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My name is Charlotte Hazelwood and I am a sophomore with a major in elementary education
at UofL. Initially, when I graduated from high school, I had plans of going to college,
but funds weren't necessarily there. After a time of waiting and wanting to go to school,
a friend of mine told me about Simmons and I got in. I was like one of the last people
that they interviewed and I got in like on the same day they were doing interviews and
that's how it started. Charlotte is a very focused young woman. She came to Simmons.
She did not allow outside distractions to divert her from achieving excellence here
at Simmons. She took a very rigorous load and she achieved a 3.75 GPA. Simmons College
is partnering with the University of Louisville, JCTC, Spalding, and other colleges throughout
the commonwealth to reach an underserved population about the importance and value of education.
West Louisville will never rise until West Louisville is educated. This partnership is
critical to the future of our community. We know that we have an education gap in our
community. We know that we have an undereducated population in our community. So, coming together,
the community college, Jefferson Community and Technical College, Spalding University,
the University of Louisville, and working with Simmons, we can do things that we cannot
do individually and I think we're headed in a great direction. I think that Simmons is
critical to our community and their success is critical to our community and I think our
other three institutions realize that and we're all committed to working together to
address the education needs of our community as a team and I think we're gonna be really,
very successful. It's sort of the urban core of the institutions in Louisville that have
signed onto this partnership and feel strongly that we need to do all we can to support any
kind of education for folks who've not necessarily had a privileged way to go. For us, it's a
what do you need and how can we help? And housing was the immediate need that we could
facilitate and we are physically closest to Simmons. There's a phrase in the "I Have A
Dream" speech that goes something like "Now is the time to fulfill the promises of democracy."
Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. And it occurred to me, really from the beginning
of this college, this college opened here on this corner at First and Broadway in 1968
and at that time, that very first fall semester there were 2,000 students lined up along Broadway
trying to register for classes. It was kind of an instant proof that there was a huge
need in our community for broader access to higher education. But we've been in the business,
as have UofL and Spalding and Simmons College of Kentucky, of making the promise of democracy
real through broadening access to higher education. When we look at pathways for students to go
through college, we have to create every pathway imaginable. We need a strong HBCU in Louisville.
There is no city east of the Mississippi River that is a strong city that doesn't have a
strong historically black college university. Simmons is our pathway. Simmons has a great
history. Simmons has great leadership right now. Simmons has great momentum right now
with some great announcements coming in the next couple of months as well, so now is the
time to support Simmons even more so we can make sure the kids that might say, well UofL,
I'm not ready for that; JCTC, Spalding, I'm not so sure; but I've got a gateway close
to my neighborhood that makes sense for me. That's why Simmons must be successful and
everybody in the community has to get behind Simmons. You show me communities where African-Americans
and people of color are excelling in college and I'll show you a community in which there
is the presence of an HBCU, that is an advocate for college education and is also providing
for the community exemplary models of how important education is. If it weren't for
Simmons College, I wouldn't be the student that I am today. I wouldn't be able to be
in the community inspiring children, being able to have that opportunity and I'm so grateful
for that opportunity.