1 00:00:01,930 --> 00:00:04,000 Welcome to Digication Scholars Conversations. 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:05,650 I'm your host, Jeff Yan. 3 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:10,589 In this episode, you will hear part one of my conversation with Jose Rodriguez, 4 00:00:10,979 --> 00:00:15,480 Assistant Vice President of Community and Belonging at College Unbound. 5 00:00:15,749 --> 00:00:19,420 More links and information about today's conversation can be found on Digication's 6 00:00:19,470 --> 00:00:21,200 Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 7 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:24,340 Full episodes of Digication Scholars Conversations. 8 00:00:24,645 --> 00:00:27,105 Can be found on YouTube or your favorite podcast app. 9 00:00:28,445 --> 00:00:30,925 Welcome to Digication Scholars Conversations. 10 00:00:31,105 --> 00:00:32,455 I'm your host, Jeff Yan. 11 00:00:32,865 --> 00:00:37,905 My guest today is Jose Rodriguez, Assistant Vice President of Community 12 00:00:37,905 --> 00:00:40,195 and Belonging at College Unbound. 13 00:00:40,824 --> 00:00:41,694 Welcome, Jose. 14 00:00:42,265 --> 00:00:43,024 Glad to be here. 15 00:00:44,374 --> 00:00:53,635 Um, Jose, I, um, I think I, I met you at a, um, Last fall at College Unbound's 16 00:00:54,155 --> 00:01:00,505 inauguration of its second president, uh, Adam Bush, and I got to, um, see 17 00:01:00,505 --> 00:01:03,675 you speak in a number of occasions. 18 00:01:04,124 --> 00:01:10,295 Um, and I was just deeply inspired by, uh, by you, your work and what you stand for. 19 00:01:10,304 --> 00:01:14,855 So I'm very grateful that we got to have this conversation here today. 20 00:01:14,855 --> 00:01:17,405 I think that people are going to really love this, you know, hearing 21 00:01:17,415 --> 00:01:18,875 about you, you and your story. 22 00:01:19,165 --> 00:01:19,884 I appreciate that. 23 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:26,710 So, before we get started, for those listeners who don't know anything 24 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,530 about College Unbound, again, I already had sort of mentioned it's its 25 00:01:30,540 --> 00:01:35,459 second president's inauguration, which implies that it's a fairly new school. 26 00:01:35,820 --> 00:01:40,960 Um, why don't you tell us a little bit, you know, about College Unbound and, um, 27 00:01:40,970 --> 00:01:45,575 you know, where it is, what it does, and, um, And how is, how, why it's so special. 28 00:01:45,575 --> 00:01:46,825 I think it's very special. 29 00:01:46,825 --> 00:01:47,675 So go ahead. 30 00:01:47,785 --> 00:01:51,235 Yeah, I think I got to lead with the fact that it is my Alma mater, right? 31 00:01:51,275 --> 00:01:53,474 So I, I attended College Unbound. 32 00:01:53,474 --> 00:01:58,644 So everything and anything that I say about the school is primarily from a 33 00:01:58,705 --> 00:02:03,385 alumni perspective or, uh, or student perspective or student lens, I should say, 34 00:02:03,665 --> 00:02:10,510 so College Unbound was started, uh, by two gentlemen, uh, two Uh, Dennis Littky 35 00:02:10,530 --> 00:02:17,800 and Adam Bush, uh, in and around 2009 and really it was meant to be a school within 36 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:22,309 a school at some point where they were partnering with different institutions 37 00:02:22,310 --> 00:02:27,759 to provide just a different way of teaching, uh, to a particular population 38 00:02:27,759 --> 00:02:31,660 of students that weren't being successful and quote unquote traditional schooling. 39 00:02:32,380 --> 00:02:41,045 Um, that humble beginning, uh, through, uh, In 2011, I believe a call to action 40 00:02:41,045 --> 00:02:49,025 was basically put out, uh, via social media where, uh, to both Adam and Dennis's 41 00:02:49,025 --> 00:02:54,795 surprise, the response from the community, uh, was, wow, we've been waiting for 42 00:02:54,795 --> 00:02:57,144 a school like this our whole lives. 43 00:02:57,485 --> 00:03:00,975 And I think that that's really what started the maybe we just can't be a 44 00:03:00,975 --> 00:03:04,195 school within a school, uh, conversation. 