfortable in a kitchen.  I find it is the only place in my house where I feel completely happy in, yet I can lose my self there for hours.  In fact when I am stressed I tend to spend hours cooking, creating, or recreated some of my mom's best dishes.  Almost to the point where there are times I believe I've outdone even her.  I started cooking as soon as I was able to stand on my own, there is a photo in my mom's kitchen where I am barely three standing on a chair stirring a pot of rice.  Growing up I resented both of my sisters for calling me Betty Crocker, but you ask them now to make any of my mom's dishes and they gladly defer to me.  Neither know any of her recipes.  This was when reality set in that cooking is not only a craft, or art, but also a passion.  You have to really like to do it, to be any good at it.  Yet it is completely taken for granted, even if we eat three times a day, everyday.  My only wish is that it paid as much as other sectors in society and was seen for the art that it truly is.  Then I would much rather see myself graduated from culinary school, instead of ASU, then culinary school.

Maricopa Community College Professional Staff Association

Every semester a group called the Maricopa Community College Professional Staff Association (MCCD-PSA) convenes to act as an advocacy group for all staff members at the college and throughout the district.

This is their mission statement taken from their website:

Maricopa County Community College District, Professional Staff Association is committed to providing a united voice for Professional Staff employees by encouraging professionalism, education, advancement, friendship, diversity and volunteerism.

I have mentioned in previous post that I have worked for several years at Maricopa Community Colleges, specically at  Phoenix College, however this is my first permanent position at South Mountain Community College.  As a permanent board approved employee I have the privilage of becoming apart of this group.  Just to bring some prespective, PSA is one of several groups across the campuses.  There is also the Faculty Group, Adjuct Faculty Group, Management, Administration, & Techonogy Group (MAT), and the Maintenance & Operations Group.  PSA from my understanding is the largest epmployee group, we are considered the "worker bees", at least in terms of the day-to-day operations for the students, the college, and the many programs. Additionally we have more rights as employees laid out by our group charter, I'm still learning those right. 

I attended the first meeting and got to know the other PSA members, vote for our group cabinet members, but above all I enjoyed the activities that the PSA members participate in every year.  We are actively involved with book scholarship fundraisers where we raise funds to buy books for students who need help purchasing books.  The help we offer is small but for the students it means a lot since they don't have to pay for some books.  Even if we save them $100, they show their gratitude to the PSA groups, other employee groups do the same.  I believe this is a great way for everyone to contribute a little, but together make a big impact on our community.

Career Service Post - Maricopa Community Colleges' Creative Pathways

Every semester the Maricopa Community Colleges District Office hosts an employee orientation to educate the incoming employees on the culture of Maricopa.  Although I have worked for Maricopa before, I was prompted to attend because I am new to South Mountain Community College.  At first I went kicking and screaming, because I figured it would be another four hours of the history, goals, culture, etc, etc, of Maricopa.  Although I did relearn all this information, I was happy I attended because I learned of the Maricopa Community Colleges' Creative Pathways.  Which up to this point I had not learned much about it, below is a synopsis from their website:

Creative Pathways offers eligible MCCCD employees a variety of opportunities to work toward their professional and personal goals, while at the same time, advancing the educational objectives of the Maricopa Community Colleges. These opportunities have been designed to provide employees with real-world learning experiences for the purpose of acquiring new knowledge, skills and abilities and to help employees consider career options and identify important career development activities.

I found this interesting because I was able to speak to several members that have participated in this program.  What I learned that the program gives us the employees the ability learn new skills across departments.  Essentially in professional development, the skills you learn from other departments help you strengthen your own in your department as well as gives the participants a better understanding of how other departments work.  Many times we work in silo's, meaning Financial aid only works on financial aid issues, and Admissions and Records (A & R) only work with A & R issues.  Learning both would give anyone an advantage, not only in how the process of something is suppose to get accomplished, but also in the rationale, guidelines, and communication between departments.  As an institution we begin to illuminate barriers that affect students as well by increasing effectiveness and efficiency across departments.  As an individuals we learn other ways of operating, developing processes, and create relationships across departments in the hopes that if one day there is a position available at a department I've trained for, I can be seen as a candidate for that position.

