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All In: Student Pathways Forward
This podcast focuses on elevating community college student voices to shape inclusive higher education and workforce development policies, practice and partnerships that create economic mobility.
All In: Student Pathways Forward
Student Pathways Forward - An Introduction
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In this Intro episode, I have the chance to speak with Melissa Johnson from the National Skills Coalition and Kate Kinder from Portland Community College to set the stage for this new podcast centered on elevating Oregon community college student voices to shape inclusive policies, programs and partnerships. The All In: Student Pathways Forward podcast is a part of Oregon's SkillSPAN advocacy work with National Skills Coalition and tied to the broad statewide Pathways to Opportunity coalition that is helping students maximize benefits and resources to complete college and gain economic mobility.
Listen in to hear some really helpful context setting and overall insights from Melissa and Kate before I begin chatting with Oregon community college students in upcoming episodes.
Welcome to the All-in Student Pathways Forward Podcast, where we're focused on elevating student voices from Oregon Community Colleges to shape inclusive policies, programs, and partnerships. This is Mark Goldberg, the host, and I'm very happy to have the chance to talk with and learn from different Oregon Community College students as well as other higher education leaders. Thanks for listening in. In this introductory episode of All In Student Pathways Forward, I look forward to speaking with Melissa Johnson from the National Skills Coalition and Kate Kinder from Portland Community College. My conversations with Melissa and Kate will set the stage and provide context for this podcast series before I get the chance to begin speaking with students across the state at different community colleges. Melissa and Kate are the perfect guests to kick this off as they both have tremendous expertise in policies and programs that create economic mobility and that support an inclusive recovery. I'm going to start with a little more background before I bring in Melissa. The genesis of this podcast is considering that within higher education and workforce development, many of us are really focused on closing opportunity gaps and creating economic mobility. And as we do that, it's really important for all of us to anchor our programmatic and policy work in a student-centered approach. And what I mean by that is that we need to listen to our students to really help shape our programs and policies. And so this podcast, the All-in Student Pathways Forward Podcast, is a chance to elevate student voices and gain more insights in a new way. We're fortunate in Oregon that we're one of 20 states that's working with the National Skills Coalition in their skills span network. And I'm fortunate to be on the core Oregon team that's working in concert with the broader coalition for our statewide pathways to opportunity initiative that includes the 17 community colleges, the Oregon Department of Human Services, our partners for a hunger-free Oregon, and other anti-poverty and state agencies. So the podcast is a skill span strategy we're implementing in Oregon to impact policies that advance racial equity, rural opportunity, and economic mobility for Oregonians across the state. Now I'd like to introduce Melissa Johnson, who is the Managing Director of State Strategies at National Skills Coalition, where she leads the organization's efforts to advance workforce policy solutions at the state level. Melissa oversees the development of NSC's state policy agenda and works with the organization's network of state coalitions and partners, like our coalition in Oregon, to provide strategic guidance for policy development, advocacy, advancement, and implementation. Welcome, Melissa, and thank you for joining us.
SPEAKER_02Thank you so much for having me, Mark.
SPEAKER_01So Oregon Community Colleges have been so fortunate to work with the National Skills Coalition for many years, including through SkillSpan. And I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit more about SkillsSpan and why state coalitions are needed to advance racial equity and advocate for an inclusive recovery.
SPEAKER_02Sure. So SkillSpan is our skills state policy and advocacy network. And it's a first ever national network of nonpartisan coalitions focused on advancing skills policies that expand economic opportunities for workers. And these coalitions are led by research and advocacy organizations, community colleges, workforce boards, training providers, and coalitions also include labor and community-based organizations in a lot of states. In that way, our state coalitions mirror our national coalition that works on federal policies. And we specifically found that state coalitions focused on workforce policy are needed because, of course, policy advocacy is most effective when there are many voices that are coordinated together, they're amplifying each other, and they're touching on various pieces of a policy agenda from their specific viewpoint. We find that that's a very effective form of advocacy. And we found that there was a specific need for state coalitions focused on workforce development policies and skills training, because there have been other state coalitions, and there still are other state coalitions in a lot of states with different focus areas like the budget or anti-hunger coalitions, which are all great, all necessary in and of themselves, but we also need coalitions to make sure that people have access to the training and supports that they need. So that hence the reason for skill span. And there's ample opportunity, of course, for our workforce coalitions to work with coalitions with other areas of focus.
