Latest / This Week in Westchester: The Podcast / Westchester, Explained 30: A Look Inside Westchester Community College

Transcript

Westchester, Explained 30: A Look Inside Westchester Community College · This Week in Westchester: The Podcast

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Hi Westchester.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Westchester County Government Communications Director Catherine Chaffee.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: And as an extension of This Week in Westchester, the podcast, we welcome you to Westchester Explained.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: In this episode, we sit down with SUNY Westchester Community College President, Dr.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Belinda Miles, for a closer look at the opportunities being created for Westchester students, working adults, and the local workforce.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: We explore how this SUNY College in the center of the county has been working on expanding access to affordable higher education while preparing students for growing careers in healthcare, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, and other emerging fields, while helping residents gain the skills they need to adapt to shifting employer needs and as technology and artificial intelligence reshape the workplace.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: You'll also hear about the new pathways available for adult learners, transfer opportunities, workforce partnerships, and more.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Join us as we learn how the WCC You May Think You Know is opening new doors and opportunities while strengthening our workforce and creating new pathways to opportunity.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: And why it matters to Westchester residents.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Because this is Westchester Explained.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: So let's begin.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so we have a really we have a legend actually in the podcast studio today.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: We have the president of WCC, Dr.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Belinda Miles.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, thank you so much for being here today.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Catherine.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I call it WCC because I've lived here my whole life pretty much.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: And that's just how I guess the locals call it.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: But what is the official name of WCC?
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: We are officially SUNY, which stands for State University of New York, Westchester Community College.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Is it okay if we call it WCC?
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's fine now that we've established the Okay.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: All right, good.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, good.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: I know that's what we all just sort of rolls off the tongue a little bit.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: So, um, like I said, everybody knows WCC.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: We know where the campus is.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: We we know sort of broad strokes about it.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: But for people who haven't maybe thought about WCC in a while, what should they know about SUNY Westchester Community College?
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: Well, one thing is that when you say you know where the campus is, I assume you mean Valhalla.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, the main campus.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: For extension centers, and our uh extension center in Yonkers has been approved for us to begin a branch campus, a full, which means we can offer the full degree there.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: Now, our extension centers, we can offer uh courses that lead up to the degree, but not the full degree yet.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: And when we say degree, what sort of degrees?
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: We offer associates' degrees.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's what students can earn with us.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: They can earn an associate's in um associate of arts, which is designed for transfer to four-year colleges or universities, or the associate of applied studies, which is more of a career and technical uh curriculum.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: Generally speaking, this is a big broad joke.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: People, uh students who attend WCC, what field do they go into afterwards?
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: Most of our students are in business majors.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, many are pursuing health careers because you know there's a demand for um employment opportunities in health careers, and many of them are in uh liberal arts.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's that's the transfer pathway.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: And uh cyber.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we have several emerging technologies that have really taken off.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: Cybersecurity is one, advanced manufacturing.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's true.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: And we're looking at some other design programs in our engineering space.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: Something that I think is so beautiful about WCC is that you have this incredible performance uh program as well.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: One of our singer who came to sing for President Clinton recently is one of your students.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, she did uh sing.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: That was the memorial for uh Congresswoman Nita Lowy.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah right.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: So it's uh delightful to have her do that.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: And that's part of our liberal arts um and hum and humanities uh uh course area.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: And so we do have some specialization there.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: Many of those graduates go into Purchase College, also part of the SUNY system to pursue uh careers in those arts areas.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Wonderful.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, over the past five, 10, 15 years, um, how has WCC changed?
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's a great question.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh well, I've been there for 12 years.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: So can't speak to 15 years.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: The timing on that is perfect.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we've had a real concentrated effort on designing the college to help more students graduate and to have pathways into certain career areas or to transfer to uh different areas of study at university.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so we have doubled our graduation rate.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: Wonderful.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: And we have um uh just organized the programming so that we can remove barriers for students.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that would mean financial barriers.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: We've uh have special grants and initiatives that we've uh achieved to redesign some of the programming, uh, sort of to do some branding and re-rebranding of the curriculum areas, just like you talked about.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: Are we WCC?
