At YP4 we know that beyond a center of community activity, community colleges have the real potential to become centers of grassroots progressive activity. This is especially true given that half of our nation’s college students attend community colleges. To engage these dynamic students, in YP4 is piloting a North Carolina Community College project to explore and support community college students to become lifetime leaders in the progressive movement.
The current leadership in North Carolina is not reflective of the diversity of the state’s youth population and is not making decisions that reflect its values or interests. Many of these young people attend one of the 58 community colleges across the state, and YP4 is particularly interested in supporting potential leaders from schools located in the state’s rural, under-resourced regions.
To increase the representation and success of community college students in the progressive movement and to invest in this important and under-resourced community, YP4 will select inaugural class of 8 North Carolina community college Fellows and create unique training and support for community colleges students.
Our inaugural cohort of 8 North Carolina community college YP4 Fellows embark on their fellowship year, beginning in the fall of 2015 and continuing through the spring of 2016.
Fellows who partake in the Community College initiative will:
- Convene at the South regional training in Charlotte for a half-day pre-training meeting catered towards the unique needs of community college students;
- Be matched with a mentor who will most effectively support them through successful completion of the YP4 fellowship and the design and implementation of a Blueprint for Social Justice in their community;
- Receive a small stipend for participation as well as seed funding for a project they wish to implement in their community.
YP4’s Community College Recruitment Visits
If you are in North Carolina and wish to learn more about the program, our NC Community College Consultant, Lela Ali ’14, will be doing site visits at various campuses, listed below. If you wish to receive more details, shoot Lela an email at lali@pfaw.org.
- March 11th: Edgecombe Community College (Edgecombe County) at 11am-1pm
- March 11th: Nash Community College (Nash County) at 2pm
- March 19th: Central Piedmont Community College – Main Campus (Mecklenburg County) at 11am
- March 24th: Wilson Community College– Student Lounge (Building G) at 11am
If you know a North Carolina community college student who could benefit from our programming please encourage them to apply today by March 31st.