What if community college could serve as a launchpad to the nation’s top universities?
In this episode, we sit down with Nolvia Delgado, Executive Director of the Kaplan Educational Foundation (KEF), a former KEF scholar herself, to explore how the foundation’s Kaplan Leadership Program helps first-generation and low-income students transfer from community colleges to some of the most prestigious four-year institutions in the country.
Delgado shares her own journey from Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) to Smith College, and the life-changing mentorship and financial support that made it possible. In conversation with The EDU Ledger host David Pluviose, she unpacks KEF’s innovative programs: from the Community College Bridge Program to the digital Transfer Hub, which are closing knowledge gaps, reshaping perceptions of community colleges, and proving that access and excellence can coexist.
Don’t miss this episode as it offers a masterclass in what real transformation looks like.
Key Points:
Quotes:
“For us, I think part of our magic sauce is closing that knowledge gap and really working with the scholars so that they understand all the different steps that are required for them to transfer and continuing to support them beyond graduation…we stay with them until they graduate [with] a bachelor's degree.”
“We teach our scholars that they need to advocate for themselves and make sure that they have everything that they need from their institutions when they get there. That's also part of it.”