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: We're SUNY WCC because we recognize the leverage that we have by uh being affiliated with our parent uh organization.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's a wonderful partnership of course between the county and the state via SUNY and the work that we do locally with our uh College Board of Trustees.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: We've had a wonderful uh growth in enrollment at the college, particularly coming back from the pandemic.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that was uh just devastating for enrollments across the nation.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: And uh we have had uh semester, we've we've had increasing enrollment semester after semester for the past six semesters.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: That's wonderful.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: And it has been wonderful, and that just shows the uh promise that higher education holds for individuals.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: They understand it is um a bridge to their economic mobility, and we're so excited about that.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: And that's our current focus to look at how do we prepare students for careers.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: That's terrific.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: And now, most of your students, or I shouldn't say most, but what is the breakdown of um are these continuing education, are these adults, I mean, I guess they're all adults at in college, but are they people in their 30s, in their 40s, in their 50s, or are they in their 20s?
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: Our average age skews a little young, uh, younger than some of the national average for community colleges, but our st we have many students, many traditional students coming right out of high school, but you may know, you may have heard that that demographic is shifting with fewer babies being born, I guess 18 years ago, and that trend seems to be continuing.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: There are fewer high school graduates.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: So we've had a newer focus on reaching out more intentionally to adult markets to bring folks back who maybe have some college and no degree.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: And there's a wonderful initiative called SUNY Reconnect that uh the governor and the SUNY Chancellor have put effort into.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: And uh the 30 community colleges are very intent on helping helping those students come back, finish up those degrees so that they can get on path and proceed, you know, move along with their upward mobility and their career mobility.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: And we have to talk about the price tag because obviously in this economy, I mean, everything is now about what we can do to save money, where is the best value for your for your dollar?
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Talk to me about the tuition at WCC.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: The tuition at WCC is the lowest in the county for um higher education, and uh we're really excited about that, and that's because of the partnership that we have with government, with the county.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: The county um helps us, uh helps to fund the college so that we're able to keep tuition affordable.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: Our students are very aware of that, and we advocate collectively with them uh at the county level and um and and and with SUNY.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: And uh and so affordability is very is first and foremost as we think about how community colleges were formed and having local access.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: And so we take the our, you know, well, we we we keep it um that adult program I talked about, the SUNY Reconnect, is actually free, and that's really exciting.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: And for most of our students who are eligible for financial aid, the financial aid covers the tuition that the college um charges.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: So it's really quite an investment for families.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean when you think about the transfer to four-year colleges where the tuitions can be, you know,$40,000,$50,000 and up.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: Uh getting your first two years at um SUNY WCC and having those credit, those credits transfer is a huge investment and opportunity for families.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's and it's not your getting an incredible education.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's not like you're getting a secondary education.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: You're getting an incredible education for a fraction of the cost that it would cost you to go elsewhere.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: Our graduates transfer to uh wonderful, wonderful universities.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: Many of the Ivy Leagues take our students and all of their credits.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: We have specific transfer agreements that we uh we craft with uh the faculty from those uh institutions.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: We have uh wonderful study abroad programs, so there's just a range of tremendous opportunities.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: There's undergraduate research that students can do at SUNY Westchester that count toward their portfolios and their profiles as they move on to earn their four-year degrees.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: So we are a comprehensive institution that offers a wide range of learning opportunities for our students.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_01: Our faculty are all master's degree trained or higher, and many, many hold PhDs, many are um are published, and um I mean many are experts in there feel so we are very excited about uh what we can offer students and and the learning spaces that we provide.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's one of our more recent um areas of focus, upgrading the learning spaces, the laboratories, and such.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: We um we have a simulated hospital lab.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: If you haven't been visited, we'd love to have you come.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: I've seen videos of this lab, and I but I will definitely come and visit, but I have seen videos of this lab, and it is very impressive.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, we have a new communications lab.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we have a cybersecurity lab that is uh very impressive.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: I won't say it's uh second to, you know, maybe the FBI has a better one.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so we're we're very competitive, and our graduates uh consistently outperform many of their four-year university peers when they have these uh cyber uh competitions, and it's so important.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: Unfortunately, that's an area that we have to be more concerned about uh in the current climate uh of technology and and and how rapidly that's advancing.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: There's so much to be proud of.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: You're changing lives.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, changing lives and changing Westchester County.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: We we're part of the growth.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: We are part of that arc that takes our graduates toward increased opportunities.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: We know that uh affordability, again, is high on folks' minds.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: They want to have family-sustaining wages.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, to hear people saying that I don't know if I can afford a home or if I can afford to even start a family breaks my heart.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm going to do my part to help come on and get your community college education here, right, in Westchester County, and you can have that leg up.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's terrific.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I know you we wanted you to come in today, of course, to always talk about WCC and all the good things that are happening, but we are hearing a lot about workforce shortages.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: And um, I know our Office of Economic Development is always doing a lot to fill these gaps.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Employer saying that there are gaps, we need specific types of employees.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: How does WCC fit into all this?
