Faculty and staff gathered in the Great Hall for the Annual Holiday Brunch to reflect on 2017 and recognize faculty and staff for their decades of service.

“Around Philadelphia and around the country, Community College of Philadelphia is creating a buzz…it’s all because of you,” said Dr. Judith Rényi, a member of the College’s Board of Trustees.

She went on to highlight alumni such as Deesha Dyer, former White House social secretary who recently penned an op-ed in support of free community college for Forbes; Hazim Hardeman, the College’s first Rhodes scholar; and Larry Liu, the first-ever Cooke Oxford Scholar who is now working on his Ph.D. at Princeton University.

Attendees enjoyed karaoke, live entertainment, games, giveaways and a buffet-style brunch. In total, twenty-three faculty and staff members were honored by Dr. Guy Generals, president of the College, for dedicating 20, 30, 40, and 50 years to the College’s mission and vision.

“The past 20 years have really been more of a reward than a service for me,” said Darrick Walton of the Physics department. “I started off as a student-worker—I was taking classes here and at Temple University—so to be accepted to be a part of the team has been a great, great honor.

Check out the full list of honorees below and be sure to head to our press room to see all of the 2017 buzz about Community College of Philadelphia.

50 Years of Service

Kathryn Dutkiewicz | Larry Parr

40 Years of Service

Carol Clark | Ramon Diaz | Stan Gilbert | John Pinto | Cathy Redd | Regina Wertheimer                                 

30 Years of Service

Robert Conrad | Gilberto Gonzalez | Ludwig Huebner | Daniel Medio | Renee Ramsey-Valley | Carline Rucker | Valessa Thompson | William McCardell

20 Years of Service

Deborah Brewington | Simon Brown | Tanika Hembrooks | Paula Perry-Gable | Daniel Reed | Ferdinand Talabis | Darrick Walton

Star Fusion prides itself on being “a diverse restaurant just like the city we serve.” An American, Asian and Caribbean restaurant located in West Philadelphia, the restaurant is known for its signature specialty wings and spring roll bar, and its seafood macaroni and cheese.

After two years of owning and operating the restaurant, Darlene Jones was ready to take a step towards her long-term goal of franchising her business. Her plan? Scale the company by increasing the sales of spring rolls. Thankfully, Philadelphia had someplace where she could learn how to increase her sales…free of charge.

Power Up Your Business is an initiative at Community College of Philadelphia that helps small businesses manage their companies and plan for growth. Power Up Your Business takes a neighborhood-based approach to business development by matching small business owners with instructors and coaches. While in the program , participants learn about core business management, planning and marketing concepts in addition to receiving the guidance to implement them. The program also includes a Store Owner Series that includes three-hour workshops which offer information on financial planning, personal and business credit, and local marketing advice.

Upon completing the Peer Learning program, which consisted of a 10-week series of classes offered at the College’s West Regional Center, Jones implemented a social media strategy that has increased her daily spring roll orders from 37 to 97. “I learned a lot from the instructors and coaches [about] how to really apply the right marketing tools to my business,” said Jones.

She was one of 15 owners from 14 businesses graduating last month, which brought the total Peer-Learning program participants to 55 since the program was launched in January 2017. Additionally, more than 300 small business owners have attended the Store Owner Series workshops at all four College locations.

“Power Up Your Business was refreshing,” said Dr. Charles Champion, Jr., D.D.S., owner of Champion Dentistry in the Overbrook section of the city and the graduating class’ speaker. “I learned new strategies and different methodologies that I was able to apply to my business in order to continue growing and help with the development of my business.”

Before the graduates received their certificates from the Power Up Your Business program, they each presented a tactical improvement plan and received feedback from their peers, coaches and instructors. Part of Dr. Champion’s tactical plan was to increase new patient clientele through the use of digital strategies, including an upgrade to their web site and better utilizing social media channels.

