Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
Education Sec. tours ‘a gem’
U.S. Secretary of Education tours college, touts benefit to community
BLUE BELL » U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona was in Montgomery County Tuesday afternoon touring the community college — and he liked what he saw.
“What I saw here today, not only from the students but just the way it’s designed to be successful,” Cardona said. “From the holistic support for students and their wellness to the hands-on experiences to the way technology’s being used to enhance learning.”
Cardona began his visit at Montgomery County Community College’s Blue Bell campus at 340 Dekalb Pike.
He was accompanied by Rep. Madeleine Dean, D4th Dist., and officials from the college who led the way through the health sciences center.
“This is a gem,” he said. When talking about the college, Cardona said the school represents a “return on investment” within the community.
“It just makes fiscal sense. For every dollar spent there’s a $4.30 return on investment,” he said. “This is economic growth at its best.”
Cardona touted President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better Plan” during his visit on Tuesday, honing in on proposals that seek to make community college accessible to more people.
“I think we have to think what would that look like across the country if we had that throughout our country where students can access college for free and then earn more,” Cardona said. “We know there’s a 21 percent increase in earning potential when you graduate from a two-year school.”
As an advocate for “equity” in education, Dean praised the legislation.
“It will bring equity to education, which is something that frustrates me as a parent, and as a former professor of 10 years,” she said. “You could see that some people just didn’t have a shot because of the expense, because of the access and other things.
“This is a place for economic growth; it is a place for educational excellence, and so with ‘Build Back Better’ free community college ... this is really a transformational agenda,” Dean continued. “It’s bold. It’s big. It is sustained. It is over time, it’s not write a single check. This is an investment for the next generation, like my grandkids.”
As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an impact on the nation, Cardona noted the importance of community colleges, with MCCC as an example.
“Well, you know the pandemic exacerbated gaps and inequities that exist throughout our country,” he told MediaNews Group. “So, access to college, access to higher education, is critically more important now than ever before, and this college is doing that.”
Along the afternoon tour, Cardona was shown classroom facilities including the nursing clinic and virtual cadaver labs.
Cardona and Dean later participated in discussions with a handful of students on campus about their experience attending a community college, as well as a listening session with “area dreamers and immigrant students.”
“What do you think is the
role of community college for this community and for the broader region?” Dean asked.
For many of the students participating in Tuesday’s roundtable discussion, the cost of education was top of mind.
Jenny Nguyen, a secondyear student majoring in business administration and president of the college’s student government association, said the decision to attend the local school was a personal one related to cost.
“One of the reasons why I ended up choosing Montco was like many other students when looking at different types of colleges one of the biggest factors was tuition,” she said. “How am I going to be paying for this college?
“Coming from a family where both of my parents
are immigrants, and [I’m] going to be a first-generation college student, it was a really big factor … especially because I’m paying for my own tuition, and so because of that I chose Montco and it has been really great,” she continued.
Jessica Hille, a student in the college’s dental hygiene program, said she’s looking forward to being able to “provide health care for [the] community” as a dental hygienist.
“I don’t think I could go to a state college or private university,” she said. “This is what I could afford and this is where I live and this is where I’m going to be when I graduate.”
Cardona asked the students, with respect to community colleges, “how do we change the narrative across the country?”
Mike Altomare, who’s attending
the municipal police academy, attended two other higher education institutions in addition to MCCC and said he has experienced that “my interest loans are massive from the three schools.
“I went to Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, I went here and I went to Temple [University], and I promise you the best education I’ve had out of all of three of those places — and that’s nothing against Temple or Moravian — has been right here,” he said. “It didn’t cost me anymore — it cost me significantly less.”
College President Victoria Bastecki-Perez emphasized the importance and impact of educational institutions like MCCC.
“We know community colleges make a difference not only in our communities
but also with the lives of each and every one of our residents across all ages and stages of life,” she said. “We are part of a solution, an economic solution, an equitable solution to provide access to quality affordable higher education for all.”
Cardona stressed how educational opportunities like the ones at Montgomery County Community College provide a path to employment.
“This is about jobs too. We’re giving them an education, but this is about jobs,” he said, of students. “This is about them contributing to their families, contributing to their community, to the local economy. Not only is it great to hear their stories about how they’re coming back and getting a degree but this is going to help the whole community.”