NJ Spotlight published the following opinion piece on June 10, 2014. To read the full op-ed, click here.
OPINION: BUILDING A PIPELINE TO OPPORTUNITY — YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW
ROLAND ANGLIN | JUNE 10, 2014Community college can be a great asset for a late-bloomer like me and an essential ‘learning community’ for disadvantaged youth
I attended community college as part of my post-secondary attainment experience. There, I said it. In all the interviews, résumés compiled, and casual conversation over the years, never have I brought up my attendance at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn for a couple of semesters. Never had to really.
In the late 1970s the City University of New York started a program called CUNY B.A., and I was fortunate to be accepted. It was a great opportunity for a late-bloomer like me. I could go to community college, or any of the CUNY senior colleges, improve my grades, and the credits would automatically go toward a B.A. degree at my home institution, Brooklyn College. No need for articulation agreements between a community college and a four-year institution.
It was and still is, I understand, a great path to opportunity. The selective institutions that I subsequently attended for graduate school never asked about the credits from Medgar Evers. As far as they were concerned, my home college had standing and granted a B.A.
I have not had much reason to reflect on the process that allowed me, someone with limited financial means and a lackluster high school record, to get a chance to explore the wealth of intellectual assets offered by CUNY. As time progressed, these precious assets, mainly faculty and staff, opened my personal horizons, and allowed me to get a quality degree and live the American dream.