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>> Here at the Marriott Hospitality Center is
where our students learn the tools they need to be successful
in a real world industry thanks in large part
to a college partnership with Marriott.
Opportunities for students' success are growing every day
from generous scholarships, prestigious internships,
budding corporate partnerships
and exciting new educational pathways
for public school students.
Coming up on Campus Conversations we'll tell you all
about what to look for at Montgomery College in 2013.
[ Music ]
>> Jason: Welcome to Campus Conversations.
We're talking today about the building block of opportunity
for Montgomery College students and who better to have
as our first guest but Dave Sears, Senior Vice President
for Advancement and Community Engagement.
Hi Dave.
>> Dave Sears: Hi, how are you?
>> Jason: Good.
How are you?
Great. In our opening segment we saw something on the Marriott.
Can you tell me how the Marriott's been sort
of our model for our partnerships?
>> David Sears: Sure.
The Marriott Family Foundation,
the Marriott Corporation have been tremendous supporters
of Montgomery College.
They've really done a lot of things in terms
of providing scholarships for our students,
program enhancements such as a renovation to the kitchen
that included a new oven and also one
of the most important thing is they engage with our students
by having our students visit their hotel
to see best practices in action
and they've even had Bill Marriott come out and speak
to our students and tell them how important it is
that they continue their education
in hospitality management.
>> Jason: Nice, I know we have some other partnerships
that we're working on strengthening.
Discovery Communications is one of them.
Can you tell me more about our Discovery partnership?
>> David Sears: Sure, we have three partnerships I'd
like to highlight today.
One is Discovery Communications which has done a phenomenal job
of providing internships, guest lecturers,
mentoring on resume writing and networking
and they've even had summer internships where three
of our students participated
and one has already gotten a job offer
from that summer internship.
Accenture has done similar things with the guest lecturers
and also with mentoring but they also added a new component
on community service days that we do together jointly
where our students and staff will go paint houses
in Washington, D.C. for underserved neighborhoods.
The third aspect I talk about is our partnership
with Holy Cross Hospital.
They're helping to provide nurses that will teach classes.
They've provided scholarship money
and they've also provided a very innovative fund
where we're taking our public
and private partnerships to the next level.
With Health and Human Services in the county we partnered
with them on a grant initiative that was successful
with Holy Cross Hospital where Holy Cross is providing funding
through the Montgomery College Foundation for scholarships
for students that come from the Neighborhood Opportunities
Network and that's a volunteer effort with Health
and Human Services where we're going to be able to provide them
with scholarships and childcare scholarships for them to come
to Montgomery College, learn different aspects
of health management, health IT, health records
and any other credit or noncredit health related courses
and hopefully go on to get jobs in our hospitals in the county.
>> Jason: Very nice.
It sounds like our partnerships are really important
for our students in terms of their success
in providing access and opportunities for them.
>> David Sears: Our partnerships are amazing both
on the private side and on the community partnership side.
They provide student with great lifelong experiences,
service learning experiences and scholarships too.
When you look at what the Montgomery College Foundation
has been able to do we've raised
over 1.3 million dollars annually to give away
for the scholarships to over a thousand students.
A lot of that philanthropy does come from corporate partners
and family foundations like the Marriott's
and like The Hillman Family Foundation.
>> Jason: The Hillman Family Foundation.
Now I know we're going to see a segment
of on The Hillman Family Foundation in the next segment.
Tell me more about The Hillman Family Foundation
and then what they're doing with MC.
>> David Sears: Sure,
The Hillman Family Foundation has been a great supporter
of community colleges and what we've done is to partner
with them for scholarships not only to come
to Montgomery College for students
to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams and to get an education
in being entrepreneurs
but they're also providing transfer scholarships
to those students to go from Montgomery College
to the Hillman Entrepreneurs Program at the University
of Maryland, College Park.
They receive a transfer scholarship gift,
a transfer scholarship that's incredibly significant for them
to pursue their Bachelor's degree in entrepreneurship
or any other Bachelor's degree program at University
of Maryland, College Park.
>> Jason: Very nice.
So how do students find out about different opportunities
like the Hillman Scholarship or other opportunities
through the foundation?
>> David Sears: Sure.
Students can look at our website montgomerycollege.edu
/foundation.
They can see all the different things that we support.
We'll also be featuring, we're just starting an Office
of Community Engagement this spring
and we'll have a website available that will list all
of our corporate partnership,
all of our community partnerships.
And we'll be connected to student employment services
for the internship opportunities with those organizations.
>> Jason: Nice, okay and so what are some
of the things students might need to do
like once they've visited the website?