In addition to the presentations, City Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr. delivered keynote remarks to graduates; he discovered that he had been inside a number of establishments represented in the room, as a customer. In fact, Dr. Champion is the councilman’s dentist. “It’s exciting to be here tonight and I’m so overwhelmed to see so many faces from the community that I know. All these businesses are helping their communities and I’m impressed how great the Power Up Your Business program is,” said Councilman Jones, a noted expert on community-based economic development.

Jamel Workman, owner of Contenders, a barber shop on 5415 Market Street has been in business for eight years. Workman enrolled in the Power Up Your Business program to learn techniques for marketing and for managing his company finances. “I know how to cut hair, but Power Up Your Business really gave me the financial structure I needed to run my business,” he said.

Workman’s long-term goal is to open his own barber school in the city. He said barber schools are limited in Philadelphia and he wants to help make the opportunity of acquiring a barber license more accessible to the community.

Interested in Powering Up your business? The workshops below are underway and open for enrollment.

The Peer-based Learning Experience – A 10-week, 30-hour course in basic small business management and planning that delves into the fundamental concepts, tools and skills required for planning and running a successful business. Practical skills such as entrepreneurial leadership, understanding financial statements, the role of finance in business growth and creating effective improvement plans are included, plus support from a business coach. To qualify, participants must be located in Philadelphia, be in business for one year, and earn less than $1 million in annual revenues. See the upcoming schedule.

The Store Owner Series – Workshops that cover small business basics such as marketing, capital and credit, and bookkeeping. This series also introduces business owners to the College’s programs that support running a business efficiently, from QuickBooks to ServSafe to Business Communication. The next series begins Jan. 23, 2018 at the Northwest Regional Center located at 1300 West Godfrey Avenue. Register online.

Veterans are those who put on a uniform in the morning and write a check to the nation saying “cash it at will.”

The words spoken by Kenneth Blume, alumnus and current president of the Student Veterans Club, brought a mixture of responses on Veterans Day 2017, ranging from deep reflection to inspiration and awe.

They serve not knowing if or when they will be called off to a combat zone, but they still put their uniform on,” Blume continued. “They serve in places most people have never heard of in conditions that people never want to be in.”

Veterans Day is a day for the College community to pause and recognize America’s heroes, some of whom work here; others who teach or take classes as they transition from military service.

Troy Brock, a security guard at the College and U.S. Navy veteran, was warmed by the moving display of affection and appreciation. While at boot camp, which was his first time away from home, Brock was deployed to combat during the Gulf War.

"It brings back memories that I try and repress but it’s still…I’m glad that people show appreciation for what [veterans] did back then when they didn’t know what they were getting [themselves] into,” said Brock, who served his country four years. “So it’s good to be appreciated even after all these years.”

Speakers at this year's event included Dr. Donald Generals, president of the College; Steve Bachovin, coordinator, Veterans/Military Programming; Ralph Faris, co-coordinator of the Honors Curriculum and Professor of Sociology; and Quyen Ngo, work study coordinator.

Ngo escaped a North Vietnamese concentration camp and fled to Philadelphia 1979. He obtained his associate degree from the College, went on to earn his bachelor’s and came back to work here in 1987 where he has had a long, distinguished career.

In Philadelphia, Ngo now devotes his free time to sharing the importance of the Vietnam War to Philadelphians,  and reminding his neighbors of the need to honor the American soldiers who, at times, were welcomed home with scorn.

Ngo and Farris, who served in the Vietnam War as a U.S. Amy platoon sergeant from 1967-1968, both offered offered poignant, deeply personal remarks.

According to Bachovin, the College currently has about 600 student veterans enrolled in the Fall 2017 with an estimated 100 or more that have either not identified as veterans, are unaware that they are veterans. Of those self-identified student veterans, 85% are older than 24; 47% have families and 27% are female (which is more than the percentage in the Military 15.3%).

In October 2017, the College was recognized as Blume became was one of 100 student veterans selected to attend the Student Veterans of America’s 2017 Leadership Institute for those with outstanding leadership abilities. Of the 1,300 national chapters and the 1.5 million Veterans that have gone back to school, the College was the only community college in America to send a representative to their leadership Institute in Dallas, Texas this year. Blume received an all-expenses paid leadership training experience at the George W. Bush Presidential Center and 100 hours of intense training from top leaders across diverse sectors in the nation.