With an institution as large as Maricopa Community Colleges, one can get lost in the shuffle, this is a great way to stand apart, learn new skills, and train for future positions of greater responsibilities if need be.

ACE @ Valley Metro Light Rail Maintenance Facility

Last week we took 25 students to the Valley Metro Light Rail Maintenance Facility where they had a chance to experience how the facility works, maintain the carts, and first hand how the conductors operate the vehicles.

We arrived in the late morning where the facilitators gave a brief tour of the administrative piece of the operations building.  Nothing too exciting in reality, offices, a few technical rooms, but in general like any other business office.  Then we went on to the main conference room where they would be presenting on the engineering portions of the light rail system.  The conference room main window had a complete view of the light rail garage, where the trains would pull in to be maintained and worked on.  During the presentation the engineers spoke to the students of the different aspects that go into creating a system like the one in the valley.  Cost, building, material, locations, community, technology, infrastructures.  In general the students realized that there is a lot of planning, money, and time that goes into creating a light rail system like the one we have now.  One of the students commented that it didn't seem like it was that complicated, but after having spoken to some of the main engineers he realized why it was as big of an accomplishment as it was.

After getting the facts and figures of the system, the VM team took us on a tour of the facilities.  We got to the different bays that carts can either be worked on from the bottom, top, sides, interior, etc.  After touring the main garage, we headed out to view the car wash, then they took us on a ride along their 4 mile test track.  Here the operator laid out the different levers, buttons, monitors, and switches the train had.  Some of the students had the opportunity to sit in the conductors seat and move the cart forward.  Which at that point I was green with envy because growing up I always wanted to be a train conductor.  Unfortunately they only let the students play with the trains, as a worker I was out of luck.  However, I still enjoy working here because I have the opportunity to learn like a student but get paid as an adult. :-)

Career Service Post - ACE @ Valley Metro Light Rail Maintenance Facility

I split this into two different post because I am taking one from the ACE students point of view and my point of view of what we learned while at the maintenance facility.

Last week we took 25 students to the Valley Metro Light Rail Maintenance Facility where they had a chance to experience how the facility works, maintain the carts, and first hand how the conductors operate the vehicles.

Since I was the main organizer of the field trip I was the constant point of contact between our ACE Program and with the representatives with Valley Metro.  I was surprised to learn that there are a lot of career opportunities with Valley Metro (VM).  I know it is naive of me to think that when it came to careers with VM, naturally I thought, bus drivers and now cart operators.  I never stopped to consider that those positions are only the face of VM, all the rest happens behind a curtain, administration, operations, engineering, and community relations to name only a few essential pieces behind the scene that comprises the entire make up of VM. 

I was especially drawn to the the last one, community relations, which is whom I was in constant contact with when we were planning the visit with the students.  This branch of VM is charged with the task of educating the community on the purpose, values, and benefits of using the mass transportation system in the Valley of the Sun.

At this point in dawned on me that I remember this representatives giving presentations on how to effectively and safely use the bus routes back when I was in grade school.  I found that one I am done at ASU I will be seeking opportunities with Valley Metro.  I never knew transportation could be so fun, encompassing, or essential to the vitality of the city. 

I made sure that my contact with Valley Metro knew that I would be open and willing to learn more about employment opportunities with their organization once I finish my schooling.

Knock Education Off It's Pedestal

At the same conference where I heard Sarita Brown, I also had the opportunity to listen to Jonathan Mooney speak about his dealing with education, in particular high school and what he said struck a cord.  Again I will post the weblink so you can read his bio and accomplishments.

In a nut shell he is a "writer and activist with dyslexia who learned to read when he was 12-years-old. He since earned an honors degree in English Literature at Brown University and has written and published two books." - mcli website.

One of the things he shared with us was that when he was a high school student one teacher in particular let him know that he wasn't going to be successful because of his learning differences.  I drew upon similar experiences, when I was in junior high I tested into high school honors English, yet I was never given English Honors Classes.  After visiting with my counselor, he suggested that "honors was too difficult, I should be happy that I was doing regular English and not having to work so hard."  So I stayed in regular English, because at my age and experience I was convinced he was right. 

