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The eLearn Podcast
Life-Altering Higher Education: The Kaplan Leadership Program
Listen to alumi Antoine Hunger and Jon Chavez —also Director of Academic Advising— tell how the Kaplan Leadership Program is making a tangible difference for high-potential, underserved community college students in New York City and New Jersey.
Jon talks about the important but not always easy decision to complete a Higher Ed education, while Antoine opens up about his life-changing transition from Hostos Community College to Yale University.
We delve into the importance of taking chances and believing you're worthy of them, finding scholarships and other sources of support, and considering alternative academic pathways to achieve your dreams.
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Hello everyone. I'm excited to be here with John Chavez and Antoine Hunger. They're here to talk about the Kaplan Educational Program. We're going to talk about both the program needs and talk about a little bit of the bad ways that we have in education and professional development. Hope this is a very fun and enlightening conversation for everyone. It's very nice to meet you here, so let's start with you, John. How are you today?
Speaker 2:Yeah, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:My pleasure.
Speaker 3:I am doing great here back in New York City. I am really excited to be here today.
Speaker 1:Awesome. Can you tell us a bit about yourself, about your background, your role in the foundation?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I actually serve as the director of academic advisement with the Kaplan and Educational Foundation. I'm also as the Director of Academic Advising with the Kaplan Educational Foundation. I'm also actually an alumni of the program. Many months ago, when I was a student at LaGuardia Community College and, with support from the program, I transferred to Bard College for my bachelor's degree and now I serve in supporting our students with transfer advising Awesome.
Speaker 1:Excellent. Us are, then, supporting our students with transfer advising Awesome, excellent. And we also have here Antoine. Antoine is a more recent alumni of the program. Right, hi Antoine, how are you? Hey?
Speaker 2:Chris, thank you for having me. Yes, I'm also a Kaplan Educational Foundation alumna. I was a part of cohort 12, which is a group of scholars during the year of 2019. Kaplan was incredibly instrumental in my academic journey. I was a student at Hostos Community College Prior to joining the program. Kaplan assisted me into transferring into Yale University to obtain my bachelor's degree in history of science, medicine and public health, and I actually received the Eli Whitney Scholarship to Yale during my undergraduate degree. And I received another scholarship to the Graduate School, a community-based scholarship to study at the Yale School of Nursing, where I am currently training to become a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's pretty impressive. It's amazing. Can you talk to us, john, a little bit about the Educational Foundation and, within the foundation, the leadership program? How does this relate to one another?
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely so. The Kaplan Educational Foundation is actually a 501c Republic charity and our mission is to serve high potential, underserved community college students who are seeking to complete their associate's degree and pursuits transfer. They'll come successfully transferred to some of the nation's most selective colleges and universities where they go on to complete their four-year bachelor's degree, and that's done through our Kaplan Leadership Program, which is our flagship program that accepts co-oports of students, which are essentially groups of students that are going through this process together and serve as support systems to each other as they're going through their transfer admissions process and deciding the schools that they're going to be transferring to, are completing their associate's degrees in the process and are navigating what light pulse transfer is going to be looking like.
Speaker 1:Excellent. Okay, so I have a question for both of you. I would like to answer them like from both sides of the spectrum, and let's just start from the beginning. So the starting point of the foundation and the prospective alumni. So, for John, what is the foundation looking for whenever they're prospecting the students who do you see that fits the requirements but also probably has the most potential to make the most of the program? And for Antoine, how did you come across it, how were you reached and what made you decide and then evaluate and make sure that it was the right choice for you?
Speaker 3:But let's start with John, please. So essentially for the program, we're seeking to work with community college students in the New York City, new Jersey area, so this can demonstrate financial need but, more importantly, display City, new Jersey area Students can demonstrate financial need but, more importantly, display initiatives, resilience and perseverance. Not necessarily looking for the perfect student. We're looking for the student that is willing to work hard and is seeking assistance in pursuing their ambitions of where they want to transfer. We also want someone that has a desire to transform the lives of others and serve their communities.
Speaker 3:I think one of the things that's often not known about transfer is that statistically, through data through the Aspen Institute, the Aspen Institute shows that 80% of currently college students generally want to seek transfer. They have a dream of eventually transferring to a four-year school. 30% of those managed to make it and only about 11% are able to eventually earn their bachelor's degree, and that number is even for students coming from low-income families. We believe that there is a lot of talent and opportunity that's lost because community college transfer students don't typically have sufficient support income families. We believe that there is a lot of talent and opportunity that's lost because community college transfer students don't typically have sufficient support to make transfer viable. Henry.