SPEAKER_01Thanks, Melissa. That makes really good sense. What role in particular should community colleges play in this work, both in shaping policy and practice?
SPEAKER_02Community colleges, I think, have a critical role to play in this work because you all know what is most effective in training students for in-demand careers. And you all can bring that very practical knowledge of what's effective as a very persuasive voice in policy.
SPEAKER_01That's really helpful to hear, Melissa. And I know from our experience in Oregon how valuable the Skillspan Network has been, not just to build that coalition within Oregon with all of our key partners, but also to learn from the other states and see how they've been able to push on policies and have benefited from conversations with the other state teams to really learn what's worked in other parts of the country and how NSC has facilitated and guided that process in Oregon. The support and guidance from you and from National Skills Coalition has been incredible.
SPEAKER_02Well, thank you. Well, we see you all as great partners.
SPEAKER_01One of our key statewide efforts, as I mentioned, is our Pathways to Opportunity Initiative, which is really a way to help students at our community colleges maximize benefits and resources to assist them in completing college and gaining economic mobility. And we do that through policies, through programs, and partnerships. I know that you've worked with our Oregon Pathways to Opportunity Coalition for the last few years and provided guidance, broad expertise, and support of our collective work in the state. And that's included testifying to the Oregon legislature, being on statewide summit panel discussions as a national and state policy expert, and connecting us with larger efforts and other states. So, Melissa, what have you seen that Oregon has done well in this policy work? And how can we take it to the next level?
SPEAKER_02Well, I don't want to skip over the Pathways to Opportunity initiative, even though it's rooted in practice. Oregon is definitely a leader in connecting adult students to the supports that they need to help them complete post-secondary education through Pathways to Opportunity. And I think that leadership is made even better because you connect the practice to the policy work. And you all have done things like expanded SNAP BNT in strategic ways so that it helps students complete post-secondary education on the policy level. And I also love that you all with the Oregon Skillspan work are working with the Department of Human Services and as you said before, bringing in partners like partners like Ahama-Free Oregon and definitely the students. I love the fact that you all are talking to students and making sure their voices are heard and advocacy for policy change. Thoughts on taking it to the next level. I think that there's always room to bring in even more organizations, especially those who are interested in economic justice and an inclusive economic recovery, because that will, of course, be our focus for the next couple of years. And there's definitely an opportunity to bring in organizations who may not be as familiar with higher education or workforce development policy to make those connections for those organizations so that their voices can be heard and they can weigh in on those policies once they see those connections.
SPEAKER_01That makes really good sense. And as we consider programs and policies that can build an inclusive recovery, it seems really important to be as collaborative as we can and consider who else is tied to supporting the Oregonians that could benefit from further education and skills training. I'm thinking back to one of the statewide pathways to opportunity summits where you joined us as a panelist, and we were fortunate to have the former Secretary of Education, John King Jr. attend, and he facilitated a panel with community college students. To me, one of the biggest takeaways was how much he emphasized the importance of listening to students in so many ways. And so I'm wondering how do you think this podcast series can further the vision of Pathways to Opportunity to increase racial equity, rural development, and economic mobility?
SPEAKER_02So I think the podcast series can further the vision in a couple of ways. I think, of course, it is increasing the reach of the initiative, the reach of the voice of the Pathways to Opportunity Coalition, for you all to pull in different people. That may be students who might not be aware of the initiative, and it may be other folks who are members of other organizations. And I think to further increase racial equity and rural development, I think that connecting the conversations that you are going to have on this series with the vision of pathways to opportunity to racial equity, rural development, economic mobility with the different guests that you have on. So highlighting community college students in rural areas, of course, is one idea. And then talking with organizations whose mission has been centered in racial equity, right? The NAACP, the Urban League, are just a couple of examples, but I was also doing a little research last night. We are a DC-based organization who likes to let folks on the ground actually build their own coalitions and craft their own policy agenda. So I just put that out there as an example to consider.
SPEAKER_01No, those are great suggestions and thinking about tying that to partner agencies in the community that work closely with different populations and really have a mission of racial equity and or economic mobility to get that lens in addition to the student will really tie it all together. So from a policy lens, what do you think would be most interesting and compelling to ask students in upcoming podcast episodes?