Where do people like this come from anyway?!  Who are they to make that judgement that because they believe something should be a certain way, they will force their will to get it done, even if it doesn't have anything to do with their own future.

When telling the story, Mooney mentioned that we as educators have to be knocked off our pedestal.  I agree with Mooney completely in this notion.  We tend to equate education with power and authority over what is right and just, when this couldn't be further from the truth.  If anything, an education has taught me, that there is not finite answers, just a world of possibilities (without sounding cliche) depending on what side of the fence you are standing on. 

Wouldn't it have been better for that teacher to say "don't let learning differences stop you from learning how to overcome them in order to be successful."  Or in my case, "Honor's is more difficult but there are ways to manage the extra work, let me show you how."

As I continue my work with my students, I hope and yes pray that I don't lose my faith in my work so much so that I turn inward, bitter, and jaded.  The purpose of my position is to give hope to students who have never had it, not take away what little they have left.  In general I believe education is extremely important, but we shouldn't let that power get to our head.  We aren't THAT important, obviously or perhaps we wouldn't have as many dropouts as we do in this country. 

2010 Maricopa Community College Student Success Conference

This twenty-second annual Student Success Conference hosted by Maricopa Community Colleges is geared towards staff, administrators, and faculty in an effort to share best practices and come up with ideas on how to better serve the population of students that attend the collection of community colleges.

As is usual there is a an opening speaker to get everyone motivated and this year I have to say that I connected with what Sarita Brown had to say in terms of breaking down the barriers that education itself places in front of students.

Sarita Brown, the morning speaker is the president of Excelencia in Education, a not-for-profit research in education company.  You can read her bio and contributions by logging onto the weblink below.  I found that I connected with everything she said in regards to helping students achieve more by taking ownership of their empowerment.  In fact I have made it my mission with the ACE Program and in general with South Mountain Community College to help students find solutions to as much as possible.  For instance, walking them to a classroom, rather than pointing to a map and saying figure your way around a campus you've never been to before.  It's the little things that could help or hurt a student and in reality how much effort does it take to show a new student the ropes.  Or another example is sitting with a group of students and showing them online how to apply for FAFSA, as oppose to giving them a sheet and sending them home.  I still have fears of school and processes, but imagine being a returning student of 20 years, what must it feel like to be completely new to something you were once in, what hasn't changed?  We can't expect these students to just know what to do.

http://mcli.maricopa.edu/success

Hispanic Women's Conference - ACE Scholarship Recipients

During the Hispanic Women's Conference ten students from each of the Maricopa Community Colleges' ACE Programs are selected to receive a $1000 scholarship to help cover tuition and the cost of books.  This year the two students I nominated were selected to receive the award.  Both ladies come from similar backgrounds, first generation college students, eldest in their family, never really considered college as an option to them.  Both students are stellar students in high school as well as in the ACE Program, hold 4.0 GPA at the colleges, and no lower than 3.5 at their respective high schools.  To protect the anonymity I will not mention their names, however the first young lady is seeking a career in law enforcement, her goal is to get a degree in criminal justice, serve as a police officer with Phoenix Police Department and eventually get into investigations.  The second young lady is seeking a career in public broadcasting and is aiming for admittance to the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism.  Both young ladies have younger siblings that will hopefully follow in their footsteps by applying to the ACE Program and seek a higher education.  It made my day to see them receive their award that they have worked hard for and have the kind of positive personality that rubs off on all of us here at the college.  Two more ladies that we can expect great things in terms of contributions to all of society.  Congratulations to them for the future they will help create!

