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Welcome to Digication
Scholars Conversations.
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I'm your host, Jeff Yan.
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In this episode, you will hear part one
of my conversation with Jose Rodriguez,
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Assistant Vice President of Community
and Belonging at College Unbound.
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More links and information about today's
conversation can be found on Digication's
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Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
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Full episodes of Digication
Scholars Conversations.
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Can be found on YouTube or
your favorite podcast app.
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Welcome to Digication
Scholars Conversations.
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I'm your host, Jeff Yan.
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My guest today is Jose Rodriguez,
Assistant Vice President of Community
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and Belonging at College Unbound.
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Welcome, Jose.
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Glad to be here.
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Um, Jose, I, um, I think I, I met you
at a, um, Last fall at College Unbound's
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inauguration of its second president,
uh, Adam Bush, and I got to, um, see
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you speak in a number of occasions.
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Um, and I was just deeply inspired by, uh,
by you, your work and what you stand for.
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So I'm very grateful that we got to
have this conversation here today.
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I think that people are going to
really love this, you know, hearing
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about you, you and your story.
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I appreciate that.
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So, before we get started, for those
listeners who don't know anything
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about College Unbound, again, I
already had sort of mentioned it's its
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second president's inauguration, which
implies that it's a fairly new school.
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Um, why don't you tell us a little bit,
you know, about College Unbound and, um,
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you know, where it is, what it does, and,
um, And how is, how, why it's so special.
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I think it's very special.
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So go ahead.
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Yeah, I think I got to lead with the
fact that it is my Alma mater, right?
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So I, I attended College Unbound.
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So everything and anything that I say
about the school is primarily from a
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alumni perspective or, uh, or student
perspective or student lens, I should say,
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so College Unbound was started, uh, by
two gentlemen, uh, two Uh, Dennis Littky
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and Adam Bush, uh, in and around 2009 and
really it was meant to be a school within
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a school at some point where they were
partnering with different institutions
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to provide just a different way of
teaching, uh, to a particular population
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of students that weren't being successful
and quote unquote traditional schooling.
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Um, that humble beginning, uh, through,
uh, In 2011, I believe a call to action
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was basically put out, uh, via social
media where, uh, to both Adam and Dennis's
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surprise, the response from the community,
uh, was, wow, we've been waiting for
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a school like this our whole lives.
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And I think that that's really what
started the maybe we just can't be a
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school within a school, uh, conversation.
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And, uh, Adam and, and
Dennis really started.
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Laying down the groundwork
for what was to come.
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In 2015, we received state
approval to be a standalone college
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in the state of Rhode Island.
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A triumph in itself.
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You know, those books aren't
really open that that.
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That they're rarely opened.
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They were opened for us
and we were allowed it.
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Um, that opened us up to be able to
apply for a regional accreditor, uh,
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which is NECHE and in 2020, after
a lot of work, uh, we received,
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uh, full accreditation from NECHE.
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And now, um, College Unbound
offers a bachelor's degree.
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Am I right?
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Correct.
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So a bachelor's degree in
organizational leadership and change.
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Um, and we now just don't
operate in Rhode Island.
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We're actually in Chicago, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, uh, and working on Seattle.
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And, uh, South, South Carolina.
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So, like, yeah, growing the
model is growing because
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it's something that's needed.
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It's amazing.
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And I would love to talk more about
the model itself as well in a bit.
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But I think that, um, maybe we
should, um, talk a little bit
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more about you as well, Jose.
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Um, I know that you've had a, um, you
had talked about College Unbound being
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set up for people who might not have
been successful in traditional schools
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or traditional sort of, you know, the,
the, the, the, the sort of, uh, American
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dream model of, you know, going to K 12
school and then going to college and then
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finish a four year degree and then go on
to get a job, that kind of model, right?
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Um, And, um, I think that you can
probably speak to that too, because
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that's your personal experience.
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Now you are, you are an
alum of College Unbound.
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Can you tell us a little
bit about your journey?
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Yeah, so I can, it's, it's a somewhat
interesting story with a lot of layers.
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So, so I'll try to unlayer
as much of it as possible.
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Um, I'm what you consider,
uh, or what society would have
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considered a throwaway kid.
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I'm from a single parent home.
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Uh, From, uh, quote unquote, the ghetto,
the slums of the slums, um, and I
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dropped out of school in the sixth grade.
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Um, so I had the recipe to not be
successful or not to be in academia,
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um, because of those choices that I
made early on to drop out of school,
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um, and to pursue income and in various
ways, most of which weren't, uh,
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legal, uh, that landed me in prison.
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Um, but while in prison, uh, I was
reintroduced to education, I should say.