SPEAKER_02So I actually can't get enough of um reading articles and hearing podcasts about why students choose to enroll in training programs in community college, and then what are the barriers that they face in trying to complete, whether they're working on a degree or certificate, whatever the credential is. And then I also think it may be interesting to talk with people who aren't current students because of the particular barriers that they face or perceptions about training. But then again, you you would have to think about how you reach those people, right? Like what are the different organizations that would pull in some perspective or potential students?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's really helpful. And we know in Oregon that pre-COVID we had 448,000 adults, 25 and older in the state, who were either working, making $15 an hour or less, or unemployed who didn't have a post-secondary credential. So almost half a million Oregonians that could benefit from higher education, but we know the number of adults from that group that are enrolled currently is rather small. And so, to your point, hearing from prospective students as to why they haven't yet enrolled, or maybe they did already didn't have success and want to come back but aren't sure how, recognizing that we have systems and policies in place that have made it much more challenging for adult students and how we can push on those so that it is more accessible and achievable to gain post-secondary credentials. Yep, I think that'd be great. So you've touched on this a little bit, but I'm also hoping we can pull in some policy experts on future podcast episodes after hearing from students. Do you have any other suggestions on organizations that might be helpful to chat with?
SPEAKER_02So I think it might be interesting to talk with our friends at PolicyLink, uh, given your equity focus of the coalition's work. I also think it might be interesting to talk with our partners at Jobs for the Future. They might be interesting as a national organization because their work bridges the policy practice areas as well. And then the last idea I'll throw out there, kind of getting back to what I threw out about potential students or prospective students, goodwill. We know that a lot of people may be seeking training from community-based organizations like Goodwill before they connect to community colleges. So it would be interesting to see if that's happening in Oregon and explore that. Those are national organizations. Goodwill, of course, has local chapters.
SPEAKER_01Those are fantastic suggestions and thinking about national organizations like JFF and PolicyLink that are doing this work across the country and pushing on federal policy. And then you also touched on Goodwill. So national community-based organizations that are really working with populations that could benefit from post-secondary education. So that's a great suggestion. Goodwill and maybe even some other community-based organizations that have insights on the ground level in working closely with different communities. So appreciate your insights there. As we wrap up, I'm wondering if you have any other recommendations as I begin to hit the road and interview students from different Oregon community colleges to learn more about their experiences.
SPEAKER_02So I'm very excited about this work. I'm glad that you are doing this. I think the podcast format is a great format, especially in our time. And I think that if I have any advice, it's when students share their experiences to continue doing all that you can and make sure that those voices are heard by policymakers, right? Because these are their constituents and they need to hear from students in their district. And I think that that direct connection is very powerful for policymaking. So that is my only piece of advice.
SPEAKER_01That's really good advice. And I'm hoping that policymakers will listen to these episodes where we interview students. And if they're not able to listen into a full episode, at least hear maybe a shortened version of the takeaways that our students are offering, what those barriers are that you talked about that have been challenging, and what suggestions they have. As we've talked about, the more we hear from our students, the more we're gonna understand more deeply how we can develop inclusive policies and programs and community partnerships that set them up for success in creating economic mobility.
SPEAKER_02Exactly. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Well, thank you so much, Melissa, for taking the time to chat about this podcast. It's really thrilling to have the podcast be a part of our skills ban strategy as we're implementing it to impact and shape policies that advance racial equity, rural development, and economic mobility. And know beyond this podcast, the collaboration with National Skills Coalition and the guidance and support that you've provided has been immeasurable to our efforts here in Oregon. So thank you so much for joining me today and look forward to working collaboratively in the future.
SPEAKER_02Thank you. Same here. Love being a partner.
SPEAKER_01Thanks, Melissa. My next guest is Kate Kinder, the Dean of Career Pathways and Skills Training at Portland Community College. Kate has led local career pathways efforts at PCC as well as spearheaded statewide initiatives with all 17 community colleges in the state in programs and policies that holistically support students. So welcome, Kate.
SPEAKER_00Thanks so much, Mark.
SPEAKER_01As we get started, I want to set the stage a little bit here and talk about what the realities are in Oregon and then want to ask you some questions.
SPEAKER_00That sounds great. I'm looking forward to the conversation.
