Where is your post education home? – Jermaine Williams

For the premier of the Future College Parent Podcast, I was honored to be joined by Dr. Jermaine Williams, president of Montgomery College and a first-generation student himself.   He’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever met and he’s all about providing access and equity to higher education. I couldn’t think of anyone better to start the show out with!  Jermaine and I talk about college preparation, choice, and finance. Episode Timeline: [01:05] Introducing Jermaine Williams! [01:46] Justin’s Disclaimer [02:48] Jermaine’s journey to transition from high school to college [03:14] Some useful resources for a seamless high school to college transition [08:00] Having conversations with parents and students as the president of the college. [10:39] What types of students are accepted into community colleges? [12:39] Are community colleges any lesser? [16:09] Addressing the stigma associated with community colleges [17:56] Skills to develop to be successful out of community college [20:18] How parents can encourage students to seek out community college resources [23:29] Impacting students to feel a sense of belonging. [25:15] Jermaine’s advice to the secondary education sector [29:46] Advice to four-year institutions [33:43] Justin’s 5 takeaways from the episode. Five things I learned from my talk with Jermaine! 1. Community Colleges are typically open access, which means anyone who completes a high school education or equivalent can get in! Congratulations! Your student CAN attend a community college! However, this doesn’t mean academic rigor is lesser. CC’s are accredited or confirmed they meet the same standards of academic quality as four-year institutions. 2. Students who start at a community college can succeed at a four-year institution with the foundations they gain at the community college. The diploma your student will receive from the four-year institution will read the same as a student’s who began at the four-year school. The only difference is CC students will likely pay significantly less for their first two years at the CC. 3. Parents should know seamless transfer isn’t always guaranteed, meaning all the credits earned at the CC may not transfer to the four year. It’s important to check with the four-year institution for details. 4. Your community college can be accessed NOW! There are programs and services for high school students like the ones Jermaine mentioned such as taking college courses in high school, summer programs, or even taking your senior year at a community college. Check them out NOW, do not wait! 5. Last but not least if you don’t know what to ask a potential college start with what you do know. Remember Jermaine’s bucket analogy. For example, you know college cost money to attend, you can simply ask how does someone pay for college? I promise you it’s OK to not know but start with what you do know. Resources: Future College Parent Podcast website: https://www.futurecollegeparent.com/ Future College Parent Network: The Future College Parent Network is here for you to post what you learned by listening to this episode and engage with other listeners so we can learn together!  Please join at:www.facebook.com/groups/futurecollegeparentnetwork/ Listen to episodes on https://www.futurecollegeparent.com/: Please share the podcast widely with other parents, leaders of activities your student is involved in, and your school administrators so they can share with your school district. You can also let parents know the show is streaming directly from the website and there is no need to download anything!  The show is also on your favorite podcast platforms as well. Parent Action Plan!: Parents can download the action plan document to actively engage with their student, secondary, and post-secondary professionals to help their student prepare, chose and finance college. Lesson Plan & Worksheet: Leaders of activities your student is involved in,