“The Veterans Resource Center and Student Veterans Club are committed to assisting those who have served or are currently serving in the U.S. military, and their family members with the transition to higher education and career success,” said Bachovin.

Contact: Linda Wallace, 215-751-8082, liswallace [at] ccp.edu
Rhonda L. Lipschutz, 215-751-8021, rlipschutz [at] ccp.edu

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 21, 2017–Hazim Hardeman is the first graduate from Community College of Philadelphia to become a Rhodes Scholar, and the only winner in 2018 to have attended a community college. In fall 2018, he will enroll at Oxford, one of the world’s leading universities, to pursue a master’s degree.

After receiving his associate degree in Communications in 2015, Hardeman, who served as a vice president of the Student Government Association, graduated with High Honors. He then transferred to Temple University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in Strategic Communications and Public Advocacy.

He grew up four blocks from Temple; his single mother found a way to enroll him in a better elementary school a half hour away. He has devoted his academic career “to lifting up the voices of my community.” He has written on hip-hop music, gun control and the prison abolition movement, and is currently a substitute teacher in the School District of Philadelphia.

This marks the second time in three years that a graduate from the College has won a prominent scholarship to Oxford University. In 2015, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation named alumnus L. Larry Liu its first-ever Oxford Scholar, which it established in an unprecedented partnership with Lincoln College at the University of Oxford. Liu, who earned his bachelor’s in Sociology and Economic Policy from the University of Pennsylvania, was given up to $85,000 to earn his graduate degree from Lincoln College.

“This marks yet another joyful milestone for our College community,” said Dr. Donald Guy Generals, president of the College. “Community College of Philadelphia provides accessible and affordable paths to the Ivy League, and to the campuses of our respected partners like Temple University and the workplaces beyond. Today, more and more scholars are enrolling because they know they can travel to just about any destination from there–while spending less money along the way.”

Many students have stepped into impressive careers and educational paths after leaving the College. Deesha Dyer, a 2012 graduate in Women’s Studies, went from the classroom to a job at the White House. She finished her associate degree online while working in Washington, D.C. United States Congressman Dwight Evans, an alumnus, was elected to represent the 2^nd District of Pennsylvania. Moreover, recent data from the National Student Clearinghouse indicates students also are winding their way onto Ivy League campuses. Among the students who entered the College for the first time between spring 2006 and spring 2016, 564 have enrolled at an Ivy League institution, including 498 at the University of Pennsylvania and 35 at Harvard University

The Rhodes Scholarships are the oldest and most celebrated international fellowship awards in the world. Each year, 32 students from the United States are selected as Rhodes Scholars and are chosen not only for their outstanding scholarly achievements, but for their character, commitment to others and to the common good, and for their potential for leadership in whatever domains their careers may lead. Applicants are chosen on the basis of the criteria set down in the Will of Cecil Rhodes.

The 32 Rhodes Scholars chosen from the United States will join an international group of

scholars chosen from more than 20 other jurisdictions (64 different countries) around the world.

According to the Rhodes Scholarship Trust, records indicate that only a few Rhodes Scholars have listed community colleges on their scholarship applications. Secondary institutions are not required to disclose if an applicant has an associate degree.

About Community College of Philadelphia

Community College of Philadelphia is the largest public institution of higher education in Philadelphia and the sixth largest in Pennsylvania. The College enrolls approximately 34,000 students annually and offers day, evening, and weekend classes, as well as classes online. Visit the College at www.ccp.edu. Follow us on Twitter. Like us on Facebook.

As the nation remembered the lives lost in the September 11 terrorist attacks, Community College of Philadelphia held its own memorial service at the Bonnell Circle, where students, faculty and staff had a chance to reflect.

Dr. Donald Guy Generals, president of the College, said that even in an unthinkable crisis, the American spirit remained strong as families and communities stand united. He urged the group to preserve democracy and fight against social injustices.

