California community college students discussed ways to improve graduation rates, including peer counseling and textbook swaps, at a San Jose conference organized by Mobilize.org, reports the San Jose Mercury News. De Anza College student Osvoldo Cordero, 20, won a $7,500 prize for his project to assist and organize undocumented students. “Knowledge is power — and through hearing each others’ experiences, their knowledge became my knowledge,” Cordero said.
Jose Arreola, who’s undocumented, and Ralph Hall, who grew up in foster care, spoke at the conference.
“I want to reach out so other undocumented students feel less isolated,” said Arreola, who came to the U.S. from a small Mexican ranchero when he was only 3, but then excelled at Mountain View High School. He graduated from Santa Clara University, thanks to private scholarships, and now helps Latino community college students. But a job remains out of reach, because he has no Social Security number. “I’d love to be able to work,” he said.
Hall, an English major at Chabot College in Hayward — now headed to Cal State Dominguez Hills — said, “I want to create a program for foster youth that creates stable relationships with faculty and mentors, beyond just the three-month semester, because many of them have never experienced that.”
California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott spoke at the concluding dinner on Sunday.
Also, on Sunday, political and community leaders and celebrities joined hands with students on community college campuses. “Hands Across California” was planned to raise scholarship funds.
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[...] Jacobs writes on the Community College Spotlight blog about Mobilize.org’s Target 2020 California Summit: California community college students discussed ways to improve graduation rates, including peer [...]