What would be the steps they would have to follow
if they were interested in let's say an internship
with Discovery Communications?
>> David Sears: Sure.
So the best thing would be to contact our staff or contact one
of their advisors on their campus to find out more
about what that particular program may be
and we'll make sure that we get those students connected
to internships.
With Discovery for example,
students can actually just go right online
to Discovery's online internship application.
Fill out that they went to Montgomery College
and we can target them into a particular career field
at Discovery for an internship
if they're accepted by Discovery.
>> Jason: And so the selection process is done
by the company not necessarily Montgomery College.
>> David Sears: That is correct.
>> Jason: Okay.
>> David Sears: So students will have to apply
and the company does make the decision
to who they will bring on as interns.
But we've had great success with our students
that we've sent out so far.
>> Jason: And do we provide students with any sort
of support to help them
in the preparation process maybe resume writing,
interviewing skills, any of that stuff?
>> David Sears: We do that both with the college staff
but also more importantly our corporate partners.
They do have staff there that help with those aspects
and we're there to help support them,
even though the foundation.
If a student needs assistance in terms of transfer,
transportation funds to get to their internship,
students can apply for their student's assistance fund
in foundation to support that effort.
>> Jason: That's good.
Okay, we've got about 15 seconds left.
Anything that you want to share about the foundation
and what students need to do before we close?
>> David Sears: Sure, students that are interested
in scholarships either credit
or noncredit there's an application online
that they can print out and submit
to the Financial Aid Office.
We encourage them to do that
and our next innovation we'll have an online application
process for our scholarships for FY '14.
>> Jason: Sounds very exciting.
>> David Sears: It will be much easier for students
to access it through the web.
>> Jason: Great, okay.
Well thank you for being here and sharing that information.
I'm sure students can take great advantage of that.
>> David Sears: Thank you very much.
>> Jason: As David said the Hillman Entrepreneurial Program
is one of the ways that donors are giving deserving students
the leg-up they need to be successful.
Meryl is on the campus to see the program at work, Meryl.
>> Meryl: Hi Jason.
I'm out here on the Germantown campus and I just had the chance
to sit down with Justina Stokes.
She is one of the scholars in the Hillman Scholars Program.
[ Music ]
>> I am one of the first Hillman Entrepreneurial Program members
here at Montgomery College.
The Hillman program is a program for kids who see themselves
as leaders and see themselves making big, having a big journey
into the future and really building their lives
around learning relationships with other people.
So the people that are part
of the program are very goal-oriented.
Professor McLaughlin was a professor I had last semester.
He was very great, very encouraging, really understood
where I wanted to go in life and he came up to me and suggested,
he said, "Do you consider yourself
to have an entrepreneurial spirit?"
And I said, "I guess."
And right off the bat I got so excited and I felt in my heart
of heart that it was something I was going to do from the start.
I don't think I've ever wanted anything more.
I would definitely say that a drive
for success is the first quality that I would say is important
when someone is looking to become a Hillman Entrepreneur
and to want to see the success of others,
as well as the success of yourself
in the future is really important.
It's just a very diverse, very interesting group of people.
I've sort of had a very eclectic childhood.
I grew up in France and parts of Tennessee and then moved
to Maryland, so I definitely see
that as being a very crucial element in my life as far
as shaping who I've become.
I've been in the program one month
and I already feel more comfortable.
I already feel more grounded and that I'm headed
in the right place and that I have the amazing guidance
to help me do so.
I genuinely enjoy school.
I enjoy going to class.
I wake up and I get out of bed and it's not, ugh,
I have to go to school.
It's I get to go to school and that sounds cheesy.
It really does but I enjoy every second of it now and I think
for that reason I am indebted
to the people who've helped me with that.
It makes me feel really humbled,
honestly to have this support in all areas.
I feel a sense of purpose now
that I previously didn't always have.
I have a drive.
When I spoke with Miss Franco originally I was super-excited
when she said that University of Maryland was a school
that we would be attending and I thought this is for me.
This is great.
So University of Maryland first and foremost and after
that I would love to do internships as well to sort
of build up my resume and have some work experience,
get my feet wet because I know right out of college
that people may be a little cautious
to hire younger employees.
I would love to travel.
I know a lot of people say that but it is in my heart
to just have that restless spirit, that wanderlust.
And ideally I see myself in journalism.
I would definitely like to leave the program with a confidence,
with more of a confidence
that where I'm going is the right direction.
Thank you Montgomery College for paving the way for me,
I will be forever grateful.
>> Meryl: Throughout our conversation Justina repeatedly
talked about the support and encouragement she received
from staff and faculty here at Montgomery college.
I can tell you it's not only the students who notice.