45 00:03:04,265 --> 00:03:08,625 And, uh, Adam and, and Dennis really started. 46 00:03:09,374 --> 00:03:14,565 Laying down the groundwork for what was to come. 47 00:03:15,685 --> 00:03:21,774 In 2015, we received state approval to be a standalone college 48 00:03:21,774 --> 00:03:23,075 in the state of Rhode Island. 49 00:03:23,184 --> 00:03:25,274 A triumph in itself. 50 00:03:26,384 --> 00:03:29,089 You know, those books aren't really open that that. 51 00:03:29,260 --> 00:03:31,020 That they're rarely opened. 52 00:03:31,090 --> 00:03:33,050 They were opened for us and we were allowed it. 53 00:03:33,750 --> 00:03:39,980 Um, that opened us up to be able to apply for a regional accreditor, uh, 54 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:45,630 which is NECHE and in 2020, after a lot of work, uh, we received, 55 00:03:46,260 --> 00:03:48,379 uh, full accreditation from NECHE. 56 00:03:50,619 --> 00:03:55,109 And now, um, College Unbound offers a bachelor's degree. 57 00:03:55,290 --> 00:03:55,929 Am I right? 58 00:03:55,980 --> 00:03:56,309 Correct. 59 00:03:56,309 --> 00:03:59,450 So a bachelor's degree in organizational leadership and change. 60 00:03:59,549 --> 00:04:04,309 Um, and we now just don't operate in Rhode Island. 61 00:04:04,309 --> 00:04:11,529 We're actually in Chicago, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, uh, and working on Seattle. 62 00:04:12,250 --> 00:04:15,100 And, uh, South, South Carolina. 63 00:04:15,180 --> 00:04:17,670 So, like, yeah, growing the model is growing because 64 00:04:17,670 --> 00:04:18,640 it's something that's needed. 65 00:04:20,709 --> 00:04:21,340 It's amazing. 66 00:04:21,340 --> 00:04:25,050 And I would love to talk more about the model itself as well in a bit. 67 00:04:25,069 --> 00:04:29,899 But I think that, um, maybe we should, um, talk a little bit 68 00:04:29,910 --> 00:04:31,589 more about you as well, Jose. 69 00:04:32,129 --> 00:04:37,315 Um, I know that you've had a, um, you had talked about College Unbound being 70 00:04:37,385 --> 00:04:42,085 set up for people who might not have been successful in traditional schools 71 00:04:42,275 --> 00:04:49,534 or traditional sort of, you know, the, the, the, the, the sort of, uh, American 72 00:04:49,534 --> 00:04:53,854 dream model of, you know, going to K 12 school and then going to college and then 73 00:04:54,465 --> 00:04:58,555 finish a four year degree and then go on to get a job, that kind of model, right? 74 00:04:58,905 --> 00:05:04,015 Um, And, um, I think that you can probably speak to that too, because 75 00:05:04,025 --> 00:05:05,275 that's your personal experience. 76 00:05:05,315 --> 00:05:08,465 Now you are, you are an alum of College Unbound. 77 00:05:09,334 --> 00:05:11,055 Can you tell us a little bit about your journey? 78 00:05:11,294 --> 00:05:15,784 Yeah, so I can, it's, it's a somewhat interesting story with a lot of layers. 79 00:05:15,784 --> 00:05:18,665 So, so I'll try to unlayer as much of it as possible. 80 00:05:18,784 --> 00:05:22,775 Um, I'm what you consider, uh, or what society would have 81 00:05:22,775 --> 00:05:24,085 considered a throwaway kid. 82 00:05:24,545 --> 00:05:26,555 I'm from a single parent home. 83 00:05:27,255 --> 00:05:33,130 Uh, From, uh, quote unquote, the ghetto, the slums of the slums, um, and I 84 00:05:33,140 --> 00:05:35,230 dropped out of school in the sixth grade. 85 00:05:35,990 --> 00:05:41,230 Um, so I had the recipe to not be successful or not to be in academia, 86 00:05:41,870 --> 00:05:46,239 um, because of those choices that I made early on to drop out of school, 87 00:05:46,749 --> 00:05:51,955 um, and to pursue income and in various ways, most of which weren't, uh, 88 00:05:51,965 --> 00:05:54,815 legal, uh, that landed me in prison. 89 00:05:55,184 --> 00:06:01,245 Um, but while in prison, uh, I was reintroduced to education, I should say. 90 00:06:01,545 --> 00:06:06,955 And I was reintroduced to education on a basic level, meaning I got my GED. 91 00:06:07,335 --> 00:06:11,904 Um, and pretty much after you get your GED in prison, um, there 92 00:06:11,905 --> 00:06:13,185 really isn't anything for you to do. 93 00:06:14,150 --> 00:06:18,859 So I took a couple of the remedial courses that our community college, uh, was 94 00:06:18,869 --> 00:06:24,470 offering at the time with the, with the thought or dream of when I am released, 95 00:06:24,500 --> 00:06:28,090 I am going to go to the same community college and I'm going to get a degree. 