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And I was reintroduced to education on
a basic level, meaning I got my GED.
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Um, and pretty much after you
get your GED in prison, um, there
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really isn't anything for you to do.
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So I took a couple of the remedial courses
that our community college, uh, was
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offering at the time with the, with the
thought or dream of when I am released,
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I am going to go to the same community
college and I'm going to get a degree.
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And that's how I'm going to create
change, not just for me, but
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for my family, to my surprise.
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And, you know, I jokingly say this
all the time, but it definitely was a
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pivotal moment, but it was about 2011.
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Um, January of 2011, when I entered.
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Our community college as a, as a regular
student not being incarcerated and I
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take, you know, a regular course load.
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So full, full time student
12, 4 classes, 3 credits each.
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And one of the classes, which I
found was probably going to be
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the most interesting to me was.
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Public speaking.
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Um, why that was interesting
to me is because for the, I had
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gotten out of prison in 2010.
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So it had been about a year and I
had spent the last year of that time,
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the last year working, uh, speaking
to kids, you know, uh, violence
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reduction, preventative work on.
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So at the core of what I was doing for
a living now was speaking to public,
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maybe not, you know, large groups as
if, you know, like a national public
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speaker or anything, but to me, it
was an important part of my journey.
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And unfortunately, Because
I speak multiple languages,
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sometimes I do mispronounce words.
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And I always say this because it's
important to note that just because I
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mispronounce a word, it isn't because
I don't know the meaning of the word
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or I don't know how to say the word.
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But for anyone who speaks multiple
languages, sometimes it, that the
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words just get mixed up and, you
know, lost in translation as they say.
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Needless to say, my oral presentation,
uh, midterm, uh, I didn't do so well.
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Um, I mispronounced a bunch of words,
but it wasn't that, that, that derailed
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me or that, you know, put me on a, on
a, really on a path of negativity was
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the instructor, quote unquote, and I
use instructor, the term instructor very
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loosely, um, said to me at the end of
the class, maybe public speaking isn't a
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thing that you should pursue because you
don't really sound intelligent when you
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speak, you know, and I, and I, and I say
that and, and I wore that You know, as
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a, as a, I, I walked with that because
it was important for me to remember
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that if I ever saw that quote unquote
instructor again, that I'd be able to
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tell them how wrong they actually were.
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Without that incident, I would
have never found College Unbound.
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So, in that, uh, maybe about two
weeks after that happened, I had
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a chance encounter with Adam Bush.
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Um, he was, he was, Uh, we had some
College Unbound students who were
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interning at my place of employment,
and Adam just came to check in on them.
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And, um, anybody who knows Adam Bush
knows he's a very captivating speaker.
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Uh, so he could, you know, you, he,
he, if he engages you in conversation,
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you're buying whatever he's selling.
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Uh, so that, that led to me just
being curious about what College
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Unbound could be because, no,
it's a different way of learning.
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You're going to learn this way.
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You know, we're going to give you credit
for the things that you've already done.
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Why take classes for things
that you've already mastered.
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And that really piqued my interest, uh,
so, regardless of the experience that
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I had at our local community college,
I said, you know, I'm going to give it.
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I'm just going to try one more
time at this college thing.
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And if this doesn't work, then, you
know, I'm just not college material.
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And that's just something that
I'm going to have to deal with.
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Thankfully, I am college material
and I've was able to keep going.
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Uh, get out the other side, but that is
the example as to why this school is so
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important, whether in, whether for folks
who look like me or folks or, or, or kids
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who are just getting out of high school
and are being told by an instructor,
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those words, like they're being limited
by the words of the people who were there
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or intended to be there to teach them,
you know, and being chopped down in such
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a way opened up the space for a school
that like College Unbound to exist.
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That's, um, that's, that's amazing.
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Thank you so much for sharing that, Jose.
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It's um, I remember hearing this, hearing
you talk about this and it was, it was
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just so inspiring because I also know Adam
and, and you're right, he can, you know.
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Whatever he say, I, I, he
say jump and I say how high.
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And, um, and, uh, and, uh, it was,
um, it's just incredible to see how
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many individual lives that College
Unbound seems to have touched, but
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in a, in such an impactful way.
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Um, I, I feel like that every
alum, Everyone that I've met with
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at College Unbound that have gone
through the program have something
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similar like that to share, right?
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Um, that they're, you know, like
the traditional college system,
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whether it be a community college or
a K 12 school or whatever, whatever
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it might be, had failed them.
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And that's only amplified
when you're an adult, right?
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Um, it's one thing when a system
fails you when you're a traditional.