Hispanic Women's Conference

In October I took 11 young ladies from the ACE Program to the 2010 Hispanic Women's Conference Youth Symposium.  The purpose of the conference is to create a forum where Latina's (and others of course) can come together, network, share ideas, exchange best practices, and in general get to know other successful and aspiring Latina's in education and business.  For many of the young ladies it was the first time they got to see a heavy concentration of successful Latino's and Latina's in one area gathered and sharing their background as well as their accomplishments.  The schedule was packed this year, the ladies arrived at the conference at 8:00, they signed in, received a goody bag then went into the main hall where approximately 400 other young ladies from around the valley were awaiting the opening remarks.  Followed were three break-out sessions where the ladies learned how to finance a college education, plan career paths, and apply for financial aid.  Lunch followed immediately where they sat and watched a fashion show on how to dress for success.  For the last session the young ladies participated in speed networking, where they were given ten minutes to ask the diverse pool of mentors present anything from past experiences, tips on how to be successful, the importance of a college education, and how to keep a positive attitude despite adversity.  The ladies left there feeling inspired after seeing that being success comes through hard work and perseverance.  One young lady said "I realized that many of these people came from the exact same places that I came from and all they did was go to school, work hard, and now they have great careers.  I want to be like that."  Programs like these are essential to our social capital, they strengthen communities, and above all they great a common ground for all people who want something more for society.

Billboards

This morning as I came into work I pulled up the local and national news websites and I found an article that I found disturbing.  The article was about a billboard message in some U.S. town that says “Islam Rising: The Documentary…Be Warned.”  You can also visit the website http://www.islamrising.com/Home.html.  In short it’s about the right Christian groups making allegations of the evil doings of the right Islamic groups.  To me any spread of hatred and fear is evil which in a sense what these radical Christians are doing in bashing another religion more than studying and mediating on the real meaning of their own.  Although I am not a super religious person I am super faithful.  Never has my faith taught me that hating any person based on any factor is what I was called to do.  In fact if anything my faith has taught me that hate is NOT the way to live life peacefully.

This week I recruited on behalf of the ACE Program at a small charter school that serves the Muslim population in the Phoenix area.  Everyone one at this school, the students, teachers, parents, administrators were in every way as American as the rest us.  No more or less kind, or generous, or good-spirited as any wholesome Christian American.  In a nut shell they made me feel at home while presenting in their school on the ACE Program at SMCC.  I might add I know I had everyone’s attention down to the youngest student, you could hear a pin drop while I was speaking.  Never have I had such a feeling of respect from any high school across Phoenix, Tempe, or Mesa.  In reality most of the time in public schools I have to battle the students to stop whispering to their bff’s across the row and listen to what I have to say.  In these public schools I have even been jeered, asked ridiculous questions, and insulted when presenting on a scholarship opportunity that is intended for their benefit.  I don’t want to assume, but I am willing to bet that most of these students are either a form of Christian or agnostic.  I may be wrong, but growing up Christian the first thing I learned was respect, why then do some of these students treat me as though I am less than they are for presenting on a program that is for their benefit?

I find this anti-Islamic sentiment sickening because it is based on fear, hatred, and lies.  The views of a few right winged Christians attacking the views of a few right winged Muslims affect the rest of us in the middle.  I don’t care how loud you yell, I refuse to believe that two religions based on the same fundamental principles of peace, harmony, and love are out to destroy the other because one form of love is better than the other.  It's a stupid notion and yet that is what I see by billboards like this one.  The students I serve and the people I work for who are Muslim are as "normal" as Christians; contrary to belief they weren’t taught how to destroy any more than Christians were.  That is until they go to boot camp…or religion camp.

Personal Post - But I'm a cheerleader

I forget sometimes that not everyone is like me, I know that sounds obvious but I guess what I mean to say is that not everyone is exposed to everything society has in store.  That is why college is so fun, because you see the variety of life.  Let’s go back a few years when I worked at my previous job.  I met a student who was bright, hardworking, personable, good-spirited, and outgoing.  Immediately I knew this student was bound for success, he was a great high school student undaunted by college life, not a follower, always lead his group of friends.  There was no doubt this young man was going to college and graduating with honors probably.  After getting to know one-another and talking about sports he discovered that I played softball.  