Do you know that Maryland's Professor
of the Year teaches right here on the Germantown campus.
[ Music ]
>> Professor Hamman, I'm so delighted
that you won the Maryland Professor of the Year Award.
>> Math professor John Hamman serves as chair
of the Germantown Mathematics Department
and now he is the proud winner
of the prestigious Maryland Professor of the Year Award.
>> John Hamman: I am very excited about this award
and I'm deeply honored.
>> The Maryland Professor
of the Year is a highly regarded award given
by the Carnegie Foundation for the advancement of teaching
and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education
where not only the resume of the professor counts
but also what other faculty members and students feel
about a given educator.
>> John Hamman: One of the best things I had going
for me was the fact that I had some fabulous peers and students
who had certain things to say about me.
>> Professor Hamman has been teaching at MC
for six years with three as chair.
Among the classes that he teaches is linear algebra
which he says is one of his favorite classes to teach.
>> John Hamman: It is the first kind of introduction to proofs
for a lot of students.
It's a course they take after the calculus sequence
and it really expects to show them the power of mathematics
and what you can do with mathematics.
>> Only one professor per institution can be nominated
for the Maryland Professor of the Year Award and this year one
of MC's own garnered the honor once again.
For Hamman's colleagues it was a well-deserved honor.
>> He is an outstanding faculty member
and so many students struggled in math.
Good students struggle in math.
They often think they aren't math people
and not only does he deal well with students who come with some
of that baggage he has a marvelous way
of not just being able to explain procedural stuff
but he truly tries to help students understand
and get a sense of what mathematics is about.
>> Among colleagues, students
and administrators John is described
as a passionate professor who is fun, likable and easy-going
but also committed to his profession.
All traits that when combined together can elevate a
professor's success for them and their students.
>> I think it's very exciting news for the college.
We are really, really delighted
with Professor Hamman's recognition.
I want to congratulate Professor Hamman but I also want
to congratulate all outstanding faculty at Montgomery College
because I think it's a recognition of all faculty.
[ Music ]
>> Whether you're a recent high school graduate,
career changing adult or seeking professional
or personal development Montgomery College has what
you're looking for.
We offer more than 130 programs of study as well
as workforce development and continuing education
to prepare you for a rewarding future.
Take advantage of our small class sizes,
award-winning faculty and flexible scheduling, evening,
weekends and online classes offered.
Apply today.
Montgomery College.
Endless possibilities.
240-567-5000.
[ Music ]
>> It's really beneficial to have these partnerships
with large corporations and the organizations in our community
because it gives students
at Montgomery College the chance to,
real world work environments.
It gives them ability to put something on their resume.
>> The more exposure you can get to the big players
in the world the more opportunities you're going
to find yourself getting.
>> When students do internship there's a sense
of them building relationships with other companies
and other businesses and I feel when they do that it's branching
out so that they can continue after college.
>> The more resources coming
in the better environment you can have for your students
and staff and everybody on campus.
>> Jason: As a community college MC is committed
to providing the professional skills
and educational needs of the community.
Together with Montgomery County Public Schools
and the Universities at Shady Grove the college has developed
the Aces Program which identifies
and supports students whose personal circumstances might
otherwise prevent them from going to college.
With me to talk about Aces are Dr. Karen Roseberry the
College-wide Dean of Student Access at Montgomery College
and Mary Lang, the Chief-of-Staff and Director
of Planning for the Universities of Shady Grove.
Hello ladies.
>> Hi.
>> Jason: How are you today?
>> We're good.
>> Jason: Good.
I think I'll start with you Karen.
Let me just ask you.
What is the Aces Program?
>> Dr. Karen Roseberry: Well, it's an exciting new adventure
that the three entities,
the three institutions have combined efforts.
We've been working for almost a year to design a program
that would really help students starting
as early as the 9th grade.
Some of the programs
for supporting students might just take one grade level
or another but this is a unique program in that it's going
to start with 9th and 10th graders offering Aces Readiness
Program and really working with the parents
to help them understand what the program can do
for their students and to help them know
that college is possible for their students.
In the 11th and 12th grade Aces students will be assigned a
Montgomery College coach.
That person will work with them through the 11th and 12th grade
in various activities and then unlike some other programs we're
going to continue through their experience at Montgomery College
and then on to the Universities at Shady Grove.
>> Jason: Wow.
That sounds amazing.
So what does Aces actually stand for?
>> Dr. Karen Roseberry:
Achieving collegial excellence and success.
I know it's a mouthful.
>> Jason: It does sound good.
Okay. Mary, how are you?
>> Mary Lang: Fine.
How are you?