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College age student and you're going
straight from high school and you got
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all these things in place, but it's
amplified When you're a working adult
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who's simply just trying to obtain a
degree to better one's life And it's
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a story that we hear over and over and
over again to the tune of Folks really
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start to believe that, and I say folks
because I felt that way myself, that, all
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right, maybe I'm just not smart enough.
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Uh, college isn't for me.
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This isn't the time for me.
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And you immediately start
to beat yourself up.
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So it's a.
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I'm glad that this space exists.
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I'm glad that this school exists.
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And that's the reason why, um, because
whether we were the folks who initiated
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the wrong or not, we get to right
wrongs for a lot of folks through this,
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through their educational journey.
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Yeah, that's amazing.
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Now, do you want, would you like to tell
us a little bit about, so how, how does
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College Unbound, in fact, recognize you
for who you are and let you be successful?
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What was that, what is that, like,
what's that actually look like?
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What does week one actually look like?
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Like, what is the thing that they have
you do that make you feel like, Hold on
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a minute, I am inside college material.
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So it's this, it's the
sense of community, right?
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So you're, you're brought into a space
where everybody is just loving and caring.
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Um, so as an institution, we're asking
students to bring their all, the good,
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the bad, and the ugly, um, and that,
To me, it's what community means.
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Um, you know, the word
community is in my title.
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So everything about community
has to be, has to be right.
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And knowing that also means that
community members aren't perfect, right?
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No one in the community is perfect.
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So we have to take folks how they are.
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And I think that that was the first
thing that I recognized doing are
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00:14:07,315
my first CU gathering and being in
that space, having a communal meal.
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00:14:14,030
With some peers that I would learn to
love in a few, just in just a few weeks
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00:14:19,810
and, um, just being around those folks
and their ability or their willingness
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00:14:21,510
to just open up and just be free.
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00:14:26,890
It wasn't easy for me, uh, because
of my experience from the community
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00:14:30,850
college to actually be as open, as
honest as I could be with folks, right?
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00:14:35,839
I was afraid that I would be judged
and that, uh, People would put me
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00:14:41,350
in a box as to how I got to where
I was and my experiences thus far.
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00:14:41,960 -->
00:14:47,720
Um, however, um, CU taught me
and just like they've taught
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00:14:50,860
others to embrace one story.
215
00:14:53,314 -->
00:14:54,694
I embraced my story.
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00:14:54,745 -->
00:14:57,074
I just felt a million times more powerful.
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00:14:58,084 -->
00:15:02,845
And as a result of me feeling that power,
I believe at least that I've been able to
218
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00:15:08,405
open the door for other people to come in,
uh, behind me and have similar success.
219
00:15:10,624 -->
00:15:11,735
That's, that's amazing.
220
00:15:11,745 -->
00:15:16,395
Do you remember what was your,
what was your project at CU?
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00:15:17,485
What was your first project?
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00:15:22,970
So, uh, And I, and I
always state this, right?
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00:15:28,770
Because although, uh, I've been referred
to as a colorful, uh, extrovert,
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00:15:31,430
I'm an introvert by heart, right?
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00:15:38,460
And the first time that I had an
extroverted moment, uh, was during,
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00:15:44,589
uh, And, uh, my, my cohort decided
that I would be the voice for my cohort
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00:15:49,749
in a debate we were having a debate,
um, particularly on gun control.
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00:15:55,739
Um, and I just made a really, I wish I
could remember exactly what I said, but
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00:15:57,870
it was so much in the moment, right?
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00:16:03,540
I said what I said, and I got
people clapped and agreed with me.
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00:16:06,080
And I think that that was
a very empowering moment.
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00:16:11,410
And that's when you realize that,
Hey, I can't do public speaking.
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00:16:11,810
Yes.
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00:16:13,250
Yes, that was the moment.
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00:16:17,670
But overall, what, uh, as, as far
as like my project or things that I
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00:16:22,140
have taken on while being at CU, I
started a nonprofit barbershop, right?
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00:16:28,280
Um, and in a very crowded market,
uh, and CU actually gave me the
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00:16:30,039
tools to be able to, to, to do that.
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00:16:30,039 -->
00:16:34,790
And the reason why I say it's a crowded
market, um, I was giving quality haircuts
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00:16:39,659
to kids for free in a neighborhood
that probably had 40 barbershops.
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00:16:40,140 -->
00:16:42,740
Uh, so there, there were a few.
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00:16:46,245
Folks who might have thought I was
cutting into their profits by giving
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00:16:51,205
away a free haircut, but the reality was,
is that I was doing intervention work.
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00:16:51,265 -->
00:16:57,044
These kids, um, were what the school
district would consider troublesome.