“We remember those that died that day and celebrate their memory,” said Dr. Generals. “We also mark this day as an opportunity to reflect upon the responsibility of citizenship, especially in troubled times. Even then, we are able to stand together and help one another,” he said.

Kenneth Blume, president of the Student Veterans Club, presented Dr. Generals with a challenge coin. Originated during World War I, the coins bear an organization’s insignia or emblem and are carried by the organization’s members. In practice, challenge coins are normally presented by unit commanders in recognition of special achievement by a member of the unit. They are also exchanged in recognition of visits to an organization.

During the ceremony, Stephen Bachovin, coordinator for Veteran Programming at the Veterans Resource Center, paid respect to three Philadelphians who were killed in the World Trade Center attacks by reading their names and pausing to remember them. 

“Jasper Baxter, Kevin Bowser and Christopher Clark.”

“As a nation, when tragedy strikes, we do better when we come together and support each other,” said Bachovin.

The group also remembered student alumnus, Sgt. Brahim Jeffcoat. who was killed in action, in Iraq, in 2005. 

Community College of Philadelphia is preparing students to join the next generation of scientists through the Biomedical Technician Training (BTT) program, jointly developed by The Wistar Institute and our institution in 2000.

The BTT program was created to provide a gateway to the high-growth, high-demand life sciences workforce. In August, 10 students from the BTT program received their completion certificates at a ceremony held at Wistar. Since its inception, a total of 140 students have completed the BTT program, the majority of whom are female and from underrepresented minority groups.

BTT is designed to prepare students for new career opportunities as research technicians. The program combines academic course work at the College with specialized training in research laboratories at Wistar and other affiliated research facilities. This dual experience offers students seeking an associate degree the opportunity to acquire the skills necessary to qualify for positions as technicians in biomedical research laboratories at academic institutions and at biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. These positions are traditionally held by graduates of four-year baccalaureate programs.

“We are going into the 18^th year with this program and we are training students for the workforce giving them the potential to be hired in the region as the next generation of scientists,” said Dr. William H. Wunner, Director of the Biomedical Technician Training Program at Wistar.

Amanda Moran, class speaker at the ceremony, seized the opportunity to apply to the BTT program while she was waitressing and pursuing her associate degree in Liberal Arts – Social/Behavioral Science. After graduating from the College in 2015, she wasn’t sure where her next chapter in life would take her until she learned about the BTT program through a friend. She loved her biology class and had a fascination with cells, so she knew this would be the next step. 

“I used to be a waitress and didn’t like going to work every morning, but now I love what I do and this is the path to my success,” said Moran. “I am grateful to the other interns and the lab mentors.”

Moran is transferring to Byrn Mawr College this fall as a Katharine E. McBride Scholar where she will pursue her bachelor’s degree in Biology. Bryn Mawr’s Katharine E. McBride Scholars are women over the age of 24 who are in the process of beginning or completing their college education. Moran’s dream is to eventually complete her Ph.D. in Genetics.

Bunthon You, another graduate, is entering Temple University School of Pharmacy this fall. He graduated with an Associate of Science in Biology in 2015 and currently works in the College’s biology lab. “This program taught me so much about lab technology and research. After completing pharmacy school, I want to do something in drug research at a pharmaceutical company,” said You.

 “This joint venture with the College and The Wistar Institute has so been successful in training and preparing our students to enter the biomedical research arena,” said Dr. Kristy Shuda McGuire, associate professor of Biology and academic coordinator of the Biomedical Technician Training program.

This past spring, the BTT program was expanded into the first ever, registered nontraditional apprenticeship to have been approved and credentialed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The new Biomedical Research Technician (BRT) apprenticeship builds on the BTT program training to give interns more lab hours under the direction of scientists. Labs today are dependent on teams of skilled technicians, which opens doors to good-paying jobs.

