Danielle McConnell
Before the pandemic, “students were already challenged to buy groceries, make ends meet, to pay for hospital bills,” said Danielle McConnell, director of program at One Million Degrees (OMD). “Our program was set up to provide those wraparound supports, to always think creatively about how to support students financially.”
OMD created an emergency fund of roughly $150,000, through which they were able to directly support about 300 students. One of those students was Noale Peacock, who used her pandemic payment for groceries and wireless, a necessity for all-virtual learning environments.
OMD offers last-dollar scholarships, up to $1,000 per student per year. Peacock had previously used any stipend she received to save for her educational future, but COVID-19 changed that. It wasn’t just the financial support that made a difference during the pandemic. In fact, when Peacock originally applied to join OMD, she had no idea OMD offered stipends.
“My favorite thing,” said Peacock, “is having my own advisor.”
That advisor, or coach, is one of currently 493 volunteers with OMD. Coaches are purposefully paired with students after an interview process. Often, they work in careers that the student wishes to enter. These coaches reach out and call students before midterms, after midterms, and listen and speak as mentors to the college experience.
OMD was created in 2006 as a way to directly address persistence and retention at Chicago’s community colleges. At the time, the three-year graduation rate of these two-year schools was 7%. In the fifteen years since their inception, that graduation rate has almost tripled to just under 20%. OMD now has a case manager at every City College of Chicago campus and beyond. They work with community colleges in the suburbs outside Chicago, and in April of this year partnered with Colorado Department of Education in Adams County to increase wraparound supports specifically for adult students.
