Today’s Students, Tomorrow’s Talent – Details, episodes & analysis

Community colleges play a critical role in America, but many struggle to tell their own story. This episode dives into how schools are using SEO, branding, and mobile-friendly marketing to reshape perceptions and connect with their communities. Guests from Iowa Lakes, Great Falls, and marketing firm TrendyMinds share insights on innovative strategies—including how a mascot helped one college rebrand. Listen in to hear how community colleges are changing the way they communicate.

Show Links:
The Social Media Institute
Iowa Lakes “Get To It” Campaign
Mo the River Otter

Steal These Strategies by Mary Laphen Pope

In a word, the 2024 FAFSA season was rough. Released late, riddled with errors, and issues with processing led to a chaotic college enrollment season for schools and families. With the 2025 FAFSA now released, we took some time to catch up with James Kvaal, Under Secretary of Education to learn how they went about fixing the form.  We also talked with Sam Aleinikoff and Dr. Corey Sheffield of College AIM, an Atlanta-based nonprofit, that participated in a pilot group to test the 2025 form.  

Show Links:

College AIM - https://collegeaim.org/
Ron Lieber’s Piece about 2025 FAFSA - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/23/your-money/fafsa-financial-aid-college.html?unlocked_article_code=1.gk4.yk3g.8fYt7EJK8hb-&smid=url-share

Millions of adults in the US have some college credit but never finished their degree. The path back into school a second time is much harder to navigate.  We begin a two-part series by talking with adult students and their coaches to learn about what it takes to return to school.  Listen as Juquilla Henry, her coach April Mesa, and Jamar Izzard share their stories of returning to higher education. 

Show Links:

• Veering Off-Track: ‘Some college, no degree’ numbers spike to 39 million
• Learn more about FutureMakers Navigator support in southwest Florida.

A new study conducted by Gallup and Lumina Foundation found that three-fourths of students in bachelor’s programs and two-thirds of adults seeking associate degrees have considered taking a break from college due to emotional stress. Dr. Zainab Okolo of Lumina discusses the growing mental health crisis across the country and explores how it is having a great impact on adults and students of color. Dr. Jo Blondin, president of Clark State College, discusses how they are supporting students, staff, and faculty through a culture of care. 

Show Links:

• Pandemic Exacerbates Mental Health Issues for Black Students - Diverse Education
• 14-year-old earns associates degree from Clark State College
• Gallup and Lumina Foundation Report
• Get Help Today

Aligning the work of state agencies, colleges, universities, community organizations, and philanthropy towards common goals takes trust, a neutral intermediary, and a focus on what is best for students.  State-level networks across the country are leading efforts to make their state’s education and workforce systems better.  Ryan Fewins-Bliss of the Michigan College Access Network, Chandra Scott of Alabama Possible, and Laura Winter of the Missouri College and Career Attainment Network discuss the ways their networks build trust, advance postsecondary policy and practice, and improve equitable outcomes for students in their home states.

States across the country are re-examining higher education laws, policies, and regulations to better serve the needs of Today’s Students.  Scott Jenkins, Lumina Foundation’s strategy director for state policy, talks about Lumina’s state policy agenda, the flaws with current state funding for higher education, and how he and his colleagues are supporting policymakers around the country.  Commissioner Carlos Santiago of the Massachuettes Department of Higher Education shares how his agency designed and implemented an Equity Agenda - a multi-pronged approach to addressing racial equity in higher education.  Santiago gives specific examples of policies that have been updated after a state-wide “equity audit” and shares what he has learned about higher education leadership over his 30+ year career.

Join us as we wrap up the major higher ed news from 2021 with Danielle Douglas-Gabriel of the Washington Post, Elissa Nadworny of NPR, and Katherine Wheatle of Lumina Foundation.  Together, we talk about the important and sometimes strange stories inside higher education, and consider themes to watch for in 2022. 

Lumina’s Fall 2021 issue of Focus Magazine, titled Native Excellence, relied on an experienced team of Native American journalists and photographers.  Suzette Brewer and Hondo Louis join us to talk about their process, reporting during the pandemic, and about the importance of Native American representation in journalism.

Marking our 30-episode anniversary, we visit the issue of campus safety and policing. Last year, the murder of George Floyd forced communities, campuses included, to examine how policing helps and harms the communities it intends to serve. We speak with Charles H. F. Davis, III, Nadine Jones, Wisdom Cole, Marlon Lynch, and Jael Kerandi to learn about how communities are working together to address campus safety. Lumina Strategy Officer, Katherine Wheatle, joins as co-host.

Resources discussed during the show:

• Racist Roots of Campus Policing by Dr. Eddie R. Cole’s Washington Post Op-Ed
• NAACP Toolkit
• Michigan State University Reorganization of Policing

Nearly 1 in 4 college students today have children or care for dependents. Colleges and universities are often not set up to support parenting students. Nicole Lynn Lewis of Generation Hope, and Buffy Tanner and Janet Hubbard of Shasta College join us to talk about what is being done to support parenting students. 

To learn more about student parents, check out the following resources:

• Who are Today’s Students? 
• Read the 2020 Hope Center Report, surveying the views of more than 23,000 parenting students. 
• Check out “Pregnant Girl”, Nicole Lynn Lewis’ memoir. 
• Learn more about Shasta College’s award winning ACE program.

Enter the lives of parenting students through Rachel Bujalski’s photojournalism work.