SPEAKER_01And it's had an impact most profoundly in these communities on job or income loss, among many other societal factors. And even before the pandemic, we know and gathered research through the Oregon Employment Department that there were 448,000 adults in the state, 25 and older, without post-secondary credentials, who were either unemployed or working but making $15 an hour or less. So pre-pandemic, we had almost half a million Oregonians with really limited opportunity for economic mobility. And why that's important is because we know from the last recession that 99% of Americans across the whole country that gained employment in the last recovery had more than a high school equivalency. So that really grounds us in the value and importance of post-secondary credentials in our work in moving people towards economic mobility. As we consider educational opportunities, that policies have not kept up with the actual cost of attendance, even at community colleges that are more affordable relative to universities. And we know from research from CLASS with the Center on Law and Social Policy that approximately 71% of community college students across the country have unmet financial need. So that's the vast majority of students that have a difficult time covering the full cost of attendance. And so as we work on policies and programs that can support students, we really need to hear from our students and understand their realities and gain perspective from them. And so I know that this podcast aligns very well with our broad pathways to opportunity framework that we've been working on in Oregon across the last few years. And so I'd like to ask you, Kate, as someone who has really led the Pathways to Opportunity efforts, can you describe what it is for listeners that aren't familiar with the Pathways to Opportunity yet?
SPEAKER_00Sure. Thank you, Mark. And thank you for having me on this podcast. Pathways to Opportunity, as you outlined really clearly in the intro, is a coalition between the 17 community colleges, Oregon Department of Human Services, and I Poverty advocates, community-based organizations, and other key state agencies. And we've been very intentionally focused on closing opportunity gaps and increasing economic mobility by really intentionally looking at how we can connect more students and potential students to the benefits and resources they need. And that's really recognizing the disparities in resources, wealth, and opportunity that many of our students of color, our rural Oregonians, and many others have had in our state. And the way we do that is by coming together and focusing on how we can transform our systems, our policies, our practices, and our partnerships. We've been doing this for three years. It started with a very innovative approach where Oregon had policy that codified this work. So we had House Bill 4043 that called this work and called these different partners to look at what was keeping individuals from accessing college. So for those with low resources, what were the obstacles and what were some solutions? So that culminated in a report that really outlined where those gaps existed. And in those that report, and in hearing from our students and hearing from our partners, we really saw there was clear racial inequity. So that there was a huge educational attainment gap for many of our students of color. We saw that there were wage inequities. So in Oregon, between 1980 and 2017, there was a $6 an hour wage gap between a white worker and a worker of color. And there's such a close alignment and correlation between that educational attainment and wage. And then we also saw, as you outlined, this huge gap in what is needed to be able to afford college for those with low resources. And so we know that really translates into basic needs and security. We were fortunate enough to have the Hope Center survey that occurred in fall of 2019 from the real college survey, Hope Center out of Temple University with Dr. Sarah Goldrick-Robb and her team. And in that we found that 63% of community college students reported some basic needs and security in the last year. So that's food insecurity, housing insecurity, homelessness, and those are all using the federal definitions of what those realities are like. So I think looking at that, it's very clear that we need to take a different approach. So we need to look at our policies. So how can we connect more students to SNAP benefits, to those food benefits? How can we look at our practice and our programs? So how can we have more holistic coaching? How can we reduce the stigma around benefit access? How can we scale up really successful initiatives and programs like our SNAP employment and training or STEP program in the state? And then how can we really enhance and emphasize partnerships? So, how can community colleges work with state agencies like Department of Human Services, like Partners for Hungry Free Oregon, who really have a close connection to individuals and communities and what they need, and then look at what that transformation needs to look like. It's clear that things are not working and weren't working. And so as we look at how we come out of COVID-19 and the pandemic and the recession, we don't want to go back to the former status quo. There was huge disparities in opportunity in our state and nationally for communities of color between rural individuals. And this gives us an opportunity to change that trajectory and really look at building an inclusive recovery, building an inclusive economy. And I think there's a clear both moral and social justice imperative, but it's also really important for economic development. Our employers and our partners need skilled workers and individuals who can skill up, especially as automation comes. This is the right time we need to be doing this work.
SPEAKER_01That's really helpful, Kate. And I think as you touched on the Hope Center research, I mean 63% of students across the state are facing any one of those basic needs and securities, and that's pre-COVID. So I would imagine those numbers have increased even more. And I know that colleges are really focused right now on supporting students during the pandemic, it's focused on different systems in terms of virtual instruction, and colleges are moving up pathways about supporting students, but when we see that over six out of ten students are facing basic needs and security, it seems very foundational in colleges needing to really put energy there more than ever. And so I guess with that, how can this podcast advance the work envision for pathways to opportunity?
