College Promise Announces Key Milestone and Launches New Initiative Connecting Students to Career Opportunities
WASHINGTON,D.C. – Achieving economic mobility is the focus of the third annual College Promise Careers Institute, to be held in Washington, DC, on November 16 and 17. The two-day event features a keynote address from First Lady Jill Biden and brings together Promise leaders from across the nation working to increase access, equity, post-secondary completion, and workforce success. The College Promise movement is experiencing an exponential increase from the original 53 to 400 programs by the close of 2022.
Dynamic sessions aim to inspire and empower Promise leaders and students attending the event. Participants represent a cross-section of the nation’s College Promise programs, which operate in 48 states and the District of Columbia.
“This year’s Careers Institute will celebrate the significant and meaningful growth we’ve achieved in the College Promise movement, which is truly remarkable,” said College Promise CEO Martha Kanter. “Connecting Promise programs to strong career outcomes is the natural next step to reducing economic inequality for students and their families.”
College Promise is scheduled to announce a new career program in Lynchburg, Virginia. The initiative aims to move first-generation, low-income learners to good jobs that provide livable wages and career growth.
“We know our new career initiative will positively impact first-generation students, their parents, and stop-outs – students who have left and returned to college or left and not yet returned,” said Laura Hamilton, Executive Director of Lynchburg Beacon of Hope. “The career coaching and professional development they will receive, supported by new Promise-centric technology, will help them achieve their workforce goals.”
MyPromise (MyPromiseTool.org), the first student-centric, comprehensive, searchable database of Promise programs nationwide, will preview expansion features.
Speakers represent the following College Promise programs: Dallas College, North Central College, Tarrant To and Through Partnership (TX), Hope Chicago (IL), Hope Toledo (OH), Lynchburg Beacon of Hope (VA), and the Washington Student Achievement Council (WA).
Additional participants include representatives from the ECMC Foundation, Lightcast, Imaginable Futures, The Kresge Foundation’s CoPro2.0 initiative, Phi Theta Kappa, the University of California-Irvine, the Los Angeles Community College District, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, Brighton Marine (MA), and Pittsburgh Promise.