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00:16:57,365 -->
00:17:00,835
I wouldn't consider them troublesome,
uh, but what the school district
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00:17:04,774
would consider troublesome, you
know, broken homes, no, no, no real,
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00:17:07,275
Finances or anything like that.
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00:17:08,885
So I wasn't taking money from them.
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00:17:12,895
These were kids that weren't going
into their barbershops to begin with,
250
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00:17:14,065
because they couldn't afford it.
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00:17:23,254
So I think that we need to break that
down even a little bit further for folks
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00:17:30,165
because For many of our listeners who
might have been, you know, expecting
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00:17:34,425
a typical college experience where you
take a course, you take, you read a
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00:17:41,434
book on, I don't know, you know, um,
community, um, community policies,
255
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00:17:48,230
or, or, or, or, um, Acts of community
services, making social changes, etc.
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00:17:51,120
And then you debate and you might
write a paper and all of that.
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00:17:57,829
But, but, but what you, what you are
describing of creating a nonprofit to
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00:18:03,360
go in and service people in the real
world, to work with real kids, like
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00:18:05,060
what you just described is in fact.
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00:18:09,889
The project that you did
at CU, is that right?
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00:18:09,940 -->
00:18:10,139
Yeah.
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00:18:13,320
So every, that's not, that's
not common for all these folks.
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00:18:15,889
I think we need to, I think we
need to like, make sure that they
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00:18:19,889
understand that it wasn't just one
of those, like, hypothetically,
265
00:18:19,930 -->
00:18:21,570
that would be a cool project to do.
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00:18:23,850
You actually went and did it.
267
00:18:24,040 -->
00:18:25,740
And so did everyone
else did their projects.
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00:18:26,060 -->
00:18:30,240
So all, all students at College and
Bowner asked, uh, to come up with a
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00:18:35,089
passion-based project, uh, passion-based,
meaning anything that's going to
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00:18:36,889
move their particular community.
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00:18:42,165
And you know, understanding
that community has a different
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00:18:43,715
definition for everybody, right?
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00:18:47,605
So community could be the neighborhood
in which you grew up in, your religious
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00:18:49,274
community, your home community.
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00:18:51,995
I mean, community as you see it.
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00:18:52,095 -->
00:18:56,545
So come up with a project that's
gonna better your community.
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00:19:01,055
And at the time I was doing violence
interruption work at a place in Providence
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00:19:02,735
called the Nonviolence Institute.
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00:19:02,815 -->
00:19:04,184
Well, at the time it was called
the Nonviolence Institute.
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00:19:07,225
The Institute for the Study
and Practice of Nonviolence.
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00:19:11,364
Um, they changed the name and I think for
the better because it's a lot shorter.
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00:19:17,885
Um, needless to say, I was working
with kids who, I quote unquote,
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00:19:21,044
were troublesome, but I would
notice small things about them.
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00:19:25,180
Meaning, you know, hygiene, personal
hygiene wasn't good, and those are things
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00:19:31,349
that are taught, you know, so I figured
that if I could basically kill two birds
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00:19:31,349 -->
00:19:35,190
with one stone, I can teach them about
hygiene, give them a quality haircut,
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00:19:35,480 -->
00:19:41,310
and also, uh, talk to them about violence
reduction strategies so that they don't,
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00:19:47,850
they didn't overreact or snap on a teacher
whenever things got rough, and Some of
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00:19:47,850 -->
00:19:54,850
the things that I learned, one, is that
just the feeling of being properly groomed
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00:19:57,870
allows you to feel better about yourself.
291
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00:20:00,899
And if you feel better about
yourself, your reaction to things
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00:20:01,889
are a little bit different.
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00:20:07,209
And then second, which was something that
hit really close to home while working
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00:20:11,970
with that population, was that a lot
of these kids get labeled as being bad.
295
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00:20:17,450
Defiant, Troublesome, but in reality,
some of these kids were just hungry,
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00:20:23,639
uh, they would act up on a Friday
because they knew that once I eat this
297
00:20:23,639 -->
00:20:27,409
lunch on Friday, I don't know if I'm
going to have food till Monday morning
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00:20:29,809
when I get to class for breakfast.
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00:20:35,099
Um, so it actually, through this
program and just being able.
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00:20:38,875
Through the barbershop and being able to
have just simple conversations with them,
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00:20:43,385
I was able to take those conversations and
then go back to the schools, like, these
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00:20:47,164
are the issues that your kids are facing,
and this is the reason why they're acting
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00:20:50,205
the way that they're acting, um, and
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00:20:54,554
in essence, making the
community better, right?