Speaker 1:Suryawirawan. How about you, antoine? How did it all begin for you?
Speaker 2:So the father of three. I married young and I had to find financial means to take care of my family. I was employed with the New York City Department of Education as a paraprofessional, where I cared for average students of color, and I felt like a hypocrite promoting education without actually having one myself. That alone inspired me to enroll at the Hostos Community College. While I was at Hostos, I joined the CUNY ASAP program, which provided me with transportation academic advisor and my academic advisor, hami Olmos. He suggested that the Kaplan Educational Foundation would be a great fit for me, so I applied and I gained acceptance into the program, and the program has shaped my future immensely.
Speaker 2:As a Kaplan scholar and a parent of three. I was afraid to apply to universities across the country because I knew I needed to be in New York to support my family and Nancy and Rhoda. Prominent people who were a part of the foundation encouraged me to apply to four-year universities across the nation. They gave me funding to visit these universities across the nation. I joined one semester when, actually, my laptop broke down. At the end of the semester too, I lost all of my assignments. I was ready to give up the school. Kaplan purchased me a new laptop to help me continue with my journey. I got through Kaplan, like I said, through a reference, but throughout the years Kaplan has become a family and even as an alumnus they still provide continuous support, even in my graduate studies.
Speaker 3:If I can add there, chris, I think one of the things even with Antoine we were working together as well at the time and for being with a family of three, married an entire life, established even in a school like Yale University, seemed like a tremendous sacrifice to be making in order for him to pursue his dream of nursing and through our program and things. Eventually he was able to say I know that was actually going to be the best fit for him, but getting there was a tremendous journey.
Speaker 1:Yeah, of course I can only imagine. So, Antoine, are you aware of maybe similar opportunities provided maybe by other foundations? When you found out about it, did you maybe your advisor suggested other programs, and if so, what made you go with?
Speaker 2:Kaplan for this.
Speaker 2:To be honest, I grew up in Harlem, new York, and I never really had opportunities or programs that provided as much support as Kaplan.
Speaker 2:Even now, I encourage people to join Kaplan, people who are in a community college who are trying to make something of themselves to join the program. I have yet to come across a program that provided as much support to their students as Kaplan program that provided as much support to their students as Kaplan, and I'm a firm believer in education. I feel that education is your passport to travel around the world. However, most people don't have the opportunity or access to universities or schools that can provide a better education, and I feel like Kaplan is a bridge program that shows people who come from communities like mine that there are opportunities that they can obtain that they probably wouldn't have the chance to do so otherwise. So I feel like Kaplan is a great program that helps people reach their fullest potential in life, because they did that for me, and I feel if more programs are out there and provided those same opportunities for people from communities like mine, more people will succeed in life, but people don't feel like there are as many options available.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I guess. So it's both a problem of availability but also awareness of programs like this. I believe let's talk a bit about, kind of the middle of the process. This again goes for both of you, especially you, john, that you're also an alumni once before we talk about all the benefits and all the great things that Kaplan is doing, but I guess there is something that you give back and since it's education and it's something that's going to develop you as a person and professionally, there must be some challenge that you must be willing to accept. I'd like to know from both your standpoints, like what does it take to stay in the program, to earn the place? Because, as you said, there's many people looking for something like this, and being part of this is a privilege, right. So I want to know what does it take? Let's say I'm going to start, maybe I'm not convinced. What would you say to someone who needs to be aware of what? Does it take the responsibility, what is the challenge? Me one.
Speaker 2:I would just say trust the process. Kaplan prepares you to enter into the real world. For an example, we used to have to go to Kaplan every week, which kind of was challenging for me as a father of three and to work around my work schedule to attend weekly programs at Kaplan. However, kaplan provided so many resources. For an example, email etiquette.
Speaker 2:Prior to attending Kaplan, I did not know how to form an email in a proper format and send it. I would just type whatever I wanted to say and send an email. Kaplan, I did not know how to form an email in a proper format and send it. I would just type whatever I wanted to say and send an email. Kaplan showed me how to exactly do that. I learned email etiquette from Kaplan. John, on the other hand, was my writing coach while I was in Kaplan, so John helped me to learn how to taught me how to write a personal statement in a correct way.