           

            Fast forward a few years, he has become somewhat of a mentee to me, I wrote his letters of recommendation for ASU, guided him through the college process, and helped him find a job with a local bank, etc; he is a constant acquaintance, and a Facebook friend (the inner most ring of trust I’m sure).  Recently he sent me a Facebook message asking if he could come out and watch my team play softball because he is interested in playing, so immediately I said yes!  We are always looking for new players to join the league.  Although he had never played baseball or softball before, he was athletically inclined. So this past weekend he came out with the girl he’s dating to watch us play and the most interesting thing happened.  Side note:  The league I play for is called Cactus Cities League; if you look it up online you’ll find that it is “the premier slow pitch softball league for the GLBTQ community.”  Well I never thought to disclaimer to my friend that it was a gay league, I guess I just assumed he knew and had no problem with it…which I thought was cool, the community could use all the allies it can get.  I have to admit, watching gay softball, although it’s not what you would imagine, you eventually get the sense that many of these burley guys are as much the players as they are the cheerleaders.  Meaning, the cheers are a little swishy and it doesn’t take long for spectators to catch on, but the cheers are hilarious and entertaining!!!  After watching our team play a doubleheader, he comes up to me and asked me with an anxious voice, “are some of the players gay?”  To which I responded without hesitation, “of course, the whole team is…and most of the league.”  I looked at him like “duh”, and he looked at me as though he just realized he was a cat in the middle of a dog park.  With a nervous voice he said “but you guys play softball?”  To which his girlfriend said laughing “But I’m a Cheerleader.”  A reference to the movie that came out in 1999 that portrayed a lesbian who didn’t know she was a lesbian because she enjoyed so much being a cheerleader.  As if cheerleaders couldn’t be lesbians or athletes couldn’t be gay.  We laughed about it, although it may have been through nervousness, I went on to explain that not all the players were gay.  Furthermore, he had nothing to fear, it was a safe place for everyone to just come out and play for the love of the sport regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.

            Suffice it to say that he was okay with it all, he just had no clue anything like this existed.  Although he admitted that he never thought gays played sports, it changed his perception for the better of what the gay community is.  He plans to play with our team come the spring and no doubt he will learn that although we may be different, essentially we are more similar.  I admire his willingness to open his mind and change preconceived notion he never even thought he had.  It did help that his girlfriend is and always has been an ally for the GLBTQ community.  This goes to show that just when we think everyone is on the same page in society this is far from the case.  The best we can do is educated and break down the stereotypes that keep us apart to show that there is nothing to fear.  I am happy that we gained one more ally on and off the field.

It should be K-College

In present day America everyone has fair access to higher education but not all the members in society understand how to survive the system.  I do not propose to change the system of higher education, merely change the way in which we teach our younger generations about what to expect in the higher education system.  We must start first with giving them explicit expectations and measurable attainable accomplishments.  In other words, it is the expectation in American society for all the members to attend primary school in order to be successful in secondary school, and the expectation of attending secondary school to be successful in college, and the purpose of attending college is to complete at minimum a four-year college degree.  This expectation should be regardless of first or second generation, ethnicity, social class, funding, etc.  If America can produce a first class military at any expense, we should be even more disposed at producing first class thinkers to compete in a growing global economy.

Specifically education should not be split between K-12, college, and university.  The American educational system should be K-college (Kindergarten through College/University).  Over the past few years Maricopa Community Colleges has made strides in creating a transfer process from the colleges to the university that is easy, accessible to all, and sets the students up for success at the university.  The community college systems and State Universities created an open dialog, collaborated in setting standards, and literally created a course maps that the students can use to navigate the classes required by both systems to achieve a baccalaureate.  These two systems understand that they each supplement the other in terms of enrollment and graduation rates.  So far the system called AZ Transfers has helped many community college students reach a university and attain a college degree.

Now is the time for the K-12 system to create a similar system, we can no longer afford to treat each educational levels in silos.  In my professional experience the K-12 system has been very resilient in opening their doors to higher education. 