305
00:20:58,320 -->
00:21:04,669
I think that, you know, I think
that that's one of the things that
306
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00:21:11,119
makes me so excited and so drawn
to what College Unbound is doing.
307
00:21:12,099 -->
00:21:15,010
You know, you never for a moment,
308
00:21:17,060 -->
00:21:21,565
underestimate Your students
themselves, and you know, they come
309
00:21:21,565 -->
00:21:25,595
in and you believe that they can do
the work and they can do the work.
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00:21:28,964
They go and actually do the work and
they all prove that they can do it.
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00:21:30,125 -->
00:21:33,974
College Unbound has an incredible
retention and graduation rates.
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00:21:36,694
Um, and.
313
00:21:37,370 -->
00:21:43,100
And that every student is
required to do these projects.
314
00:21:44,090 -->
00:21:46,420
And they're not just school projects.
315
00:21:46,440 -->
00:21:49,400
These are real projects that has
real impact on people's lives.
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00:21:50,130 -->
00:21:51,350
And some live on, right?
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00:21:51,460 -->
00:21:55,700
And depending on, you know, what the
person does, I guess, but, but these
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00:21:58,359
are, these are not insignificant things.
319
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00:22:03,250
They have real, um, they
have real customers.
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00:22:03,250 -->
00:22:04,870
They have real people they serve.
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00:22:04,870 -->
00:22:07,010
They have real, you know, impact.
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00:22:08,750
And those kids that you worked with.
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00:22:15,675
That you gave haircuts to, I'm
sure had you had possibly changed
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00:22:18,565
their lives in ways that you
probably couldn't even track.
325
00:22:19,025 -->
00:22:20,514
And yes.
326
00:22:20,864 -->
00:22:29,304
And the only reason why I say yes to that
is because, uh, Recently, uh, we, you
327
00:22:29,304 -->
00:22:36,194
know, this past, uh, spring we enrolled,
uh, quite a few folks and I'm just
328
00:22:36,195 -->
00:22:41,614
sitting at the start of the cohort, you
know, just giving our spiel, welcoming
329
00:22:41,614 -->
00:22:47,004
everyone and one of the women that was
in, uh, one of our new students who was
330
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00:22:50,965
in the audience, uh, walked up to me and
she said, Hey, you don't remember me.
331
00:22:52,815 -->
00:22:55,645
And of course I smiled and was
like, of course I remember you.
332
00:22:55,645 -->
00:23:01,034
You're, uh, so she tells me
her name and she's like, you
333
00:23:01,035 -->
00:23:02,345
used to give my son haircuts.
334
00:23:04,635 -->
00:23:06,195
And okay.
335
00:23:06,655 -->
00:23:10,054
Like, you know, I, at, at that
point I was like, okay, you got me.
336
00:23:10,054 -->
00:23:11,265
I really don't know who you are.
337
00:23:11,265 -->
00:23:13,325
And I used to cut a lot of kids hairs.
338
00:23:13,425 -->
00:23:14,805
So like, give me a little bit more.
339
00:23:15,295 -->
00:23:17,705
She's like, well, he's so and so.
340
00:23:18,225 -->
00:23:22,830
And, uh, you know, he was always
getting, uh, kicked out of, uh, Kicked
341
00:23:22,830 -->
00:23:24,710
out of school, et cetera, et cetera.
342
00:23:25,040 -->
00:23:28,570
But something around the time that
you were giving them a haircut,
343
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00:23:30,250
something in his mind shifted.
344
00:23:30,740 -->
00:23:35,969
And, uh, he decided that that's
the avenue that he wanted to take.
345
00:23:35,969 -->
00:23:36,879
So he became a barber.
346
00:23:36,879 -->
00:23:37,409
I didn't know.
347
00:23:37,830 -->
00:23:38,869
So he became a barber.
348
00:23:38,870 -->
00:23:42,200
And, you know, after the conversation
with her, I did look him up and
349
00:23:42,200 -->
00:23:43,739
he's a very successful barber.
350
00:23:43,740 -->
00:23:47,589
I mean, like a hundred dollars
a haircut type barber, which is.
351
00:23:47,710 -->
00:23:48,540
Remarkable.
352
00:23:49,130 -->
00:23:50,330
Uh, and
353
00:23:52,410 -->
00:23:55,140
I'm actually feeling kind of old
right now cause he was a little
354
00:23:55,140 -->
00:23:56,580
kid and he's already an adult.
355
00:23:56,630 -->
00:24:03,760
But yeah, uh, he also, uh,
for back to school does all
356
00:24:03,760 -->
00:24:06,659
kids free at his barbershop.
357
00:24:07,120 -->
00:24:08,269
Kids free.