96 00:06:28,420 --> 00:06:30,969 And that's how I'm going to create change, not just for me, but 97 00:06:30,969 --> 00:06:33,919 for my family, to my surprise. 98 00:06:34,199 --> 00:06:38,049 And, you know, I jokingly say this all the time, but it definitely was a 99 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:40,530 pivotal moment, but it was about 2011. 100 00:06:41,140 --> 00:06:44,699 Um, January of 2011, when I entered. 101 00:06:47,005 --> 00:06:51,965 Our community college as a, as a regular student not being incarcerated and I 102 00:06:52,015 --> 00:06:54,075 take, you know, a regular course load. 103 00:06:54,075 --> 00:06:57,725 So full, full time student 12, 4 classes, 3 credits each. 104 00:06:57,965 --> 00:07:00,874 And one of the classes, which I found was probably going to be 105 00:07:00,875 --> 00:07:02,245 the most interesting to me was. 106 00:07:02,415 --> 00:07:03,205 Public speaking. 107 00:07:03,845 --> 00:07:06,865 Um, why that was interesting to me is because for the, I had 108 00:07:06,875 --> 00:07:08,525 gotten out of prison in 2010. 109 00:07:08,525 --> 00:07:12,865 So it had been about a year and I had spent the last year of that time, 110 00:07:13,265 --> 00:07:18,935 the last year working, uh, speaking to kids, you know, uh, violence 111 00:07:18,935 --> 00:07:21,454 reduction, preventative work on. 112 00:07:21,755 --> 00:07:26,075 So at the core of what I was doing for a living now was speaking to public, 113 00:07:26,545 --> 00:07:30,865 maybe not, you know, large groups as if, you know, like a national public 114 00:07:30,865 --> 00:07:36,094 speaker or anything, but to me, it was an important part of my journey. 115 00:07:37,144 --> 00:07:40,545 And unfortunately, Because I speak multiple languages, 116 00:07:40,555 --> 00:07:42,405 sometimes I do mispronounce words. 117 00:07:42,705 --> 00:07:46,395 And I always say this because it's important to note that just because I 118 00:07:46,395 --> 00:07:51,355 mispronounce a word, it isn't because I don't know the meaning of the word 119 00:07:51,395 --> 00:07:52,984 or I don't know how to say the word. 120 00:07:52,985 --> 00:07:57,605 But for anyone who speaks multiple languages, sometimes it, that the 121 00:07:57,605 --> 00:08:02,245 words just get mixed up and, you know, lost in translation as they say. 122 00:08:03,085 --> 00:08:08,604 Needless to say, my oral presentation, uh, midterm, uh, I didn't do so well. 123 00:08:08,930 --> 00:08:13,490 Um, I mispronounced a bunch of words, but it wasn't that, that, that derailed 124 00:08:13,540 --> 00:08:19,280 me or that, you know, put me on a, on a, really on a path of negativity was 125 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:24,629 the instructor, quote unquote, and I use instructor, the term instructor very 126 00:08:24,629 --> 00:08:31,270 loosely, um, said to me at the end of the class, maybe public speaking isn't a 127 00:08:31,270 --> 00:08:34,940 thing that you should pursue because you don't really sound intelligent when you 128 00:08:34,940 --> 00:08:40,299 speak, you know, and I, and I, and I say that and, and I wore that You know, as 129 00:08:40,299 --> 00:08:45,250 a, as a, I, I walked with that because it was important for me to remember 130 00:08:45,410 --> 00:08:49,670 that if I ever saw that quote unquote instructor again, that I'd be able to 131 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:52,250 tell them how wrong they actually were. 132 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:57,279 Without that incident, I would have never found College Unbound. 133 00:08:58,210 --> 00:09:02,610 So, in that, uh, maybe about two weeks after that happened, I had 134 00:09:02,610 --> 00:09:05,060 a chance encounter with Adam Bush. 135 00:09:05,330 --> 00:09:09,700 Um, he was, he was, Uh, we had some College Unbound students who were 136 00:09:09,950 --> 00:09:13,990 interning at my place of employment, and Adam just came to check in on them. 137 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:18,720 And, um, anybody who knows Adam Bush knows he's a very captivating speaker. 