College & Career Access Center

The College & Career Access Center is excited to introduce the latest additions to our dedicated team of advisors. Jorge Rodriguez, who hails from the South Side of Chicago, comes to the CCAC from San Antonio, Texas. Jorge graduated from Texas State University with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Sociology. After completing an active-duty tour with the U.S. Navy, Mr. Rodriguez interned and pursued a position working with the Department of Family & Protective Services for the state of Texas. Most recently, Jorge moved to Michigan to explore new opportunities and achieve higher education.

Shelah Amburgey previously worked at Jackson College. She served JC for more than a decade in various departments, developing skills that have made her a valuable asset to the CCAC. Shelah holds a Master of Arts in Leadership from Siena Heights University, and a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from Siena. She a first generation college student who enjoys working with students to build a plan of action for their hopes and dreams.

Jorge serves as college and career advisor to Napoleon High School, East Jackson, and Northwest. Shelah advises at Columbia Central, Hanover Horton and Michigan Center. Each has enthusiastically joined the administrative teams of their respective schools to begin 1:1 Senior consultations, classroom presentations/workshops, and to assist in the coordination of Financial Aid Nights. Jorge and Shelah are developing their skills through the implementation of our CCAC planning models that outline the 4 Seasons of College Planning and the 5 Frontiers of Career Planning:

It's been a long two and a half years! And, the CCAC is excited to announce the re-launch of in-person tours for our 7th season of Juniors Over the Local Circuit (JOLC) and (what would be) our 9th season of Kids2College/Pathways to Professional Skilled Trades (K2C/PPST). Since the beginning of the covid pandemic in March of 2020, the CCAC has continued to offer a restructured JOLC. Our creative team of advisors designed a model to provide students with a virtual version of this valuable college awareness initiative . Unfortunately, the K2C/PPST program was suspended for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year and all of 2021-22.

The JOLC initiative offers every Junior from Jackson's 13 Connected Community School districts the opportunity to take a full-day circuit tour of our three local institutions of higher education - Baker College, Jackson College, and Spring Arbor University. Included at each institution is a guided tour of the campus and an Admissions presentation that covers specific programs, tuition, and available resources. The Kids2College/Pathways to Professional Skilled Trades (K2C/PPST) is a unique program that creates a college going culture by providing students with early college and career awareness with the goal of equalizing the importance of skilled trades and the many opportunities within those fields. There is an educational curriculum taught in each of the 13 districts' 8th grade classrooms. The curriculum culminates in a fieldtrip that takes students on a full-day visit to a college or university campus as well as tour of a local business or manufacturer.

We look very forward to continuing our partnerships and collaborations with the institutions of higher education and local businesses/manufacturers that have made both these programs so successful.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the CCAC has been building models to bring our services to students and their families. The CCAC virtual planning workshop series has proven to be an efficient means of offering information to a larger audience as well as a practical way to complete planning steps from the comfort of home. Monthly topics cover a broad range that include: college and scholarship action plans and applications, FAFSA completion, resume/cover letter construction, and Decision Day planning.

Each Workshop is an hour in length and designed to deliver resources, detailed topic outlines, and tutorial instruction. The workshop presenter also reserves time at the end of each workshop to answer student questions on any planning topic and to provide virtual assistance in completing applications and other planning processes. Our first workshop of the 2022-23 academic year was held on September 21 and covered Senior Action Planning for college and career options. We look forward to seeing Seniors and their families at our next workshop when the topic will be FAFSA and the Financial Aid Tutorial.

Wednesday, October 19th from 6 - 7:00p

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85155836348

Meeting ID: 851 5583 6348

In national news, the Biden administration introduced a sweeping loan relief policy to mixed reviews. Across the board, most students with outstanding federal student debt will be eligible for some level of forgiveness: up to $10,000. Eligibility is based upon the federal Pell Grant, which is available to students from low-income households. The aid is limited to those who make less than $125,000 per year, or married couples or heads of households earning less than $250,000.

In this interview, CCAC Executive Director, Nancy Peters-Lewis discusses the plan with JTV's Bart Hawley. Here is the full interview:

JTV Bart Hawley Show

Saturday, October 15th from 11a - 7:00p

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85155836348

Meeting ID: 851 5583 6348

For More Information:

luxlanguage.tutorbird.com

In the wake of the George Floyd murder, the CCAC took a decisive stance, declaring our position to speak up and speak out against social and racial injustice. We also began a two-year educational journey with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. One of our resulting points of pride, is the formation of the CCAC Jackson Student Anti-Racism coalition. Our goal was to create a coalition of students from the 13 Connected School Districts who would be dedicated to anti-racism practices and racial equity. In direct alignment with our focus on closing the gap to post-secondary education for our students of color, low-income students, and first-generation students, the coalition was formed.

