Deborah Santiago’s parents always made clear she and her three siblings would go to college.
Roslyn Clark Artis grew up in southern West Virginia, the only African American in her graduating class. The daughter of a coal miner, she dreamed of becoming a lawyer and applied to every public university in her home state, hoping to find an affordable route to college.
Amid a pandemic crisis characterized by stay-at-home orders and travel restrictions, the leader of the career center at Stony Brook University describes its fallout with an unexpected word: freedom.
Long before COVID-19, America’s most vulnerable students were struggling to access not only education and skills training, but the social connections that open doors to great careers. Aimée Eubanks Davis, founder and CEO of Braven, says the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on low-income and minority communities has also laid bare inequities in the education-to-workforce ecosystem. It’s time, she says, to level the playing field so all college graduates can secure strong first jobs that lead to long-term career success.
Strada partners at the Community Education Coalition in Southeast Indiana are engaging with educators, employers, policymakers and community organizations to improve postsecondary education and build a talent pool that will serve area businesses for decades to come.
Strada cast the net wide in 2019 to identify and support seven new partners who are creating opportunities for learners across the country to move seamlessly between education and meaningful careers.
A “How To” Playbook for America’s Governors