138 00:09:19,170 --> 00:09:23,469 Uh, so he could, you know, you, he, he, if he engages you in conversation, 139 00:09:23,479 --> 00:09:24,869 you're buying whatever he's selling. 140 00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:31,850 Uh, so that, that led to me just being curious about what College 141 00:09:31,850 --> 00:09:35,080 Unbound could be because, no, it's a different way of learning. 142 00:09:35,089 --> 00:09:36,410 You're going to learn this way. 143 00:09:36,410 --> 00:09:39,740 You know, we're going to give you credit for the things that you've already done. 144 00:09:39,990 --> 00:09:42,790 Why take classes for things that you've already mastered. 145 00:09:43,110 --> 00:09:50,315 And that really piqued my interest, uh, so, regardless of the experience that 146 00:09:50,315 --> 00:09:53,525 I had at our local community college, I said, you know, I'm going to give it. 147 00:09:53,775 --> 00:09:56,334 I'm just going to try one more time at this college thing. 148 00:09:56,334 --> 00:09:59,905 And if this doesn't work, then, you know, I'm just not college material. 149 00:10:00,115 --> 00:10:02,144 And that's just something that I'm going to have to deal with. 150 00:10:03,704 --> 00:10:08,199 Thankfully, I am college material and I've was able to keep going. 151 00:10:08,369 --> 00:10:13,420 Uh, get out the other side, but that is the example as to why this school is so 152 00:10:13,500 --> 00:10:21,079 important, whether in, whether for folks who look like me or folks or, or, or kids 153 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:24,439 who are just getting out of high school and are being told by an instructor, 154 00:10:24,450 --> 00:10:29,039 those words, like they're being limited by the words of the people who were there 155 00:10:29,069 --> 00:10:33,890 or intended to be there to teach them, you know, and being chopped down in such 156 00:10:33,890 --> 00:10:38,079 a way opened up the space for a school that like College Unbound to exist. 157 00:10:40,980 --> 00:10:43,130 That's, um, that's, that's amazing. 158 00:10:43,130 --> 00:10:45,320 Thank you so much for sharing that, Jose. 159 00:10:45,730 --> 00:10:52,249 It's um, I remember hearing this, hearing you talk about this and it was, it was 160 00:10:52,250 --> 00:10:57,859 just so inspiring because I also know Adam and, and you're right, he can, you know. 161 00:10:58,310 --> 00:11:01,750 Whatever he say, I, I, he say jump and I say how high. 162 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:11,670 And, um, and, uh, and, uh, it was, um, it's just incredible to see how 163 00:11:13,260 --> 00:11:18,359 many individual lives that College Unbound seems to have touched, but 164 00:11:18,370 --> 00:11:21,250 in a, in such an impactful way. 165 00:11:22,150 --> 00:11:28,445 Um, I, I feel like that every alum, Everyone that I've met with 166 00:11:28,445 --> 00:11:32,685 at College Unbound that have gone through the program have something 167 00:11:32,685 --> 00:11:35,225 similar like that to share, right? 168 00:11:35,475 --> 00:11:41,384 Um, that they're, you know, like the traditional college system, 169 00:11:41,384 --> 00:11:45,075 whether it be a community college or a K 12 school or whatever, whatever 170 00:11:45,075 --> 00:11:47,364 it might be, had failed them. 171 00:11:48,105 --> 00:11:50,755 And that's only amplified when you're an adult, right? 172 00:11:51,125 --> 00:11:56,374 Um, it's one thing when a system fails you when you're a traditional. 173 00:11:56,740 --> 00:12:00,450 College age student and you're going straight from high school and you got 174 00:12:00,460 --> 00:12:05,229 all these things in place, but it's amplified When you're a working adult 175 00:12:05,289 --> 00:12:11,299 who's simply just trying to obtain a degree to better one's life And it's 176 00:12:11,299 --> 00:12:16,860 a story that we hear over and over and over again to the tune of Folks really 177 00:12:16,860 --> 00:12:22,500 start to believe that, and I say folks because I felt that way myself, that, all 178 00:12:22,500 --> 00:12:24,590 right, maybe I'm just not smart enough. 