Why High School sucks

As if it wasn't difficult enough having to deal with hitting puberty, changing hormones, growth spurts, awkward and uncomfortable physiological and psychological changes all coalescing like never before while at the same time dealing with cool clothes, bullies, mean girls, social status, clicks, gangs, alcohol, drugs, sex, parties, and Facebook updates.  Then having to navigate life while doing homework, studying, playing ball, cheerleading, dealing with irate teachers, irritable administrators, untrusting parents, and a society that just doesn’t understand, I am amazed students have anything to look forward to other than graduation day or dropping out to get away from the convoluted life of high school.    

Surprisingly after graduation the majority of students I come across haven’t even dabbled in the idea of what college is, why it is so important, where a college is, or what is required to get there.  To put the cherry on top, parents blame them, teachers blame them, and society blames them for not knowing better.  So whose fault is it anyway?  Please tell me why we blame these young students for not knowing the importance of college?  Especially when many have been lead to believe college is not for them.  And to top the cherry with a cherry, this past weekend I called an inner city Phoenix High School to ask for time to recruit students for college and the response was, “sorry they just don’t have the time.”  They don’t have the time?…Really?…high school students are too busy to make time for college?  Well I guess that answers that.

And again, who’s fault is it?

Snowball...

This past weekend we scheduled individual meetings with all 300 ACE students and their parents to discuss the end of the semester and see what grades they are currently earning.  Additionally we gauge any problems that the students may be facing, whether it is time management, personal life, academic, etc.  The students meet once a week for fourteen Saturdays for three hours.  In one particular instance we came across a female Hispanic student who is in danger of failing because she has missed several assignments and four class periods.  The explanation the student and her mother gave us was that she had to help her mom at work.  Now, just to understand the program, ACE is a scholarship based program, it pays for the tuition at South Mountain Community College; ultimately the program is investing real money in these students. If the students fail, not only does the grade affect their GPA and transcripts, but the program essentially loses the money it paid for in the tuition.  It’s interesting to note that all policies created for one purpose inevitable effect multiple areas of society. 

This student’s father was deported several months ago; having been pulled over for a minor traffic violation when the officers discovered he had no license and indeed no immigration documentation proving rightful citizenship.  ICE was called and within days the father found himself back in Mexico leaving behind his wife and three daughters who themselves are legal citizens.  After several months of hardship and no steady income, this student’s mother and the rest of her family were forced to abandon their house as it went into foreclosure.  Now the mother cleans houses as many days as possible to afford a small two-bedroom apartment, to pay bills, and put food on the table.  This student is the eldest child and at seventeen is now required to assist in the upbringing of her younger sisters, as well as help her mother clean houses during the week, including Saturdays, attend high school, and strive to achieve a higher education with the ACE Program.

It saddens me to know that this straight “A” student with a bright future has been relegated to working menial labor, when she is capable of becoming something so much more.  Since working with the ACE Program I understand the positive impact it has on students who normally would not attend college.  I have a hard time understanding how immigration policy enacted to defend our borders against terrorist ends in limiting the future of a family’s desire to educate their young.  The father owned their home, paid their property taxes, earned an honest comfortable living and above all believed in educating his daughters to the highest level possible.  Yet now, they have no home, are not paying property taxes, are not purchasing the goods and services they once used to, and their future is much bleaker today as a result of failed policy.  Where once the possibility existed that these students would achieve a higher education, a higher wage, and contribute to society, have we now done the exact opposite?  What if these students lose their will to continue on, drop out of high school, become pregnant and consequently burden the society?  Is this what this type of immigration reform had in mind???

First Generation College Student

The majority of the students I work with are considered first generation college students because their parents have not completed a college degree.  Sounds simple enough however, what I find I have in common with the students is that many of the pitfalls some make, are the same ones I made when I first started at ASU, and continue to make.  I try to impart as much wisdom as possible, but as the saying goes, "those who give the best advice seldom keep it for themselves." 

