Organization: ONE MILLION DEGREES
Mission: TO ACCELERATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS' PROGRESS ON CAREER PATHWAYS TO ECONOMIC MOBILITY.
Activities: TUITION AND STIPENDS - IN FISCAL YEAR 2020, OMD PROVIDED LAST-DOLLAR SCHOLARSHIPS (FUNDING TO COVER ANY GAPS BETWEEN A SCHOLAR'S FINANCIAL AID AWARD AND TUITION COSTS) AND EDUCATIONAL STIPENDS TO OVER 750 SCHOLARS. THESE STIPENDS DEFRAY SCHOLARS' EDUCATIONAL EXPENSES SUCH AS BOOKS, TECHNOLOGY, TRANSPORTATION, AND CHILDCARE. OMD ALSO OFFERS ENRICHMENT GRANTS TO SCHOLARS WHO APPLY. THESE GRANTS CAN BE UP TO $250 AND ARE MEANT TO DEFRAY ONE-TIME COSTS THAT WILL HELP SCHOLARS ADVANCE IN THEIR CHOSEN CAREER, SUCH AS ORGANIZATION DUES, CONFERENCE FEES OR ACCREDITATION TEST COSTS.
STUDENT DEVELOPMENT - IN ADDITION TO THESE FINANCIAL SUPPORTS, OMD SCHOLAR DEVELOPMENT MODEL INCLUDES A ROBUST SET OF ACADEMIC, PERSONAL, AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS. IN THE 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR, OMD PROVIDED OVER 1,700 HOURS OF WEEKLY INDIVIDUALIZED TUTORING TO SCHOLARS AT ALL COLLEGE COURSE LEVELS. OMD HOSTS MONTHLY PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS IN WHICH SCHOLARS LEARN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION SKILLS, PERSONAL FINANCIAL LITERACY AND PLANNING, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT. THEY ARE ALSO MATCHED WITH ONE OF OMD'S 450+ VOLUNTEER COACHES WHO WORK WITH THEM ON PROFESSIONAL GOAL SETTING, RESUME DEVELOPMENT, INTERVIEW SKILLS, AND POST-GRADUATE CAREER PLANNING. SCHOLARS ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN EXPERIENTIAL EVENTS TO APPLY THE SKILLS THEY ARE LEARNING. THESE EVENTS INCLUDE OMD'S CAREER AND RESOURCE FAIR, WHERE SCHOLARS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN ABOUT JOB OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES AVAILABLE IN THEIR COMMUNITY AND COLLEGES; AND SPEED NETWORKING - A NETWORKING EVENT WHERE SCHOLARS PRACTICE THEIR ELEVATOR PITCHES WITH VOLUNTEERS. DUE TO THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 THE NETWORKING EVENTS WERE CANCELLED IN FY20.
OMD PROGRAM STAFF REGULARLY COMMUNICATE WITH CASELOADS OF ROUGHLY 60 SCHOLARS, BECOMING TRUSTED ADVISORS AND ADVOCATES. STAFF MEMBERS ENCOURAGE SCHOLARS TO HOLD THEMSELVES ACCOUNTABLE AS THEY PROGRESS TOWARD THEIR GOALS BY USING MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING AND REGULAR PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS THAT GIVE SCHOLARS THE OPPORTUNITY TO REFLECT ON THEIR PROGRESS AND THEIR CHALLENGES. PROGRAM STAFF ALSO MANAGE NEW STUDENT RECRUITMENT AND ONBOARDING, DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS, PROGRAM VOLUNTEERS, AND THE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF OMD PROGRAMMING AND CURRICULUM.
NTEE category: Education
Secondary category: Youth Development