358
00:24:08,270 -->
00:24:13,369
So that one gesture of giving him a free
haircut has had the trickle effect of
359
00:24:13,369 -->
00:24:15,989
one, him finding a career for himself.
360
00:24:16,255 -->
00:24:20,264
But also him wanting to pay it
forward in that kids for school
361
00:24:20,284 -->
00:24:23,264
will get a free haircut at the
beginning of the year from him.
362
00:24:24,895 -->
00:24:30,605
See, I think that this is one of the,
one of those things that, and I, I
363
00:24:30,605 -->
00:24:33,695
also want to talk, I mean, I want to
talk a little bit about the timeline
364
00:24:33,715 -->
00:24:40,055
in which these things happen in the,
in comparison to, um, a regular,
365
00:24:40,385 -->
00:24:42,355
let's say a college experience.
366
00:24:42,970 -->
00:24:49,150
I can tell you, like, this is, you know,
obviously a very much of a, a, a, a
367
00:24:49,290 -->
00:24:55,729
summary or, you know, sort of a, a, a, a
lot of approximation here, but students
368
00:24:55,730 -->
00:24:59,579
in many colleges are now introduced to
things like service learning, where they
369
00:24:59,580 -->
00:25:01,429
go out to the community and do something.
370
00:25:02,000 -->
00:25:08,030
Okay, but they are typically not doing
that until they have been deemed that
371
00:25:08,030 -->
00:25:11,849
they have the basic writing skills
and the basic reading skills and,
372
00:25:12,290 -->
00:25:16,330
and, you know, they have to go through
a number of gen ed courses, etc.
373
00:25:16,360 -->
00:25:19,610
So, maybe it's two, three years
into it that now you're a sophomore,
374
00:25:19,610 -->
00:25:23,230
you are a junior, you're a senior,
you have the opportunity to
375
00:25:23,230 -->
00:25:24,639
go and do it for one semester.
376
00:25:26,300 -->
00:25:29,060
At College Unbound,
that's not what it's like.
377
00:25:29,935 -->
00:25:33,755
Can you tell us a little bit about
that, sort of that, you know, like, the
378
00:25:34,095 -->
00:25:36,035
equivalent of that in College Unbound?
379
00:25:36,035 -->
00:25:40,165
At what point do you, you know,
like, you get in there first,
380
00:25:40,365 -->
00:25:42,745
first, first, first day, right?
381
00:25:43,425 -->
00:25:46,885
And what, at what point are
you doing this kind of project?
382
00:25:47,500 -->
00:25:48,040
Are you welcome?
383
00:25:48,040 -->
00:25:50,149
Are you trusted to do
this kind of project?
384
00:25:50,230 -->
00:25:55,040
Uh, from day one, uh, you come in,
uh, from the recruitment process,
385
00:25:55,040 -->
00:25:58,599
you're being taught, uh, through
what a project can look like.
386
00:25:58,600 -->
00:26:01,330
So you start to think about
what the possibilities are.
387
00:26:01,910 -->
00:26:06,969
Um, but we're a regionally accredited
college, so we have all the same
388
00:26:06,979 -->
00:26:09,330
rigor than any other institution has.
389
00:26:09,760 -->
00:26:16,895
However, um, because we are working
With adult populations who have had
390
00:26:17,315 -->
00:26:24,315
tremendous success, whether in community,
in work, or what have you, they come
391
00:26:24,315 -->
00:26:28,695
with a lot of lived experience and
that lived experience through our
392
00:26:28,695 -->
00:26:33,984
learning in public, uh, department
gets translated into college credit.
393
00:26:34,384 -->
00:26:36,924
So we've had students who.
394
00:26:37,305 -->
00:26:40,595
have come in with zero credits
and graduated in 18 months with a
395
00:26:40,595 -->
00:26:45,135
bachelor's degree because they were
able to put portfolios together for
396
00:26:45,145 -->
00:26:48,325
all the, all the experience, all
the lived experiences that they had.
397
00:26:48,325 -->
00:26:55,294
I think that the anomaly, uh, or
the expectation for colleges to have
398
00:26:55,294 -->
00:26:59,475
folks take courses on things that
they've already mastered is redundant.
399
00:26:59,740 -->
00:27:01,070
And we don't do that here.
400
00:27:01,550 -->
00:27:07,810
Our, the, our person who runs the learning
from experience, uh, department, uh,
401
00:27:07,840 -->
00:27:11,790
Elizabeth Colon is also a person who
402
00:27:14,039 -->
00:27:17,520
the program was kind of developed around
because she was the first person to
403
00:27:17,529 -->
00:27:22,330
benefit from, I think Lizz did it in like
14 months, came in with about 12 credits
404
00:27:22,330 -->
00:27:26,880
and in about 14 months had a bachelor's
degree and was on to getting her master's.