Community College of Philadelphia offers Express Enrollment Day 

Wouldn’t it be great if you could move through the steps to enroll in college, all in one visit? At Community College of Philadelphia, you can do just that. The College is offering Express Enrollment Days, which are held at the College’s Main Campus and Regional Centers throughout the year, and enable prospective students to complete their admission application, satisfy their placement exam, register for classes and file for financial aid in a matter of hours.

“My friend told me about Express Enrollment Day and I went with him. It was so easy to do and I registered for 12 credits. People at the College were very nice and walked me through all the steps,” said 19-year-old Rene Jimenez who participated in Community College of Philadelphia’s Express Enrollment Day on July 25 at the Main Campus.

The July 25 Express Enrollment Day attracted about 194 prospective students (plus family & friends). There were 144 students who took the placement test.Many were also able to file their financial aid since the College held free workshops to help students complete FAFSA(Free Application for Federal Student Aid). In June, Express Enrollment Day at the Main Campus attracted 245 prospective and 225 took the placement test, with the majority registering the same day. 

“We have had a number of parents be so inspired that they end up filing applications and start their college education along with their children,” said Diane Kae, Manager, Student Outreach and Recruitment at Community College of Philadelphia. "Normally these processes take two to three visits to campus and must be scheduled into available sessions. Students, particularly adult students, are thrilled to get everything done in one day. We also individually guide the students through each step of the process which alleviates a lot of stress especially for the first-time students."

Creating a Federal Student Aid ID ahead of the visit for filing financial aid helps to expedite that process and visiting the ACCUPLACER website, which can be found at ACCUPLACER can improve test results.

To learn more about Express Enrollment and other activities, go to Admission Events.

Philadelphia is undergoing a revolution powered by the U.S. energy renaissance, and experts say the City of Brotherly Love has the potential to be the next big energy hub if it gets the highly-skilled labor needed in the natural gas distribution industry.

To meet the market demand, Community College of Philadelphia joined a Philadelphia-region consortium to offer training to prepare students to work in Pennsylvania’s growing natural gas sector. The inaugural class of nine graduates from the College’s Gas Distribution Pipeline Mechanic Training Program graduated this Spring. Students learned how to perform tasks needed to install and maintain pipelines for natural gas distribution systems, which provide natural gas service to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

The 11-week program includes 140 classroom hours, and 50 hours for Operator Qualification (OQ) from the Northeast Gas Association. The OQ is the national credential required by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Pipeline Safety to establish a verifiable and qualified workforce.  

According to T. Mark Andraka, senior engineer for PECO Energy Company, the need to replace old gas pipe infrastructure is not just a Southeastern Pennsylvania issue, but a nationwide issue. Most of the pipelines are made of cast iron and need to be updated to plastic materials, he said.

“There are many opportunities out there. This is more than a job; it’s a career. You have the Marcellus Shale and the natural gas industry, and then you have so many options concentrated here in this area,” said Andraka.

Industry professionals developed this new training initiative for the area citing statistics from the state Department of Labor and Industry, which said potential growth could add more than 600 jobs to the region.

“Through this program, it allowed me to work hand-in-hand with top contractors in the field and tour the job site for recruitment purposes,” said Trevor Mackins, a graduate of the College’s Gas Distribution Pipeline Mechanic Training Program. “This training put me on a good path to a better paying career and higher level of employment that brings jobs to the city and the region.”

Before enrolling in the program, Mackins was an electrical contractor and worked as foreman in construction both on the residential and commercial side.

“I was ready for a change since I’ve been in construction since the age of 12. This program at the College really prepared me for the future. There are 30, 40, 50 years of old infrastructure, and new gas lines need to be installed, so this is definitely a career for me,” he said.

The class demonstrated the College’s level of commitment to local employers, according to Dr. Donald Guy Generals, president of the College.

“This graduating class is like the maiden voyager and we hope to even develop this program more over the next couple of years,” he said. “We have the support from our industry partners and the city. It’s projected that Southeastern Pennsylvania is definitely in need of skilled labor in this field.”

