00:00Joining me presently in studio we have our features editor, Ms. Lauren Williams. How are you?
00:07Good. How are you, Dana?
00:08I'm well. Thank you so much for joining us back here at Essence Live.
00:10Of course.
00:11Now, you were on site firsthand at the D.C. Howard Community College and witnessed firsthand the discussion on the importance of higher education.
00:19Judging from the panel and what we just heard in the clip from Michelle Obama, what do you feel is the main message for the education initiative?
00:27So basically, it's all about bridging the gap between high school and college.
00:31Once upon a time, the U.S. led the world in number of people who graduate in college.
00:36Today, we're number 12.
00:37Wow.
00:38So the first lady is really trying to bridge that gap by 2020.
00:40So she's really pressing hard on getting kids right from high school and straight on to college.
00:44And I also like, too, that she mentioned there are different options.
00:47The first lady mentioned how community college, for many, can be a better path to the workforce and securing a job after graduation.
00:53Can you speak a little bit as to how a community college may offer better or different opportunities than some four-year institutions?
00:58Of course.
00:59Well, college affordability is one of the main factors in determining whether someone will either attend or finish college.
01:04I understand that, yes.
01:05And community colleges cost thousands of dollars less per year than your traditional four-year university.
01:12They also offer flexibility.
01:13So if you know what you want to do, you can go to a very technical community college, study there for two years, and enter the workforce.
01:20If not, by the time you're finished in two years and you still don't know what you want to do, you can just transfer those credits to a four-year university and continue on.
01:28And also, too, I think it's great to point out that for some occupations or some career choices, you have to have a secondary degree, an advanced degree, a graduate degree.
01:35Going to a community college, you know, and not spending so much money up front, especially if you know you have a long educational future ahead of you, is a great option.
01:44A hundred percent.
01:45It's a great option.
01:46The FAFSA forms.
01:47This is going to almost have me break out in the hives and flash back to my grad school days.
01:51Or one of the specific challenges mentioned by Ms. Obama.
01:54What are some of the other challenges for those trying to attend college that your average parent or student may overlook?
01:59So one thing the First Lady talks about a lot is college preparedness.
02:03And a prong of retire is connecting school counselors with students.
02:07She always talks about when she got to college, you know, being a young black girl from Chicago, she felt like she was a little lost.
02:13She didn't have that much guidance.
02:14And so a big part of retire is connecting school counselors to kids once they're on campus to make sure that they have that support and they feel like they have the resources they need to actually stay there and do well.
02:25And that's a great point because we fail to realize sometimes that even in 2015, for many, this is the generation, their first time going to four-year institutions.
02:35They don't necessarily have older siblings or cousins that may have gone on to college or to graduate school.
02:40So it's very important to Reach Higher as the program, to use Reach Higher and other community service organizations that can connect them with mentorship.
02:47Absolutely.
02:48And in addition to being a part of the First Lady's Reach Higher initiative, the panel you moderated was a kickoff to Essence's second annual college tour.
02:54Tell us a little bit more about the tour and the hashtag 62 million girls social media campaign.
02:59So the tour kicks off this month.
03:01We're going to three schools, University of Maryland College Park, Hampton University, and Clark Atlanta University.
03:07Okay.
03:08And it's really a way for Essence, the brand, to get out there on college campuses and see what, you know, college kids are talking about, let them interface with editors, and really just get that one-on-one connection.
03:17So it'll be really great.
03:18And it's just a great way for us to sort of get out into the world and, you know, see what our kids are talking about and get the pulse of what's going on.
03:26Definitely.
03:27And the 62 million girls social media campaign, which I'm starting to see a lot of everywhere, all over my Twitter feed, is encouraging people to tweet what they learned in school along with the photo of themselves.
03:36We've seen celebs such as Janelle Monae, Kerry Washington, Misty Copeland, and Usher take part.
03:42Lauren, what's something you learned in school?
03:45I think the most important thing I learned in school was to speak up, which was paramount for me.
03:52I was always taught that my voice and my opinions mattered.
03:55And, you know, as a young black girl growing up, it's very important to hear that along the way, you know, growing up.
04:01And it really empowers you to, you know, use that in your everyday life.
04:04So that's the one thing I would say I learned from school.
04:07I learned how to make a mean cup of ramen noodles.
04:10I learned that I can live for like a month on $10.
04:14But coming from Alexandria, Louisiana, and I came to college here in New York, college showed me that my world is so much bigger than the community that I grew up in.
04:23So there are many different levels to college education, if you will, from meeting different people, different backgrounds, and finding yourself.
04:30Absolutely.
04:31You know, absolutely.
04:32So thank you so very much for joining us.
04:34You can visit Essence.com for those dates and those locations.
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