SPEAKER_00So I think I'm really excited for this podcast. I think this is really critical. I think it does it in a few different ways. One is that I think it's really important to put a face to this data. I think that we've still been in the awareness building phase. I think that's increasing, and that's both with policymakers, with college leaders, with partners. So this continues to elevate the data in a way that is impactful and personalizes it. And then the other thing that I think that's really important though is there's no one student of the 63%, there's not one profile or one student. And I think what this does is helps to understand the complexities of the issue and points to the complexity of solutions that we need. So if you are a parenting student, you're gonna be facing different challenges. If you are an immigrant, if you're living in rural Oregon with very limited broadband access, all of these challenges are different and unique, but they all point to the inequities of access to education and how we need solutions for them. I guess the other piece is that I think students are experts on their own lives and they're experts on solutions and can tell us what they need. And so I think we cannot be informed or create policy that will work if we are not centering their experience and their solutions in that. And I think that needs to be all of the students that we serve. Frequently, it becomes easy to hear from students who are full-time students who have a more stable housing situation versus many community college students who may be part-time, who may be evening, who may not be able to be as involved in advocacy for what they need. And so I think this gives an opportunity to more democratize advocacy and the voice of those students. And we can hear from students in really rural areas of the state who can't necessarily travel to Portland to be on a panel and who should be equally weighted in any of the solutions that we develop. So I'm excited about the opportunity to hear from the students and excited to hear about their stories. And I also think they're just really inspiring to keep us motivated in doing this work.
SPEAKER_01So, Kate, in your last response, you talked about having students on panels, which we've been able to do in past pathways to opportunity summits, and that's been easier when we're virtual. But I'm hoping the podcast series can really dig deeper with students on what policies and programs are helping them most and what more colleges can do, especially centering on racial equity, rural development, leading to economic mobility. So, what policies do you think would be helpful to inquire further with students?
SPEAKER_00That's a great question. First and foremost, I think it is really important to understand this work as a racial justice initiative and really supporting racial equity. I think when you look at our historical and current systemic inequities and policies like redlining, which created wealth for some individuals and not for communities of color and especially black Americans, it's really important to understand how that has created these huge wealth gaps and access to education. And so I think just as policies created those inequities, we need policies to redress them and create solutions. So I think looking at things like what are the public benefit access points. And there's certain obviously federal policies within that, but there's also some state control that can be exercised. What are our child care policies? What are policies around financial aid, around who gets access to benefits? What are some solutions for our DACA students? So I think looking at all of those things in concert, and I think recognizing our federal government has a long way to go in removing silos across these different agencies. So the housing policy and the SNAP policy and child care policy, that it's really important that as a state we try to look at where are those solutions that we can form and where we have local and state control. And then at the same time, institutionally, what do colleges have control over? So, what can we do with students' o fines? How can we not let that prevent a student from registering? What are some payment plans? How do we make it easy to file an acceptance to that or ask for a waiver to different things? Who gets access to emergency funds? Who's considered a student? I think all of those things can be looked at. So really looking at the federal level and then how to leverage that best we can because there is more flexibility as Oregon has demonstrated. But then there's also the ability to fill that in and fill those gaps in with state policy. And I think looking at what are some other funding pieces that can help fill in those gaps with housing and food insecurity and living expenses, cost of attendance. I'm also really excited about a bill that we have in our current session right now in our legislature, House Bill 2835, that would fund a benefit navigator at all of the community colleges and university. I think that's a first step in the right direction to really make this work more systemic and equitable, and so that no matter where students are, whichever college or public university they're at, they have access to someone helps navigate all of these. Because they are complex systems and they're differing applications. And so it really is important that there's someone there to help reduce stigma around that and really increase the ease in accessing and applying. House Bill 2835 is also very emblematic of our approach to pathways to opportunity. This work was really spearheaded by President Mark Matsui at PCC and his vision to not only integrate public benefits for students, but also to expand our partnership. So the policy was introduced by partners for Hunger Free Oregon. Department of Human Services was consulted heavily in the developments. And then both President Matsui and our government relations director, Emma Callaway, have been very intentional about reaching out and seeking input from different organizations in our state who are leading racial and economic equity efforts to ensure that we're really considering the needs of our communities of color, our immigrants, and our low-income adults across the state. So Labor has been consulted, organizations like Central Cultural, Love Tino Network, Unite Oregon, Oregon Students of Color Coalition, APANO, and many others to make sure that we are really amplifying our efforts and having a collective voice of advocacy to increase opportunity for adults in our state. We also recognize that we've just started this work. So there is a lot more room and opportunity to be more intentional about engaging with community-based organizations that have a long history and track record of providing culturally specific services and really advocating for racial equity and more economic mobility for communities in our state. So really want to be intentional about continuing to have these conversations and working collectively together to increase opportunity for Oregonians.