Community College of Philadelphia’s Gas Distribution Pipeline Mechanic Training program was created by the Collegiate Consortium for Workforce & Economic Development in partnership with PECO and other industry counterparts to bolster the local gas distribution mechanic workforce. The consortium also includes Bucks County Community College, Camden County College, Montgomery County Community College and Drexel University. Curriculum for the program was developed through a coordinated effort led by the Consortium and PECO, and is supported by Philadelphia Gas Works, Henkels & McCoy and Utility Line Services.

“The demand for this kind of qualified labor is increasing and we are excited that our program has really taken off, and that the first class has completed the program. Our goal at the College is to train these students in the natural gas industry and prepare them for entry-level employment,” said Carol de Fries, vice president for Workforce and Economic Innovation at Community College of Philadelphia.

On Monday, Community College of Philadelphia delved into an issue that affects many Philadelphia youth today, as well as generations of relatives who came before them.

On the first full day of Law & Society Week, students, faculty and staff gathered for a session called “Savage Inequities: A Tale of Two Schools.” The panel explored how school inequity impacts youth, and their education in rich and poor communities alike. The discussion centered around bus trips that students from Philadelphia’s Kensington Health Science High School and Montgomery County’s Methacton High School, took to explore each other’s schools. Panelists included 12th graders from Methacton High and their teacher, Anthony Maida; James Williams, principal of Kensington Health Sciences Academy; and moderator David Keller Trevaskis, Esq, PBA Pro Bono Coordinator of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

Maida said the project was an effort to build bridges that transcend suburbs and cities, and various economic groups. He said he wondered whether his students, who are from mostly white and wealthy backgrounds, understood the educational privilege at Methacton High School.

Then he assigned his students to read “Savage Inequalities” by Jonathan Kozol, which they discussed and his class later visited Kensington high school. Nick Falcone, a senior at Methacton High School who participated, still remembers the striking images of poverty as their bus approached Kensington High School.

Methacton School District has an annual budget of about $100 million dollars with an estimated $20,000 spent per student according to Maida. The district’s average class size is 22; while 98 percent of its students graduate from high school, with the majority attending four-year universities.

By contrast, the Philadelphia School District struggles with about 600 oversized classes, teacher vacancies and has about 6,000 students without permanent teachers according to news reports Maida shared. With a predominantly African American and Hispanic population, the district spends around $12,000 per child. At Kensington high school, Williams pointed out that the average class size is 33 students.

Though sometimes frustrated, Williams said he is encouraged by the dialogue sparked through the project. When his students went to Methacton High School, “it was eye-opening,” he said. “It’s important that we provide these opportunities.”

Maida added that the project brought together students who may have never met, and exposed them to one another’s realities. His hope is that his students absorbed the message that every child deserves a quality education. “The experience incentivizes me to do more,” Falcone said. “We’re the same; we just live different experiences, but we should be equal.”

Kensington High School students have been discussing their school exchange experiences and preparing to draft letters to local and state legislators, and begin a round of conversations with them. Principle Williams ultimately hopes to read two letters written by his students to the Pennsylvania House and Senate. It is important that they see the situation through a student's eyes, Williams stressed. "We need to humanize one other,” he said.

Bridget Miller, a senior at Methacton High School, said she drew a lifelong lesson from the project. “I learned that I can't draw conclusions about people without knowing their back stories,” she said.

Law & Society Week spotlights emerging legal issues and trends in Philadelphia, while providing practical advice from respected experts. More than two dozen workshops, lectures, panel discussions and demonstrations during the week are free and open to the public and attorneys.

The week's activities kicked up on Saturday, Feb. 25, with Community Law Day, a series of free workshops and clinics covering a wide range of topics such as Child Custody, Know Your Rights and expungement. More than 115 people were served.

“When people see how law relates to the technology they use, the food they eat, and just about every topic imaginable, that’s a real light bulb moment for them,” explains Kathleen M. Smith, J.D., director of the Fox Rothschild Center of Law and Society, who launched Law & Society Week with husband David Freeman J.D., an associate professor of Social Science at the College.

A complete list of events and activities is available on the website.