405
00:27:27,355 -->
00:27:30,595
Um, only because she was able
to get through her bachelors
406
00:27:30,675 -->
00:27:32,895
as such a, uh, fast paced.
407
00:27:33,365 -->
00:27:38,034
And I don't mean that to say, uh, to
say it lightly that she made it through
408
00:27:38,034 -->
00:27:42,254
in a fast, fast pace, because she
had put in the work and all the other
409
00:27:42,254 -->
00:27:44,074
things she had done in her life, right?
410
00:27:44,604 -->
00:27:47,354
Uh, we just gave her, uh, credit for it.
411
00:27:48,424 -->
00:27:52,074
And I think that for a lot of our
students, once they realize that all their
412
00:27:52,074 -->
00:27:57,105
lived experience actually has a value,
Um, that it's not a thing they just did.
413
00:27:57,125 -->
00:28:00,345
It was something actually that they
learned with learning outcomes,
414
00:28:00,695 -->
00:28:04,715
whether they saw it as such or not
in the moment, we make sure that
415
00:28:04,715 -->
00:28:08,945
we teach them how to, how to, how
to get that out of any experience.
416
00:28:11,825 -->
00:28:15,865
And I think that's a, that's,
it's just really remarkable.
417
00:28:15,865 -->
00:28:20,415
I know that the, the audience, the typical
student in coming to College Unbound, like
418
00:28:20,415 -->
00:28:24,595
you said, have a rich lived experience
already, so they can translate that.
419
00:28:24,975 -->
00:28:30,070
And I think that, however, You know,
I mean, literally going back to even,
420
00:28:30,110 -->
00:28:34,989
I know Dennis Littky, you know, his,
his high school projects, you know,
421
00:28:35,060 -->
00:28:40,219
called the, the, the med school,
um, and the big picture by the, I
422
00:28:40,229 -->
00:28:44,019
think it's called the Big Picture
Company that makes the "Big Picture
423
00:28:44,019 -->
00:28:45,929
Learning" that makes the med school.
424
00:28:47,879 -->
00:28:51,279
Draws from a very similar set
of, you know, ideas too, right?
425
00:28:51,289 -->
00:28:54,909
The, the, the high school kids
are not, and they were never too
426
00:28:54,909 -->
00:28:56,479
young to go in and start a project.
427
00:28:56,519 -->
00:28:59,959
They were never too inexperienced to
say you're not allowed to do something.
428
00:29:00,269 -->
00:29:03,329
And in fact, I think one of the things
that's most, most exciting about it
429
00:29:03,340 -->
00:29:09,750
is that it's almost like you, You
start your project because that's
430
00:29:09,750 -->
00:29:11,540
something you are so passionate about.
431
00:29:11,780 -->
00:29:17,240
In your case, you, you see that the
world needs a solution for these
432
00:29:17,240 -->
00:29:21,290
unnecessary violence because kids just
did not know how to act otherwise.
433
00:29:22,130 -->
00:29:24,040
So you, you know it.
434
00:29:25,099 -->
00:29:28,880
And it's something that's, it's
hard to read about from a book.
435
00:29:30,010 -->
00:29:33,770
It's hard to read about from a book
because a book could have mentioned
436
00:29:33,770 -->
00:29:37,759
it, but it would have been a paragraph
in, you know, a bigger book somewhere.
437
00:29:38,630 -->
00:29:38,970
Right.
438
00:29:39,000 -->
00:29:44,130
And you don't, you know, there's,
it doesn't point you to go and say,
439
00:29:44,190 -->
00:29:47,490
I'm now going to spend the next
couple of years to go on and make a
440
00:29:47,800 -->
00:29:50,360
difference in this area of society.
441
00:29:50,899 -->
00:29:51,179
Right.
442
00:29:51,210 -->
00:29:54,360
So, I think that that's, it's a
really stark difference in my mind.
443
00:29:54,590 -->
00:29:58,579
But then once you have found your passion,
once you found some meaning in that.
444
00:30:00,000 -->
00:30:05,090
It makes the idea of
the way I look at it is
445
00:30:07,480 -->
00:30:12,490
you might have not done well in
public speaking in that one course
446
00:30:12,750 -->
00:30:14,400
back in a community college.
447
00:30:15,345 -->
00:30:19,335
But you certainly have had to do
a lot of public speaking, right?
448
00:30:19,345 -->
00:30:23,915
In with, with either the kids or with,
you know, groups of people thereafter.
