David Emdin had no idea what was coming when the president of Community College of Philadelphia stopped his commencement speech to call him on stage. 

“I really didn’t know what to expect,” David said. “No one had told me anything until that morning. I received a call asking me if I was going to come early to my graduation. I was wondering why they’d call me, specifically? I didn’t know why at all.”

“David, on behalf of Community College of Philadelphia,” said College President Dr. Donald Guy Generals, “I am proud to congratulate you as you have been selected to receive the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship.” The stage auditorium vibrated with roaring applause as David and Dr. Generals shook hands and hugged. David tried to hold back the wave of emotion as he walked off stage, embracing professors, classmates and friends on his way to his seat.

David Emdin, recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship

The Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship—as well as the Gates Scholarship (more on that below)—is one of the most prestigious higher education scholarships in the nation. Cooke Scholars have access to generous financial support for two to three years, college planning support, ongoing advising, and the opportunity to connect with the thriving community of fellow scholars. The award, which is last dollar funding after all institutional aid, can provide as much as $55,000 per year for two to three years to complete a bachelor’s degree at any accredited four-year undergraduate institution in the U.S.

David graduated Community College of Philadelphia in May with a degree in biology and, with the support of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, he’ll attend Holy Family University in the fall.

“So now that I don’t have to worry about this (tuition), I can focus on what has always been my goal – towards medical school,” David said, “and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, they offer some premedical support as well. So, I really hope to take full advantage of that as I move forward.”

David moved to Philadelphia from Nigeria in 2016 and attended Central High School before starting at CCP. When he started looking at colleges, he didn’t think he would be able to afford higher education.

“There was just no way,” David said. “There was no way I would be able to pay for it.”

Thankfully, David didn’t have to pay a dime for tuition at CCP. The Octavius Catto Scholarship covered the cost of tuition at the College and provided a monthly stipend. And it wasn’t the only scholarship supporting his studies: During the 2023-24 school year, David received $2,000 through Strong Men, Strong Lives, Strong Futures; $250 through the Black Faculty and Staff Alliance Scholarship; $1,500 through the Donald Slavin Scholarship and $2,960 through the Workforce Development Programs Scholarship.

“You are not making a mistake by going to CCP, especially if you are a high school graduate of Philadelphia,” David said. “Just take advantage of it! It’s a community college, so it’s a community. That’s the key word. They’re there to help you, they want to help you. Everyone wants to help you. All you have to do is show up, choose what you want to do, and just continue.”

Antoinette Ellis, recipient of the Gates Scholarship

As a Parkway Center City Middle College student, Antoinette Ellis graduated at the age of 18 with both her high school diploma and an associate degree in liberal arts from Community College of Philadelphia. Just before graduation, she got the news that she had been selected for the prestigious Gates Scholarship.

The Gates Scholarship is a last-dollar scholarship that covers the full cost of attending college or university for outstanding, minority, high school seniors from low-income households. After Antoinette made it through each phase of the application process and wrote multiple essays, the email congratulating her as a Gates Scholar recipient finally came in April.  

“It was all a blur, but I just remember being so happy,” she said. “I had to go tell my mom, so I ran upstairs to tell her, and she was so excited. I just remember being relieved. Sometimes I sit here like, ‘I really have that scholarship.’”

In the fall, the North Philadelphia native plans to attend University of Michigan as a nursing major. In the future, she’d like to pursue her doctorate in public health with a goal of improving health care for people in underserved communities. Her interests stem, in part, from a course she took at Community College of Philadelphia: Race, Ethnicity and Social Inequalities.

“My two biggest things that I love are social justice and helping people,” she said. “So, those are my two niches that I like to also intertwine.”

In fact, Antoinette has already started her career in the medical field. She is certified as an emergency medical technician and just started working part time as an EMT.

Speaking on the dual enrollment program through Parkway Center City Middle College, Antoinette said it was a great way to learn what to expect as a college student.

“One thing I really liked was learning that time management skill,” she said. “Because I know a lot of people go to university and then kind of crash out because they don’t understand how to navigate that. But I’ve had, like, four years of it, especially the last two, trying to plan my schedule accordingly.”

Ameerah Martin, recipient of the Gates Scholarship

At the age of 19, Ameerah Martin has her high school diploma, 24 college credits, and is getting ready to attend Howard University as a Gates Scholar. She plans to be a civil rights attorney dedicated to restorative justice. Ameerah is also part of the youth-led Philadelphia Community Youth Court, which works with students and the community to eliminate the school-to-prison pipeline. 

“Right now, I’m pursuing a Criminology degree, but I want to go on to law school,” she said. “The Philadelphia Community Youth Court is my entire reason for pursuing law and criminal justice as a whole.”

The Philly native has worked with the Philadelphia Community Youth Court since she attended middle school at Universal Institute Charter School. Like Antoinette, Ameerah took dual enrollment classes at Community College of Philadelphia while in high school. Ameerah was part of School District of Philadelphia’s Senior Year Only Program, which allowed her to attend Central High School through her junior year and CCP during her senior year.

“Definitely my fall semester courses, specifically Environmental Conservation and English 101, gave me a more well-rounded sense of how to write a piece, whether it be an essay, or article or anything,” she said. “It gave me more insight and I feel like it really helped me with my essay writing for the Gates Scholarship.”

On top of that, taking college classes before being a full-time college student helped her pick an area of study.