>> Jason: Good.
Tell me how did the Universities
at Shady Grove get involved in this project?
>> Mary Lang: Well we were excited to look
at any partnership activity that we can work
with our education partners in the county both MCPS as well
as Montgomery College to expand opportunities
for all students in higher education.
Our goal in this project is to help those
from diverse communities.
Students in particular, really realize their potential
and gain a Bachelor's degree in the county.
So we work with Montgomery College
to offer the second two years of an undergraduate education
at our campus at Universities at Shady Grove which is part
of the public school system and public college system,
university system of Maryland.
So we have over 80 programs that these students coming
from Montgomery College can articulate
into and work with them.
Aces in particular we're going
to continue the coaching scenario, if you will,
and have our own coaches monitor and work with the students
who come from Montgomery college Aces right into
and through their undergraduate education.
>> Jason: Very nice.
This sounds very exciting.
So tell me, the population, what's the population
of Aces going to look like?
>> Dr. Karen Roseberry: Aces is going to look for students
who otherwise without the Aces Program might not make it
through the pipeline to college.
Our goal is graduation from college.
Whether it be at the Universities of Shady Grove
or any college or university.
We want the students to increase our numbers of graduates.
We know that many jobs now do require a Bachelor's degree
and so our ultimate aim is to help them through the pipeline.
A lot of programs might just look at graduation but I think
because these three entities are working together, we're looking
at different drop out points or different nonsuccess points
and trying to make sure that whether it's
in the younger grades or whether it's in one
of the transition years that there's a support structure
in place to help them through that pipeline and ultimately
to get that Bachelor's degree.
>> Jason: That sounds remarkable.
So I know that there are a number
of different opportunity programs
for lack of a better word.
It sounds like the unique parts of Aces are the follow
through from high school all the way through until completion.
>> Dr. Karen Roseberry: The Aces coach will be assigned
in the 11th grade and work with the student
in the 11th grade and 12th grade.
We've identified 8 high schools, those high schools that seem
to have the population that we're looking for the most
and we're going to start with those.
Once they get to Montgomery College a different Aces coach
will be assigned and work with them to make sure that filling
out financial aid forms, filling out applications for transfer,
looking for scholarships, all the things
that some students might kind of take,
their parents might help them with
but the Aces students sometimes don't have parents who have gone
to college themselves and so the coach will be like a parent
in that respect in helping them
through the bureaucratic roadway to success.
>> Jason: Okay.
>> Mary Lang: And I would add too, that in addition to sort
of those logistical things or administrative things one
of the key pieces that the academic coach will be providing
is academic advising and academic intervention.
So it's not only the supports needed to find their way
and the information about colleges
and financial aid application process
but really how can they get there in terms
of the courses they're taking and the supports
that they may need to be successful in order
to make the transitions from those three entities.
>> Dr. Karen Roseberry: As an example to that one
of the things we've seen at Montgomery College is a lot
of students may not be placing as high as they could
for example, a math test because they're rusty in math.
It's been maybe a year or two since they've taken math
and so one of the projects
for 11th graders will be some tutoring so that they can do
as well in the placement test as they can.
>> Mary Lang: That's a good example.
>> Jason: Sounds remarkable.
It really does.
I was an opportunity student when I was going to college
so I understand the value of it all.
It sounds like it's going to be a terrific program
for our Montgomery County students.
>> Dr. Karen Roseberry: Well, likewise.
I was a student whose parents did not go to college
and I was recalling earlier today a situation
where I'd gotten my college acceptance I realized
that I did not have the money
and if I had had an Aces coach they might have showed me some
alternative ways to apply for some scholarships and to look
for financial aid and I just didn't know to do that.
>> Jason: Well.
I want to thank the both of you because I think the work
that you're doing is really going to make a difference
in lives of so many students who actually need
that level of support.
So thank you.
>> You're welcome.
It's our pleasure.
>> Jason: We'll be back
with more Campus Conversations right after this.
[ Music ]
>> Whether you're a recent high school graduate,
career changing adult or seeking professional
or personal development Montgomery College has what
you're looking for.
We offer more than 130 programs of study as well
as workforce development and continuing education
to prepare you for a rewarding future.
Take advantage of our small class sizes,
award-winning faculty and flexible scheduling, evening,
weekends and online classes are offered.
Apply today.
Montgomery College.
Endless possibilities.
240-567-5000.
[ Music ]
>> Jason: We've been talking
about building a better community through partnerships.
With me now is Marcus Rosano.
Marcus you went out to take a look at another one
of those partnerships at a correctional facility.
>> Marcus Rosano: That is correct.
