Strategizing for Success: Guided Pathways Connect Education to Careers

When Aniyah Willis was born, her asthma put her in and out of the NICU for months.

As an honors student in high school, she had little money to spend on an expensive four-year school. Luckily, her first choice — nearby St. Petersburg College (SPC) in Florida — offered a generous financial aid package that ensured she has not paid a penny out of pocket.

Going to SPC gave Willis another unexpected bonus: the well-rounded support of a Guided Pathways school. SPC was one of the first 30 institutions to try the philosophic and programmatic switch in 2015. Since then, Guided Pathways has grown to include more than 300 institutions since 2019. 

Aniyah WillisGuided Pathways is designed not only to get students successfully through their educational journey but to help them graduate with a firm plan in hand and a working knowledge of the career opportunities available in each major. The program’s goal is to minimize extraneous courses taken, saving students time and money, setting students on the path to success. According to a 2020 report by the Center for Community College Student Engagement, Guided Pathways is working.

Willis knew she wanted to be a neonatal nurse like the ones who saved her life many times over as a newborn. But she didn’t know exactly how to get there.

“I was unsure of how exactly college worked,” says Willis. “The schedule was a lot different than grade school; I wasn’t sure what a ‘prereq’ is, I didn’t know what classes I should have been taking.”

So, Willis reached out to her advisor, Tara Hunter, who helped Willis learn about different careers available in the field of neonatal nursing and helped Willis understand the nuances of the college experience.