The goal of the ARC is to actively work toward tearing down historical systemic barriers through developing student understanding of what those barriers are, how they came into being, and how we can resolve them. The coalition educates, supports, and empowers Jackson County students to recognize and fight against racism and racial bias within their communities. The model of the Anti-Racism Coalition is structured around monthly meetings that involve group discussions and educational pieces developed through the 21 Day Equity Challenge.

Through collective discussions and group learning activities, students are provided a safe space to explore their own racial narratives and the manner in which they move through the spaces of their daily lives. At the end of our second year, 8 of our 13 Connected Community Schools have now been represented: Columbia Central, Concord, daVinci, Hanover Horton, Jackson High, Michigan Center, Northwest, and Western High. This Fall, we began to recruit our third cohort of student leaders, expanding the scope of our Advisory Council by inviting all county Seniors to participate. We are confident that our coalition will continue to gain even greater representation and participation within our 13 districts.

The College & Career Access Center Team Equity Statement:

• Diversity is having a variety of identities or characteristics present including race, religion, ethnicity, gender orientation, age, and socio-economic status.
• Equity is the act of giving a person, or group of people, what they need w/focused actions that meet people where they are with differentiated strategies.
• Inclusion is a qualitative measure of representation and participation. Inclusion focuses on ensuring authentic representation, empowered participation, true belonging, and power sharing.

You may also visit our CCAC website to view each advisor's personal equity statement:

https://www.jcisd.org/domain/405

The CCAC is also honored to be invited to join the Jackson County Anti-Racism Transformation Team (ART). This team is comprised of a staff and community members working to transform and repair our Jackson community, building trust and eliminating racism. The ART Team will create a courageous space where trust is developed through intentional training and education. The overall goal is to engage our populations of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds as well as community partners, and stakeholders to embed impactful and sustainable change throughout the Jackson County MDHHS as well as the greater Jackson Community.

The CCAC proudly participated in a focused and intensive training over the past few weeks - as a county and statewide group which has included an analysis of systemic racism. This aligns directly with our mission and vision, and with our affinity toward closing the access and completion gaps for our first generation students, students of color, and those who are economically disadvantaged.

This quarter, the CCAC is pleased to showcase a business that has been a part of the Jackson landscape for over three decades. Imagecraft Engraving, Awards & Gifts, located on Robinson Road in Jackson, offers its customers excellence in custom engraving for any occasion. They work with materials ranging from trophies and plaques to clocks and bronze castings. Originally established as a trophy shop, this local establishment has evolved into an internationally recognized business, serving over 25,000 customers. At Imagecraft, superior customer service and high-quality products are key to the success they’ve enjoyed since 1977.

Owner, Kevin Howard, has always enjoyed engraving. It began as a hobby at age 16 and he’s been perfecting his art form for over 25 years. He has engraved just about every object you can imagine. He engraves eggs - ostrich, chicken, goose, you name it. He works with metal, wood, marble, glass, and even rocks. Kevin was largely inspired by Dr. Lew Jenson from a business called Profitable Hobbies. Dr. Jenson created the straight-hand engraver and was one of the first people Kevin saw engrave. He was creating art from goose eggs. Kevin had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Jenson about engraving and the prospect of running his own business. Kevin shared the advice he lives by to this day, “It is important to think about your business daily, be your best, and work on being better for your customers.” It’s safe to say that Imagecraft puts this advice into practice every day.

As for the future of his business, Kevin hopes to leave a legacy to his grandchildren. In the meantime, he plans to continue to work just as long as he is able, providing his loyal customers with outstanding products. He leaves us with these inspiring words for anyone interested in starting their own business: “Understand what you want, but don’t hesitate.”

Be sure to give Imagecraft Engraving, Awards & Gifts a visit at:

100 Robinson Rd, Jackson, MI 49203

https://www.imagecraftengraving.com/

Email: brian@jacksoncac.org
Website: https://www.jcisd.org/Page/2279
Location: 1082 Jackson Crossing, Jackson, MI, USA
Phone: (517) 990-0671
Facebook: facebook.com/ccacjackson
Twitter: @ccacjackson