179 00:12:25,389 --> 00:12:26,780 Uh, college isn't for me. 180 00:12:26,929 --> 00:12:28,399 This isn't the time for me. 181 00:12:28,759 --> 00:12:31,480 And you immediately start to beat yourself up. 182 00:12:31,740 --> 00:12:32,939 So it's a. 183 00:12:33,395 --> 00:12:34,975 I'm glad that this space exists. 184 00:12:34,975 --> 00:12:36,375 I'm glad that this school exists. 185 00:12:36,375 --> 00:12:41,415 And that's the reason why, um, because whether we were the folks who initiated 186 00:12:41,425 --> 00:12:46,805 the wrong or not, we get to right wrongs for a lot of folks through this, 187 00:12:47,125 --> 00:12:48,485 through their educational journey. 188 00:12:50,119 --> 00:12:51,009 Yeah, that's amazing. 189 00:12:51,229 --> 00:12:57,230 Now, do you want, would you like to tell us a little bit about, so how, how does 190 00:12:57,810 --> 00:13:03,659 College Unbound, in fact, recognize you for who you are and let you be successful? 191 00:13:03,670 --> 00:13:07,749 What was that, what is that, like, what's that actually look like? 192 00:13:07,749 --> 00:13:09,819 What does week one actually look like? 193 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:14,069 Like, what is the thing that they have you do that make you feel like, Hold on 194 00:13:14,069 --> 00:13:16,500 a minute, I am inside college material. 195 00:13:16,910 --> 00:13:20,000 So it's this, it's the sense of community, right? 196 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:25,360 So you're, you're brought into a space where everybody is just loving and caring. 197 00:13:26,060 --> 00:13:32,169 Um, so as an institution, we're asking students to bring their all, the good, 198 00:13:32,180 --> 00:13:37,475 the bad, and the ugly, um, and that, To me, it's what community means. 199 00:13:37,585 --> 00:13:42,675 Um, you know, the word community is in my title. 200 00:13:42,675 --> 00:13:46,225 So everything about community has to be, has to be right. 201 00:13:46,465 --> 00:13:53,874 And knowing that also means that community members aren't perfect, right? 202 00:13:53,935 --> 00:13:55,644 No one in the community is perfect. 203 00:13:55,644 --> 00:13:57,975 So we have to take folks how they are. 204 00:13:58,295 --> 00:14:02,265 And I think that that was the first thing that I recognized doing are 205 00:14:02,315 --> 00:14:07,315 my first CU gathering and being in that space, having a communal meal. 206 00:14:07,490 --> 00:14:14,030 With some peers that I would learn to love in a few, just in just a few weeks 207 00:14:14,090 --> 00:14:19,810 and, um, just being around those folks and their ability or their willingness 208 00:14:19,819 --> 00:14:21,510 to just open up and just be free. 209 00:14:21,909 --> 00:14:26,890 It wasn't easy for me, uh, because of my experience from the community 210 00:14:26,890 --> 00:14:30,850 college to actually be as open, as honest as I could be with folks, right? 211 00:14:31,249 --> 00:14:35,839 I was afraid that I would be judged and that, uh, People would put me 212 00:14:35,839 --> 00:14:41,350 in a box as to how I got to where I was and my experiences thus far. 213 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:47,720 Um, however, um, CU taught me and just like they've taught 214 00:14:47,770 --> 00:14:50,860 others to embrace one story. 215 00:14:53,314 --> 00:14:54,694 I embraced my story. 216 00:14:54,745 --> 00:14:57,074 I just felt a million times more powerful. 217 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 00:15:02,855 --> 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? 221 00:15:16,395 --> 00:15:17,485 What was your first project? 222 00:15:18,074 --> 00:15:22,970 So, uh, And I, and I always state this, right? 223 00:15:22,970 --> 00:15:28,770 Because although, uh, I've been referred to as a colorful, uh, extrovert, 224 00:15:29,170 --> 00:15:31,430 I'm an introvert by heart, right? 225 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:38,460 And the first time that I had an extroverted moment, uh, was during, 226 00:15:38,470 --> 00:15:44,589 uh, And, uh, my, my cohort decided that I would be the voice for my cohort 227 00:15:45,469 --> 00:15:49,749 in a debate we were having a debate, um, particularly on gun control. 