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When students tell us what they need, we believe them. You can hear from our students, as well as the faculty, staff, and others who support them, here.
What it Means to Appreciate Teachers
Like many people I know, I spent many hours as a child “playing school” in my basement. Occasionally I had to be the student while my younger sister bossed me around, but mostly, I was the teacher. Looking back, there were a shocking number of unruly imaginary...
Letter from the Exectuive Director : March 2024
Dear Friend: We are in an extraordinarily challenging time for higher education. In 2020, the pandemic helped shed light on the issues we have long known are true: the increase in the price of college for students and the accompanying rise in basic needs insecurity...
From Legacy to Action: Reflections on Black History Month and the Ongoing Pursuit of Justice
I was a young child when Black History Month came to national consciousness. I remember my dad using the opportunity to teach me, barely in school, about the history of Black achievement and leadership in this country. As an Iowan, I learned about George Washington...
For the Culture: A Personal Reflection of Resilience, Inspiration and Advocacy
There are many aspects of Black History Month that I hold close to my heart. However, a couple stand out, especially as I reflect on how often I am the only Black person in many of the professional spaces I occupy. First, I am profoundly moved by the purposeful,...
The Straw that Broke the #RealCollege Student’s Back: Flames, Fatigue, and the Power of Generosity
Although I concede that everyone’s life is unique, those who know me well would agree that my upbringing was a little extraordinary. I belong to an average middle class family, the mother of which was a nurse at the local hospital, the father of which was a...
Open letter from a #RealCollege Parenting Student to Faculty
Dearest Professors, I am writing the following letter to you because I owe you the gift of communicated knowledge.You have been gracious, understanding, ingenious, and inventive in a time of great uncertainty and upheaval. You have done your very best to pivot, adapt,...
Change For #RealCollege Students Is Overdue, It Is Time That We Fix That
During the month of June 2018, I enrolled as a student at Mt. Hood Community College. I was filled with great excitement and ambition of the new opportunity. Yet, I was also overcome with fear and anxiety as I had been a 15-year-old first-generation college student...
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