Speaker 2:Kaplan provided me with assistance to write my essays, to go to different schools, to apply to different universities across the nation. So just that little support system that Kaplan provided me. I would not have been able to make it to a university as great as yet, or any school for the matter. So I think that if people had those opportunities, they would succeed. However, committing to those weekly meetings and going to Kaplan like every Friday and Saturday, that may be a hassle for certain people due to like life circumstances, but in my opinion, I would say that it was worth it. It was definitely worth the sacrifice, the sweat, the tears, the. But in my opinion, I would say that it was worth it. It was definitely worth the sacrifice, the sweat, the tears, the burning in the midnight oil applying to the universities, even going back and forth with John about what I should incorporate into my essay and what I shouldn't molded me into who I am today. And I feel like if other people had the opportunity to do this, they will do great things just like I am today. And I feel like if other people had the opportunity to do this, they will do great things just like I am now.
Speaker 1:How about you, John? What does the commitment entail in your experience?
Speaker 3:One of the things I appreciate about Antoine so much is his ability to articulate his experiences, and I think the things that we share with our scholars is that, regardless of whatever you decide After the affirmative action decision, many students are feeling increased pressure in college admissions. Costs of education continue to rise, but more and more jobs are requiring a degree. There are tremendous issues for college students generally assumption that when a student enters college that they're just going to navigate all these things without necessarily having guidance. By comparison, right when you're in high school, you at least have some guidance in helping you navigate the college process. When you're a community college, that guidance typically either dwindles, if it's not diminishing completely typically, either dwindles if it's not diminishing completely.
Speaker 3:And so there is a lot of challenges that community college students must face and persevere over to make these kinds of sacrifices, like Antoine was mentioning right. So imagine how am I going to fit this additional thing into my schedule to be able to fulfill the dreams that I set out for myself? Like you, have to make an active decision that this is going to be worth it, even if you don't see the result immediately. We see these circumstances and we see opportunity as an organization, and we want colleges and universities and all of our partners philanthropists, municipalities to understand the opportunities that live within community college students. And so on our side, we're going to continue to prepare our scholars to pursue the best quality education that fits them. That's possible, and we want others to see that community college students and transfer students bring another level of diversity, perspectives and innovation to campuses, once they're welcomed and supported.
Speaker 1:For you as an alumni, John, what was the thing that, in Antoine's words, molded you in the program, Like some memory that you have that say okay, this is worth it.
Speaker 3:I think similar to Antoine. When I entered the program, I had dropped out of high school three times in my lifetime. I dropped out of a Cougar College before returning to college after I had a newborn son. At the time, and in my eyes I had very little successes. When I decided to apply to the program and they were willing to look beyond all those things that were part of my history that I would have at the time deemed as a failure, and they saw an opportunity in me that at the time I didn't see in myself.
Speaker 3:What molded me was for the program, realizing that at the time I had given up on having a dream to really see the potential in myself that had disappeared after so many experiences, to then make decisions and make those sacrifices and, as one mentioned, that this is something that I want for myself, that's going to better my life, and that those dreams are possible and that they're worth it. As I mentioned, I had a newborn son. He was two years old at the time and I had decided to go away for college, and for many people like to step away from a child at such an early age. It was a big decision to make and a lot of sacrifice had to be made Like a new person by the time I got back Right.
Speaker 1:But what he's able to do now and the guidance I can provide him in his college application process. That's invaluable, yeah, and I think it's also invaluable for your son that you went through this. It was a hard choice that paid off, because we have talked about the challenges for people to complete an education, lead an education. But I think you both raise a very interesting point, which is like how do we convince more people that there are paths out there and that they are worthy of those pathways? Maybe because there is a certain idea, a certain stereotype of what is it to be a high education student. So what message would you have for that kind of person to consider a program like Kaplan or getting some support to complete their education?
Speaker 3:I think I could say so many things to that question.
Speaker 3:I think one of the true results of this program I speak to what Antoine was mentioning earlier about when he entered Hostos Community College, versus now completing Yale right, I think, for many community college students, but also just people in general right, we go in with many community college students with a plan about what they're going to pursue and what they're going to be doing with their education, and those plans are typically grounded in the exposure we've had in our life and the experiences that we've had, but we think realistic.