SPEAKER_01So I think the way you've described and given examples of so many different policies, it feels like these conversations with students can go in a lot of different directions and really pointing at policies that could make college more affordable and be able to leverage other resources. And then if you were getting at the stigmatized and how we get college leaders can help stigmatized these benefits and resources. But what I'd like to also have a brief conversation afterwards with a leader from the college, that the students enroll that maybe the president, the vice president, and dean, and really hear from them and reacting to the student interview, but also to better understand how this policy, programmatic, and partnership work of connecting students with benefits aligns with their institution's priorities. So, what else do you think would be helpful to ask these college leaders?
SPEAKER_00That's a really great question. I'm excited to hear their observations. I think we're fortunate we have a lot of really passionate leaders and presidents in our state who are supporting this work and getting behind it, as well as state agency leaders like Dan Hahn with a self-sufficiency department. You know, and thinking about the college leader reacting to a student, I am curious if there's anything that surprised them or if they're hearing this a lot, like this is a theme. I'm also interested in how they think we can elevate awareness. So if it's not a surprise to them, which I'm thinking for most it won't be, how can we make sure that this is a common story? And I think that really connects to something we've observed over the last few years is that there's this huge need with adults in our state for more opportunity. And we really see that, especially amongst communities of color, our rural communities, immigrants, working parents, and yet there's some of the quietest voice in advocacy and policy making. And so, how can we really increase the collective action and voice around supporting these adults? Because if we just focus on the K-12 pipeline, we are really not going to close those opportunity gaps. And so I'm curious what their observations are there. I'm also curious of how we can get more employers involved and employer partners and other stakeholders who really have a like-vested interest in this and ensuring that they understand that there's ways that they could help and support their future and potential talent. And so, how can they support and understand the realities of our students in a way that also helps their business grow and their industry grow?
SPEAKER_01And for their community to thrive. And I think the college leaders would have those connections with business leaders and those relationships. And so have one last question for you. As uh I head out to interview students across our 17 community colleges and metaphorically hit the road. Do you have any recommendations or thoughts on where I should start in beginning to chat with students? What institutions are doing really good work in supporting students holistically?
SPEAKER_00That is a great question and a hard question for me to answer. I guess what I would say from having had the opportunity to collaborate with all of the other 16 colleges and then lead work locally at PCC through both Pathways to Opportunity and our STEP statewide consortia, that all of the colleges are really doing tremendous work. And I think it's interesting to see where they've started and where they're at. So depending upon when colleges started in this work, they're all at different phases. So I think it'd be interesting to find a college that's more scaled up and has been doing this longer and so has managed to thread this work throughout their different divisions and departments and rate it really systemic. I think it would be interesting to talk to colleges that are just starting that work, or so maybe they've focused it in one area very intentionally to scale it, prove concepts. And I also think there's a great opportunity right now to hear more from our colleges that are more rural and remote. And so that uh becomes more challenging, obviously, to get students to Salem to testify at the Capitol or to come to a Pathways Opportunity Summit, as I referenced before. It's also really interesting to hear the differences and how a smaller college and a smaller community can really nimbly and collaboratively respond to challenges like the wildfires or COVID, and then what that looks like in other areas where it's just more complex relationships and partners and things to coordinate.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's helpful. And I know statewide, Oregon is unique that while we have 17 independent community colleges, we do work collaboratively across the state. And there's a lot of emerging practices, best practices, and policies that are shared, borrowed, replicated, improved. And so I think what I'm hearing, and you're suggesting doesn't matter where we go in what order, and I think it's we're really focused on policies, local policies, state, federal, I feel fitting to begin in our state capital and talent with the community college that's not just Salem, but the surrounding area that is urban to urban and rural. So I think we're gonna begin with Tobacca Community College and for our first episode. We'll have a student from Tobacca and look forward to hearing from that student and college to Dr. Tecka Howard in our first episode. And just wanted to thank you for joining me as I kick this off and begin this podcast period. And know you've shared so many insights into the Patriots opportunity work and initiative, what it is, and how it ties in with these efforts, and look forward to getting on the road and talking further with students.
SPEAKER_00Thank you for having me and look forward to hearing the episodes. And I think it will be really critical to advance the work that we're doing with.
SPEAKER_01Great. So we will do the next tune in for the first official episode of all in student pathways forward and students.