449
00:30:24,435 -->
00:30:29,925
But because now you're doing it with that
passion, with that drive, you just do it.
450
00:30:29,945 -->
00:30:34,534
You just have to do it and you,
you get it done and you learn it.
451
00:30:34,695 -->
00:30:39,185
And you, I, I believe that people
learn things when the drive
452
00:30:39,205 -->
00:30:43,815
comes from a place of passion,
a place of purpose and meaning.
453
00:30:44,530 -->
00:30:46,280
They overcome so much more.
454
00:30:46,280 -->
00:30:47,370
They work so much harder.
455
00:30:47,370 -->
00:30:49,070
They do things much faster.
456
00:30:49,080 -->
00:30:50,280
They learn deeper.
457
00:30:50,900 -->
00:30:54,710
I think there is something about that,
that makes it possible for College
458
00:30:54,710 -->
00:31:00,180
Unbound graduates to finish to program
quicker than a typical four year program.
459
00:31:00,800 -->
00:31:03,240
They are not, they're running, they're
not, they're running the whole time.
460
00:31:03,240 -->
00:31:06,820
They're not sitting around
waiting for someone to feed them.
461
00:31:06,820 -->
00:31:08,780
Hey, this is what you might want to take.
462
00:31:08,850 -->
00:31:10,690
But, but it's a matter of.
463
00:31:11,060 -->
00:31:16,550
The word drive, right, sticks out to me
in, in, in your comments only because, uh,
464
00:31:16,560 -->
00:31:21,350
for a lot of our students, they come with
drive because they're, you know, we were
465
00:31:21,350 -->
00:31:26,550
working with a particular population, like
they only know work, work, work, and I'm
466
00:31:26,550 -->
00:31:31,309
going to get it done because this is what
I got to do to, uh, provide for my family.
467
00:31:31,549 -->
00:31:34,660
They never see themselves as
academics because no one ever
468
00:31:34,660 -->
00:31:35,670
told them that they were.
469
00:31:35,810 -->
00:31:40,080
So the second that they get acknowledged
as such, you can, It's like an
470
00:31:40,140 -->
00:31:44,870
almost instant aha moment where
they're like, oh, I can do this.
471
00:31:45,110 -->
00:31:48,620
And once that I can do
this attitude begins.
472
00:31:49,000 -->
00:31:51,720
It's only, no, no one's stopping them.
473
00:31:51,960 -->
00:31:55,320
And I think that for myself and
for others, I think that's the
474
00:31:55,325 -->
00:31:56,880
reason that we go through CU.
475
00:31:57,210 -->
00:32:00,300
We go through College Unbound
and all of ourselves all of
476
00:32:00,300 -->
00:32:01,740
a sudden find ourselves in.
477
00:32:02,075 -->
00:32:03,135
Graduate programs.
478
00:32:03,665 -->
00:32:08,775
Um, because now we have
been empowered to learn.
479
00:32:09,035 -->
00:32:12,415
We have been empowered to
understand that we can learn.
480
00:32:12,895 -->
00:32:15,715
Um, it was just the institution
that wasn't right for us.
481
00:32:15,715 -->
00:32:17,055
It wasn't that we weren't right.
482
00:32:17,695 -->
00:32:23,144
Um, and it's, it's always a good
conversation when I'm having
483
00:32:23,234 -->
00:32:24,805
folks who are about to graduate.
484
00:32:25,720 -->
00:32:29,290
Uh, come to my office to ask me
about, Hey, what, what program
485
00:32:29,290 -->
00:32:30,760
do you think I should go to next?
486
00:32:31,420 -->
00:32:37,550
Um, and you know, the, the, uh,
bright eyed, uh, and just like
487
00:32:37,610 -->
00:32:38,890
eager to just keep learning.
488
00:32:40,850 -->
00:32:44,309
Here's a preview of what's
coming up next in part two of my
489
00:32:44,309 -->
00:32:46,370
conversation with Jose Rodriguez.
490
00:32:46,750 -->
00:32:50,310
Assistant Vice President of Community
and Belonging at College Unbound.
491
00:32:51,220 -->
00:32:56,550
CU's motto lends itself to being able
to teach wherever there is a need.
492
00:32:56,650 -->
00:32:59,790
If you have a conference room, we
can come in and, you know, that
493
00:32:59,919 -->
00:33:01,440
then becomes College Unbound.
494
00:33:01,800 -->
00:33:05,470
We don't have a building, uh,
and I don't think that we're
495
00:33:05,659 -->
00:33:07,360
ever intended to have buildings.
496
00:33:07,430 -->
00:33:10,980
I think that the motto is that we
will always teach in communities.
