Recent events in the lives of two 20-something year old Black men in Philadelphia have put both their accomplishments and at least one common experience they both shared in the limelight. They both attended the Community College of Philadelphia. Those two young men are Mr. Quamiir Trice and Mr. Hazim Hardeman. Both in their early 20s, their experiences with some of life's toughest enigmas aren't unlike those of many other young people of color in the 'hood' and elsewhere. Also like many other young people of color, young brothers and sisters, they're winning!
The success stories of Quamiir and Hazim are circulating local and social media, print and digital media, the Associated Press, everywhere! They're taking the narrative by storm; that of the success of young Black men! Quamiir, in a reply to a tweet I mentioned him in, wrote,
Much love bro. I’m just glad we took control of our stories and shared them to shed light on our communities. Keep winning y’all✊🏾— Quamiir Trice (@QuamiirTrice) November 23, 2017
If you're unaware of their stories, check out their twitter feeds. Nothing that I can write here will do it justice. Hear them in their own words.
Follow @QuamiirTrice
Follow @hazimhardeman
One of many salient points included in their narratives is the time they spent as students at Community College of Philadelphia, anything but 13th grade.
On Hazim's experience, Susan Snyder writes on philly.com, "...he went to community college, and his life as a scholar took off. He got into the honors program, for which he had high praise, and served as vice president of the student body." In an interview posted by Temple University on YouTube, Hazim speaks about how attending CCP allowed him the "opportunity to reorient myself and really focus myself..." He speaks of his learning how to be a scholar and how to interact with his teachers and professors. Hazim also makes it a point to note how the opportunity to attend CCP, knowing he could transfer to a place like Temple, was "something significant not only to me but to people in my community" This was, in his words, "an opportunity that not a lot of people in my neighborhood have."
He's Temple's first Rhodes Scholar and is headed to Oxford University.
Quamiir's road to and experiences at CCP also debunk previously held 13th grade mentalities!
He's Temple's first Rhodes Scholar and is headed to Oxford University.
Quamiir's road to and experiences at CCP also debunk previously held 13th grade mentalities!
In a Philadelphia Tribune report, Quamiir speaks of his experience in a program at the Center for Male Engagement at Community, “For the first time, I was watching four Black educators making a difference in my life and other students lives,” Trice said. “It was an eye opener for me. I was inspired by what they were doing, how they were carrying themselves, and how they were dressing." Kristen Graham notes on philly.com how Quamiir excelled at CCP, graduated and headed on to Howard University to complete his studies in education. Personally encouraged by former mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, Philly schools superintendent, Dr. Hite and a man you may have heard of, Barrack Obama, "Mr. Trice" is now an educator here in Philly, a Black male educator with great promise.
More and more, students and families are finding community colleges to be viable, affordable, and meaningful postsecondary experiences in preparation for even more exhaustive postsecondary learning.
In a cursory search for research on the topic, a few articles at the top of the search engines and databases yielded research on how several who start at places like CCP don't do well in 4-year universities, if they finish at all. I was a little disheartened, until...duhhhh...I'm writing a blog post about two brothers whose stories are counter narratives!! HA! How 'bout them apples!?!
During a recent trip with my students to CCP, one of the faculty members and I were chatting during lunch. He spoke of his long career there and I spoke of my coming up on my one year anniversary with Delaware County Community College as an adjunct reading professor teaching at night. He spoke of the whole 13th grade mentality. I asked this older brother very frankly if from his experience, people still think that way. He said "no". I echoed my agreement with that sentiment based on my experiences as an adjunct and based on conversations with youth and adults alike!
In a separate, unprovoked conversation with a fellow church member, who had no idea what my thoughts were, she commented on the quality of education she is receiving at a local community college. She already has at least a Bachelors, but decided to take (or took) a course in business. She commented how she likes it and how courses, overall, are being taught by experts in their fields and PhDs. (Note the *and*, because a PhD does not necessarily make you an expert)
In another unprovoked conversation, this time with a local school superintendent, we spoke of our support for the education that community colleges have to offer. She spoke of the dual enrollment program her district offers and the increasing success of such. I spoke up Quamiir and Hazim.
The mentality towards community colleges is changing. From my view, many no longer consider it "13th" grade but the next logical step to their long term goals in life. At the end of the day, whatever post-secondary goals our students have, whether community college, 4-year universities, trade school or otherwise, let's encourage them in their pursuits! Let's help them see the forest for the trees, the certificates, and the degrees!
In a cursory search for research on the topic, a few articles at the top of the search engines and databases yielded research on how several who start at places like CCP don't do well in 4-year universities, if they finish at all. I was a little disheartened, until...duhhhh...I'm writing a blog post about two brothers whose stories are counter narratives!! HA! How 'bout them apples!?!
During a recent trip with my students to CCP, one of the faculty members and I were chatting during lunch. He spoke of his long career there and I spoke of my coming up on my one year anniversary with Delaware County Community College as an adjunct reading professor teaching at night. He spoke of the whole 13th grade mentality. I asked this older brother very frankly if from his experience, people still think that way. He said "no". I echoed my agreement with that sentiment based on my experiences as an adjunct and based on conversations with youth and adults alike!
In a separate, unprovoked conversation with a fellow church member, who had no idea what my thoughts were, she commented on the quality of education she is receiving at a local community college. She already has at least a Bachelors, but decided to take (or took) a course in business. She commented how she likes it and how courses, overall, are being taught by experts in their fields and PhDs. (Note the *and*, because a PhD does not necessarily make you an expert)
In another unprovoked conversation, this time with a local school superintendent, we spoke of our support for the education that community colleges have to offer. She spoke of the dual enrollment program her district offers and the increasing success of such. I spoke up Quamiir and Hazim.
The mentality towards community colleges is changing. From my view, many no longer consider it "13th" grade but the next logical step to their long term goals in life. At the end of the day, whatever post-secondary goals our students have, whether community college, 4-year universities, trade school or otherwise, let's encourage them in their pursuits! Let's help them see the forest for the trees, the certificates, and the degrees!
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