Speaker 3:We grounded in the exposure we've had in our life and the experiences that we've had, but we've been realistic. And so I think, organizationally, what we try to do is we try to encourage our scholars to look deeper into themselves. We try to take off the blinders and to show them who they can be so that they can pursue what they want to become. And I think what we see from that is this year, for instance, we have two scholars attending Brown University, two scholars attending Princeton, two scholars attending Mount Holyoke and Lawrence University, and we also have scholars attending University of California and Smith College, and we also have alumni that go on to become amazing teachers and nurses, but also those that end up working in economic policy for the us government and publish books, and we even havea scholar that's pursuing hollywood, and so I think that is very hard to see when you're just beginning your first semester in community college, but we truly believe that with the right education, the sky's the limit.
Speaker 1:You mentioned something that's very interesting because you took the program and now you are helping move forward the program. But there could be people who, because of their own situation facing kind of access to education and so on because of the program, could very likely be able to be part of the policymaking process. Right, for more open policies, right? Would you, antoine, trust the process, right? Could you elaborate on that? And, to add, saying it to someone who probably knows he will benefit but doesn't know it yet?
Speaker 2:So I live by two models which I try to promote to everyone. My first model is proper plan and prevents poor performance. And my second model is don't allow your zip code to determine your destination. And I say that because, like I mentioned prior, I have lived in an urban community. I walked up in Gang Rylance as a child. I watched my friends die in the street and that motivated me to be a better person. So now in life, where I am now, I promote what and how education has helped, shaped me.
Speaker 2:I just did a commercial, cuny ASAP. The CUNY ASAP program called me to do a video and a commercial, actually to promote CUNY ASAP to people. I had over a thousand reposts. I had people writing me oh, how do I join the CUNY ASAP program? How can I get into Kaplan? What can I do to get into Yale? If Antoine made it to Yale, I can make it to Yale. I even have a friend who came to my graduation at Yale in May and went and enrolled into community college at Hostos Community College. It's cool. So I would just say to anybody, like I said, proper planning prevents poor performance. But more or less, if I can do it, you can do it too, and that's just like my message, not only to people within my community, but people from all marginalized communities across the world. You can do it just with the mobility support, but also with your own motivation, and you can succeed.
Speaker 1:I'm a firm believer in that Excellent so for our final question, maybe I could just ask you to share that video, because it's about how to join the program where you can find more information. Who can I reach out to if I want to know more, if I'm interested in joining?
Speaker 3:Yes, we'll be reopening for the next year in a few months and we definitely encourage any community college students that are in their first year of community college to check out our website and learn more about us when the next application opens. We really encourage you to apply, I think the question you're asking for. I think for many of our scholars that enter our programs they didn't necessarily feel confident looking at it until they really just took the plunge and decided you know what I'm going to go for it and that's what it takes. That's the first step right, to just be willing to take a chance.
Speaker 2:The one thing that you said, john, which I think is amazing. When I applied I applied the day before the deadline and I did not have all my documentation. And Alberto, he took my application and told me like listen, whenever you could get the rest of your documents, you just send them in when you can. And I always speak about Alberto because he was a gatekeeper who allowed me in Although I didn't have my documentation there. They worked with me and even when I had my interview with Deborah Rhoda and Nancy, we all cried after I told them my story and how I just needed that support.
Speaker 2:So this is why I'm a firm believer. Although I'm an alumni for Kaplan, I will always advocate for Kaplan because I will not be where I am today without the foundation. I just cannot keep stressing that I was one of those people who felt that my options were limited. When he suggested that I apply to Yale, it was like I'm not going to get into Yale, why waste my time? Kaplan was like if you already have this perception that you're not going to get in, you're losing it from a man. And I applied and I got in with a full academic scholarship and now I'm attending grad school at Yale, again with a full academic scholarship. So I must say, I want to reiterate that one more time Kaplan Education Foundation will provide you with support and resources that you need to reach your goals.
Speaker 3:Antoine mentioned that he gets messages from people he doesn't even know, and our scholars are willing to help. I don't necessarily recommend applying the day before, but we definitely had it happen. And for anyone that's hearing this and there's still time I would definitely recommend again to just be learning to take a chance, and we're not the only secret sauce out there. We're an opportunity. So take chances, right. Any other organization, any other programs that you see to be willing to apply to it, and you'll get to make that decision once you've been accepted, if you want to go through with it or if you're going to explore other opportunities. I just want to go through with it, or if you're going to explore other opportunities.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much. This was a very interesting and heartwarming and eye-opening conversation.
Speaker 3:I appreciate you inviting us to join you. Chris, Thank you so much for having us.