Jason, Montgomery College prides itself
on being an open access institution,
meaning that every member of our community is entitled
and gets the opportunity to get an education.
And as we'll see we talked with Warden Robert Green
of the 700 currently housed inmates
at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.
The majority of them are sooner not later going to be members
of the communities again.
They're going to be in our neighborhoods
and their neighborhoods again.
So as you'll see in this interview
with Warden Green he talks about how the college
and the county facility are building a path towards gainful
employment and education for this particular demographic.
>> Jason: Okay, let's take a look.
[ Music ]
>> Marcus Rosano: Warden Green,
tell us about how this partnership
with the Montgomery County Correctional Facility started
with Montgomery College.
>> Warden Green: With Montgomery College, I met Dr. Pollard
in 2010 when she first came to Montgomery County and it was
after forum that her and Dr. Starr did talking
about education in our community.
Education in Corrections and what we can do to help
to change people's lives has always been a focus
in Montgomery County with our Model Learning Center
from the beginning but we really wanted to focus on this piece
of how Montgomery College fit with their workforce development
and continuing education.
We know from all the statistical data and the studies
that have been done on the incarcerated population
if we can connect people to a work skill or a career,
a job that they can sustain their family upon release the
likelihood of recidivism,
coming back into our system is reduced by 50 percent.
That's huge.
Montgomery College has a very strong mission
in this community.
They want to change lives and change the community.
That's the same mission that Corrections has.
We're dealing with, in any given year 11
to 12 thousand people coming through the doors of our system,
90 percent of those return back to the streets of our community.
An important question begs how do we send them back?
What access can we give to an individual
to help them find employment, sustain their family
and education is a big piece of that.
In 2010 when I met Dr. Pollard and I introduced myself to her
as the warden
of the correctional facility it was an immediate
and natural fit.
She looked at me as if well, you are already
in my plan not anything that I had
to convince her of or Dr. Starr.
Both of them together strongly supportive
of this education piece that we're trying to accomplish
in helping people go home.
In Corrections they call it re-entry.
Our program here is re-entry for all.
How can we affect the individual that's going to spend two hours
with us or up to 18 months but is returning back
to the streets of our community?
How do we do it better?
And again, education a big piece of that.
So in 2010 the discussion started,
the relationship developed.
We were invited to the table with Dr. Pollard
and it has just prospered to the classes
that we're doing here today in helping individuals get engaged
in workforce development.
The focus is not on a four-year degree although we hope
that an individual after coming here, being involved
in the services we have here,
spending whatever time they've spent in this facility
if that is their choice we wish them well
but our focus is workforce skill development
and Dr. Pollard has been right on the forefront
of driving that home for us.
>> Marcus Rosano: We have a little over a minute left.
Talk to us about the classes that these students are taking
and where does the future lie?
>> Warden Green: Well, according
to what I'm seeing the future lies in us continuing
to grow the program from digital literacy to blueprint reading
to those skill sets that help people get right
into the work world,
that reflect the job opportunity in our community.
We're in conversation with Montgomery College now
about some classes in the area of Food Service.
You know when you open up the Help Wanted ads
in the Washington Post that's part
of the largest Help Wanted ads there, so in my discussions
with all of the staff at Montgomery College that come,
there's 10 or 12 that we sit around the table
and we plan this initiative and how we move forward,
I won't say the sky is the limit
but we're not self-imposing any parameters to this,
only that it's fiscally prudent, it makes good sense
and it helps people within the mission of Montgomery College
and I think those are the very important aspects of that.
>> Marcus Rosano: Well warden Green I want
to thank you very much for having us today and to sit
and chat with you in our library.
Thank you very much.
>> Warden Green: Thank you.
>> Jason: Marcus, it sounds like a step in the right direction.
>> Marcus Rosano: It is and one of the things
that Warden Green talked about was some
of the natural negative connotations
or negative feedback that they receive when partnerships
like this where the college comes into partnership
with the correctional facility, it's natural.
We know it's going to happen and he's addressed that
but what he did say was, I found this somewhat profound,
that we aren't exactly taking these men and women
and putting them in front of the line.
What we're doing is we're actually showing them the
direction to get in line so that
in the end they can find gainful employment and education
through this partnership.
>> Jason: That's a great point.
We're about out of time.
So where can people go to get more information
on these great programs?
>> Marcus Rosano: Just visit us on www.montgomery college.edu.
Look us up on Facebook.
We have a strong social media presence
and if you're watching this
with your e-mail open just send us a message
at campus.conversations@ montgomerycollege.edu.
>> Jason: Well that's our program for today.
From all of us here at Campus Conversations thanks
for watching.
[ Music ]