228 00:15:50,719 --> 00:15:55,739 Um, and I just made a really, I wish I could remember exactly what I said, but 229 00:15:55,740 --> 00:15:57,870 it was so much in the moment, right? 230 00:15:58,449 --> 00:16:03,540 I said what I said, and I got people clapped and agreed with me. 231 00:16:04,020 --> 00:16:06,080 And I think that that was a very empowering moment. 232 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:11,410 And that's when you realize that, Hey, I can't do public speaking. 233 00:16:11,410 --> 00:16:11,810 Yes. 234 00:16:12,220 --> 00:16:13,250 Yes, that was the moment. 235 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:17,670 But overall, what, uh, as, as far as like my project or things that I 236 00:16:17,670 --> 00:16:22,140 have taken on while being at CU, I started a nonprofit barbershop, right? 237 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:28,280 Um, and in a very crowded market, uh, and CU actually gave me the 238 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:30,039 tools to be able to, to, to do that. 239 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 240 00:16:34,790 --> 00:16:39,659 to kids for free in a neighborhood that probably had 40 barbershops. 241 00:16:40,140 --> 00:16:42,740 Uh, so there, there were a few. 242 00:16:42,925 --> 00:16:46,245 Folks who might have thought I was cutting into their profits by giving 243 00:16:46,795 --> 00:16:51,205 away a free haircut, but the reality was, is that I was doing intervention work. 244 00:16:51,265 --> 00:16:57,044 These kids, um, were what the school district would consider troublesome. 245 00:16:57,365 --> 00:17:00,835 I wouldn't consider them troublesome, uh, but what the school district 246 00:17:00,835 --> 00:17:04,774 would consider troublesome, you know, broken homes, no, no, no real, 247 00:17:05,844 --> 00:17:07,275 Finances or anything like that. 248 00:17:07,275 --> 00:17:08,885 So I wasn't taking money from them. 249 00:17:09,135 --> 00:17:12,895 These were kids that weren't going into their barbershops to begin with, 250 00:17:12,915 --> 00:17:14,065 because they couldn't afford it. 251 00:17:17,254 --> 00:17:23,254 So I think that we need to break that down even a little bit further for folks 252 00:17:23,284 --> 00:17:30,165 because For many of our listeners who might have been, you know, expecting 253 00:17:30,274 --> 00:17:34,425 a typical college experience where you take a course, you take, you read a 254 00:17:34,425 --> 00:17:41,434 book on, I don't know, you know, um, community, um, community policies, 255 00:17:41,434 --> 00:17:48,230 or, or, or, or, um, Acts of community services, making social changes, etc. 256 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:51,120 And then you debate and you might write a paper and all of that. 257 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:57,829 But, but, but what you, what you are describing of creating a nonprofit to 258 00:17:57,829 --> 00:18:03,360 go in and service people in the real world, to work with real kids, like 259 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:05,060 what you just described is in fact. 260 00:18:06,129 --> 00:18:09,889 The project that you did at CU, is that right? 261 00:18:09,940 --> 00:18:10,139 Yeah. 262 00:18:10,220 --> 00:18:13,320 So every, that's not, that's not common for all these folks. 263 00:18:13,550 --> 00:18:15,889 I think we need to, I think we need to like, make sure that they 264 00:18:15,889 --> 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. 266 00:18:22,499 --> 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. 268 00:18:26,060 --> 00:18:30,240 So all, all students at College and Bowner asked, uh, to come up with a 269 00:18:30,340 --> 00:18:35,089 passion-based project, uh, passion-based, meaning anything that's going to 270 00:18:35,089 --> 00:18:36,889 move their particular community. 271 00:18:37,625 --> 00:18:42,165 And you know, understanding that community has a different 272 00:18:42,165 --> 00:18:43,715 definition for everybody, right? 