So what is it about 1st generations?  Well to start off, most of us learned too late what college was really all about, in fact I was seventeen the first time I heard about ASU or Phoenix College (PC).  The sole driving satisfaction my mother expressed to me about my life is that I avoid, drugs, gangs, tattoos, and I manage to graduate high school.  Other than that I had her blessing to do with my life what I wanted to do.  College only became an option because my sister asked me what I planned on doing after I graduated from high school.  Although PC was a mere two miles from my house, I had never stepped foot onto the campus until my first day of school in August.  The first time I heard of a syllabus, a transcript, the different levels of degrees, actually having to study for class, and reading before class began at PC.  I skated through high school, knowing nothing other than my life at Alhambra High School.  I find the students I work with in much the same boat.  This last week while I was recruiting at prominent high school in South Phoenix for the ACE Program I asked how many students knew where their nearest community college was, one student answered, University of Phoenix is around the corner from my house.  Aghast that they believed U of P was a community college, I realized they had absolutely no idea what a community college was.  Astounded for second, yet I travel back in time to when I was an early college student and realize, I had no idea either.  I would like to make the clarification that the population of students I work with are not "troubled" students, or in bad company.  They are genuine, hard working high school students, but like me completely ignorant to life outside of high school.

First lets explore briefly my nephew who would be a second generation student.  He is seven years old and starts sentences with "Mom, when I go to college...", he has been to multiple college events, has a tax sheltered college fund, and is learning the words to the ASU fight song.  There is no doubt in my mind that my sister (his mother) will attend his first day of college, as she attended his first day at kindergarten.  Although we can't guarantee that when the times comes he'll want to go to college, the expectation and knowledge of college life will be present in his life.

In a contrast, I remember college being superfluous because I had no idea how important it was, nor even what I was doing there, I merely kept my mouth shut and copied what other students did to register for class, speak to teachers, even to complete assignments.  Or I would ask my sister "what do I do now?"  Other times I remember feeling too embarrassed to ask how, dumb at times, and completely scared that I didn't look like a real college students.  I felt as though I was doing it wrong, and I never really believed I could or would be successful.  I find it completely horrid that I did not learn at a young age what college was or how immensely important it is.  Was it my parents fault, was it my teachers, my my high schools, community colleges?  We can play the blame game all day but does it matter, because in the end the ones who carry the ultimate burden are the students.  I see that same fear in many of the students in the program now, which is why I have worked hard to connect with them and push them to achieve what I myself still have a hard time achieving.  As if one at-risk factor wasn't enough, many of use have others to contend with.

I am an ACE student...well not really.

ACE at the Maricopa Community Colleges stands for Achieving a College Education, it was started in 1988 and is designed to work with high school students "at-risk" of not continuing to pursue a higher education.  The students with these factors traditionally do not attend a higher education institution and fail to make the bridge between high school and college to obtain a four-year degree from an accredited institution like ASU.  There are many at risk factors but typically these are students who are; first-generation college bound, have physical or learning disabilities, from single-parent homes, live at or below the poverty line, work more than 10 hours a week to contribute to the family income, are under-represented minorities in higher education, and/or have dependents that they care for.

The program is structured to introduce college life to these high school students to curve the uncertainty that is associated when students have little experience on how to maneuver a college campus.  Under the programs supervision, students take courses on a community college campus that count as their core requisite classes as they complete their junior and senior year in high school.  They take English 101, 102, humanities courses, critical reading, etc.  All the while they take workshops on how to "speak" college 101, IE: transcripts, syllabus, SAT/ACTs, course maps, bachelors degree, masters, PhD.,etc. are all terms they do not understand and have little exposure to at home.  Although the argument can be made that this ignorance does not determines a persons success in college, the evidence behind the statistics of 1st generation college completion rates versus 2nd generation college completion rates are what the program was founded on.

After having worked for the program for five years and being a first generation student myself I find that although many times we (1st generationers) use these factors as a crutch, in reality it is and was very daunting to overcome.  I can fully associated with the students fear of what college life was like for me the first time I stepped onto the ASU campus.  Which may be why it has taken me 8 years to complete a four year degree, and why till this day I still struggle to believe that I can accomplish a bachelor's degree.  Although I was not an ACE student, I am a student  that shares many of the at-risk factors and through this blog I wish to explore why is has taken me so long to complete this venture.  I hope to further understand and pass along the knowledge I uncover to assist the students I serve to "get over" my at-risk factors and finally achieve a higher education.