“I thought that I would like psychology and I would have definitely pursued a major in it,” she said, “but now I’ve seen that I don’t necessarily like it and CCP gave me a way to decide if I like it or not.”

While attending a recent summer institute with fellow Gates Scholars, Ameerah said she had a lot of conversations about the essays that were part of the scholarship application process. For anyone planning to apply for the Gates Scholarship, she recommends finding a focal point to tie all four essays together.

“My theme was criminal justice, and someone else’s theme was her family,” Ameerah said, “and some people said their theme was not having a theme. As long as you have something that you’re working toward, or nothing that you’re working toward if that’s your theme, as long as there’s a central line that’s really interesting, that’s a nice point to play across.”

Before becoming a full-time faculty member, Nwenna was adjunct instructor at CCP since 2014. 

Q: Why are you excited to join Community College of Philadelphia?

A: I'm not new to the College, but I'm excited to join CCP now as full-time faculty because I get to have a greater impact on the College and students.  

Q: How do you look forward to impacting our students with your academic/field training?

A: I look forward to contributing to the diversity of the College. I enjoy watching people and things grow, so I look forward to supporting the College in its growth. I look forward to creating programming that enhances the education of students and contributes to the life of the College.  

Q: Tell us a little about your previous work experience, including titles, and what degrees you have.

A: For the past 12 years, I've been an adjunct professor at various colleges and universities in Philadelphia and the surrounding areas. I have a bachelor's degree in French and a master's in Creative Writing.

In terms of previous work experiences, I owned a raw vegan restaurant in Los Angeles. It was also a catering company and a food delivery business before there was Grub Hub and Uber Eats. I also had vegan food products in more than 30 Whole Foods stores in the Southern California area. I did that for four years of my life and when I closed the restaurant down, I was a private chef for celebrities and others in the LA area. In those four years, I felt like I learned more about business than someone getting an MBA.  

I was a segment producer for a TV show called “Taste of America,” which showcased interesting food from around the country. When I left the show, they featured my restaurant.  

Q: Why did you choose to become an educator?

A: I come from a family of educators. My paternal grandmother graduated from Cheyney University in 1940, the same year my father was born, and she became an educator in the Philadelphia school system. She was the first educator that I knew. She lived until she was 102 years old. I have two aunts on both sides of my family who were educators, and my sister and my cousin are educators. It's in my DNA.  

I've also always felt like educators were interesting people who led interesting lives, and they brought those experiences into the classroom.  My 5^th grade teacher was a Black man named Mr. White, and he lived in Japan for years. He got me interested in math and traveling because he taught us math the way Japanese teachers taught math and he spoke Japanese to us. Even though I'm not great at math, he's the reason why I love to travel.  

Q: What experience or individual influenced your career direction?

A: Besides my family members, there are many faculty members at CCP who influenced my career direction: Dr. Debonair Oates-Primus, Dr. Alexine Fleck, Lucia Gbaya-Kanga, Marissa Johnson, Cherise Shane, Dr. Anya “Aaron” Love. There are too many to name honestly.   

Q: Tell us something about yourself you would like the College community to know – hobbies, what you like to do for fun, a fun fact about yourself.

A: I love to cook, read, write, exercise, garden, meditate, travel and spend time with my family. 

Hundreds of students, staff and friends of the College gathered at Main Campus for the unveiling of Community College of Philadelphia’s new brand on April 11, featuring guest speakers Rep. Jordan Harris, spoken word poets Dr. Michelle Myers and alum Eboni Ferguson, and alum Mutha Knows of Power 99, who served as emcee.

The crowd was entertained by DJ Diamond Kuts, Mad Beatz drumline, stiltwalkers and acrobats from the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, and games, in addition to free food from several Philadelphia vendors that lined half of 17th Street, which was closed to traffic for the event. Local influencers attended to get the word out about the College’s new look. Attendees received giveaways with the new logo, including T-shirts, sunglasses, bandanas, a spoken word poetry book focused on what the College means to them, stickers and temporary tattoos.

Celebrations were held the following week at the Northeast Regional Center and the Career and Advanced Technology Center.

Our new logo, a bold “P,” stands for Philadelphia, where most of our students are from, and where most of our graduates stay. The “P” is created from three different shapes, including a bold number one, celebrating the individual and collective strength of one community, one college, and one city.

A light blue dot rises to the top of the “P” on the left side, signifying students’ ability to rise, relating to our new tagline: “Rise from within.” The message is a call to action, asking Philadelphians to recognize the power they have to improve themselves and the world around them—power that comes from lived experiences, talents, and aspirations.

The accent of light blue that accompanies our brand colors of yellow and black connects the institution to the city’s colors of blue and yellow.

View photos from the block party.

Overheard at CCP

We were curious to hear what members of our community thought about the new brand. Here are a few first impressions:

"The logo capitalizes on the school's atmosphere. It's Philly."  —Khalil M., student

"It's simple. P is for Philly - this is a community for us."  —Daisy N., student

“CCP is the only public, open admission institution in Philadelphia. I had to come and support because this is an amazing school. The rebrand is fire. The logo is fire.” 
—Christian C., 76ers arena host and influencer

“Our AMAZING colleagues in EMSC have worked tirelessly on Community College of Philadelphia’s new branding. Great work! Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate with us!”—Abbey Ametrano, director, Human Resources, CCP