273 00:18:43,815 --> 00:18:47,605 So community could be the neighborhood in which you grew up in, your religious 274 00:18:47,615 --> 00:18:49,274 community, your home community. 275 00:18:49,275 --> 00:18:51,995 I mean, community as you see it. 276 00:18:52,095 --> 00:18:56,545 So come up with a project that's gonna better your community. 277 00:18:56,815 --> 00:19:01,055 And at the time I was doing violence interruption work at a place in Providence 278 00:19:01,055 --> 00:19:02,735 called the Nonviolence Institute. 279 00:19:02,815 --> 00:19:04,184 Well, at the time it was called the Nonviolence Institute. 280 00:19:04,185 --> 00:19:07,225 The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence. 281 00:19:07,955 --> 00:19:11,364 Um, they changed the name and I think for the better because it's a lot shorter. 282 00:19:11,935 --> 00:19:17,885 Um, needless to say, I was working with kids who, I quote unquote, 283 00:19:17,915 --> 00:19:21,044 were troublesome, but I would notice small things about them. 284 00:19:21,330 --> 00:19:25,180 Meaning, you know, hygiene, personal hygiene wasn't good, and those are things 285 00:19:25,180 --> 00:19:31,349 that are taught, you know, so I figured that if I could basically kill two birds 286 00:19:31,349 --> 00:19:35,190 with one stone, I can teach them about hygiene, give them a quality haircut, 287 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:41,310 and also, uh, talk to them about violence reduction strategies so that they don't, 288 00:19:41,879 --> 00:19:47,850 they didn't overreact or snap on a teacher whenever things got rough, and Some of 289 00:19:47,850 --> 00:19:54,850 the things that I learned, one, is that just the feeling of being properly groomed 290 00:19:55,530 --> 00:19:57,870 allows you to feel better about yourself. 291 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:00,899 And if you feel better about yourself, your reaction to things 292 00:20:00,899 --> 00:20:01,889 are a little bit different. 293 00:20:02,809 --> 00:20:07,209 And then second, which was something that hit really close to home while working 294 00:20:07,209 --> 00:20:11,970 with that population, was that a lot of these kids get labeled as being bad. 295 00:20:13,410 --> 00:20:17,450 Defiant, Troublesome, but in reality, some of these kids were just hungry, 296 00:20:19,389 --> 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 298 00:20:27,409 --> 00:20:29,809 when I get to class for breakfast. 299 00:20:30,500 --> 00:20:35,099 Um, so it actually, through this program and just being able. 300 00:20:35,395 --> 00:20:38,875 Through the barbershop and being able to have just simple conversations with them, 301 00:20:38,905 --> 00:20:43,385 I was able to take those conversations and then go back to the schools, like, these 302 00:20:43,385 --> 00:20:47,164 are the issues that your kids are facing, and this is the reason why they're acting 303 00:20:47,165 --> 00:20:50,205 the way that they're acting, um, and 304 00:20:52,525 --> 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 00:21:04,790 --> 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. 310 00:21:25,815 --> 00:21:28,964 They go and actually do the work and they all prove that they can do it. 311 00:21:30,125 --> 00:21:33,974 College Unbound has an incredible retention and graduation rates. 312 00:21:34,835 --> 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. 316 00:21:50,130 --> 00:21:51,350 And some live on, right? 317 00:21:51,460 --> 00:21:55,700 And depending on, you know, what the person does, I guess, but, but these 318 00:21:55,700 --> 00:21:58,359 are, these are not insignificant things. 319 00:21:59,159 --> 00:22:03,250 They have real, um, they have real customers. 320 00:22:03,250 --> 00:22:04,870 They have real people they serve. 321 00:22:04,870 --> 00:22:07,010 They have real, you know, impact. 322 00:22:07,010 --> 00:22:08,750 And those kids that you worked with. 323 00:22:09,135 --> 00:22:15,675 That you gave haircuts to, I'm sure had you had possibly changed 324 00:22:15,675 --> 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 00:22:47,004 --> 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 00:23:28,830 --> 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.