Signs of Progress

My friend/associate dean/partner Mandy likes to remind me that truly having a purpose is rare and people crave purpose. She and I argue over nearly every work topic possible, but she is 100% right on this one. Last June, I challenged my team (and by extension my college) to turn toward students in poverty in a focused, determined, and poverty informed manner. I challenged them to not settle for half-measures and to fearlessly search for barriers to student success so we could remove those barriers at every opportunity. In fact, that became our mantra, Every Barrier That Can Be Removed, Should Be Removed. In June, I spent time in public and private forums making the case doing this work was not just correct, it was smart. I made the case figuring out how to serve students with the most daunting barriers wasn't just a moral crusade, but would in fact teach us how to improve in ways we hadn't really considered. Our students with barriers teach us in ways students with more advantages never could. Our purpose was clear. Would people be drawn to it? Would it make a difference? The answer to both questions is a resounding yes! Let me share a few indicators.

Jessica and Karen

A million little things have happened that show people are drawn to purpose and want to be cause driven. In just the last semester, one of my office staff (a couple of those rock stars are pictured to the left) purchased scrubs for a student who couldn't afford them after overhearing a conversation in our lobby. When I told her that was way above and beyond, she said she felt compelled because it was a barrier she could remove. One of our faculty learned in a conversation with a student that he was sleeping in his car while pursuing a degree full-time. She spent the day working with him and ended up accompanying him to the local shelter to make sure he could get a bed. She didn't know he'd been turned away before, and I have to believe her presence and title helped him get what he needed. Dr. Donna Beegle tells us using our titles and authority to advocate for people in poverty can be a powerful tool on an individual level, and I was pleased to see that in action. Our commitment to our purpose continued to show when another student found out he owed fines and was going to have to sit in jail because he couldn't afford to pay them. The counselor in our area, along with a teacher's aide, couldn't stand to see success interrupted for what essentially felt like debtor's prison, so they organized a collection across the division and enabled the student to continue chasing his dreams. Our Board Chair broached the idea of "safe parking' for students sheltering in cars and our Vice President of Finance specifically mentioned Poverty Informed Practice as a type of first choice service at our all-college day last week. I'd say the jury is in, purpose draws passion.

Dan

Beyond the little things, there are system indicators our movement is taking hold. The biggest one is enrollment. We stripped away an entire level of developmental coursework this academic year and by all logic our enrollment should be down. It's not, not even close... Our summer term was up by 30 percent and our fall term will have a double figure increase when all is said and done as well. One semester could be an anomaly, two in a row feels like evidence. Our efforts to meet basic needs, create belonging, and accelerate progress are drawing and retaining students. Like I said, these students solve our issues internally and externally. Internally, they strengthen our enrollment, and when we retain and graduate them, we meet workforce needs for employers strained by 3% unemployment rates. Winning! Another systemic indicator happened last week when a group of faculty met to discuss a textbook change, and the first consideration was how to teach the course with Open Educational Resources. I'm pleased to say they eliminated the textbook and the burden for students a textbook brings. There are many other indicators, but let me share two more from last week. Our Sustainability Coordinator wants to meet to discuss how we can partner because the impact of the issues he addresses will hit the poor first. And last, our Director of Enterprise Services along with our Food Service Manager, Community Engagement Coordinator, and Student Life Coordinator devised a way to let students with a meal plan support students who are struggling with food insecurity. This last one is extra meaningful to me for two reasons. The first is because my friend Dan, the Director of Enterprise Services, said something like "oh geez, I suppose we will be in your blog now won't we..." at the end of the meeting. His picture is above... You're welcome Dan:). The second is because this partnership shows us at our best. Dan is my friend, but I can almost guarantee we have rarely checked the same names on a ballot. Our partnership shows poverty and helping students is a purpose which unites us, no matter our personal and political persuasions.

One of the great concrete indicators of staff being drawn to purpose is The Bowl, a simple bowl of snacks in our lobby which creates community and provides the ability to go to class without an empty stomach. I've written about The Bowl more than once (read one story here), but the power of this simple concrete action continues to astound me. We fill The Bowl

The Bowl

roughly five times a day, which means we go through a lot of snacks. When we started doing this we committed to the idea of no rationing and no monitoring or judging of what people take. The Bowl is stocked almost entirely through donations. The donations started internally as a few of us are regular weekend shoppers who add to our stash and some folks drop off things on random mornings. Then we started to receive gifts of cash and food from readers of these articles, which was humbling. We also have had staff from across the college make contributions including one whose wife goes every other week for a giant box of granola bars because she wants to help. It's beyond moving, and recently we've received anonymous cash donations of $500 and $1000 respectively. I can't count how many times I've been told The Bowl isn't sustainable. Purpose is sustainable.

Our commitment to Poverty Informed Practice is about leveling the playing field and changing outcomes for students in poverty. But it is also about giving voice to people who have had to stand at the back of the line and hope their needs get met. So let me finish by telling you about a couple of those amazing folks. My friend Emmie (pictured to the right)

Emmie and the author

just started her second semester pursuing her dream of a business management degree. Her situation and story haven't gotten simpler (Emmie's story), but she perseveres. A sixth grade class in Missouri watched Emmie's YouTube video, and it moved one of the students to share with the class that her family had struggled with homelessness as well. Emmie is an inspiration, so we were all thrilled when she emailed us the other day to tell us she had received a scholarship to help pay for her degree. She thanked us for letting the college be her safe place and said the scholarship showed her she was doing the right thing. The other person that came to mind today was Andrea

Andrea

(pictured above on the left with some of her support team. (Andrea's story) Andrea was recently asked by our College's leadership team to accompany them to Washington DC in February to speak with legislators about the value of a technical college education. It's a remarkable honor for a remarkable woman. We are beyond proud to be part of her #RealCollege story. There are so many student stories, and I wish I could share them all. But, let's stop here for now and recognize when things seem overwhelming and progress is hard to find, there are signs of progress everywhere. Purpose is powerful, it truly is, and our students teach us about our purpose every single day.