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we are a comprehensive community college, as I said, and so we organize our curriculum in ways that are aligned with where those gaps are to the extent that we can.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: It takes us a while to get a curriculum up and running, but we've been around for nearly 80 years.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: We have experience with this, and we uh it this requires that we're in touch with employers, we understand what they need, we we find forums and opportunities to sit with them to understand where's the curriculum, where where the job's going.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: And uh many of the jobs uh do require a bachelor's degree or higher, so then we have to have the best first two years for those students so that they can have seamless transfer and go on and get their um uh become a CPA or become a teacher.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that so you can't do some of those uh jobs without at least a four-year degree and many times a master's degree.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_01: So our school of business, business careers, and business and professional careers are designed for those transfer pathways that lead to a master's degree.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: There are several other degrees like um nursing that you can um or um um or radiology, uh radiology technician, okay, respiratory therapist, that you can um achieve with a two-year associate degree.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_01: And so those uh programs we're we're working closely with those employers for clinicals for our students because the state requires that they have a certain number of credits with hands-on training.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: They they don't send you out to be a nurse without having some experience.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: So um what of all the fields and all the areas right now, what would you say is the biggest area of growth, the thing that you are your top priority for WCC?
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we're seeing tremendous growth in our growth in our health studies curriculum.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: And what does that exactly mean?
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: That is the it's an introduction to all of the various medical careers that exist, because it's not just nursing and it's um and it's not just the the fields that I've mentioned.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: And so helping students to understand what some of the uh other pathways are within hospitals.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: We work closely with many area hospitals, and um there's ways to uh have the the safe, clean uh operating rooms.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: There, there are techniques to learn for sterilization, that's what I'm thinking of, of of the equipment and of the spaces and so forth, respiratory uh therapists and the like.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: And um so that's a that's a really hot one.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: We have hundreds of students, and then students, of course, who are waiting on the nursing waiting list.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: That curriculum is so precise that uh that we do uh garner waiting lists.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: We have uh many students who are uh in our when we did our when we did our um our middle skills report um previously with um JP Morgan, uh students were uh looking for IT tech positions.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, IT is changing as we look at um AI and how are we preparing students to be involved in those jobs.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: And so we have to adapt our curriculum to make sure that they can have um be on a pathway to what's what will be available for employment.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's talk a little bit more about that because AI is, I mean, it is you can't turn on the news or listen to the I turned on the news, obviously.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: I just said that, but you can't do anything without hearing about AI.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: The New York Times did a big piece uh about AI and how it's going to was very grim.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: It said it's all gonna destroy humanity within 10 years if we don't control it.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you saw that.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: That was um felt like we were in Terminator listening to the news.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but so how do you, as the president of WCC, as the president of a community college, better prepare students for a world where AI is, it feels like it's taking over, whether that's true or not, it feels that way.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we have to have realistic conversations with our students.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: We went through a great deal of uh anxiety and and mental health uh responsiveness to our students during the pandemic.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: So we have established um uh resources and people to support them through these transitions, college alone, especially if you're traditional age, but even perhaps more so if you're an adult who has responsibilities and a family, uh being uncertain about your future can be very um, you know, can really knock you for a loop.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: So we have mental health support resources that that are available to students, and we try to help students to see more realistic frameworks about what's ahead of them.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: You hear us talk a lot about pathways because it's important that they could see what's the next step.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_01: Don't become overwhelmed by what's we have to prepare for what's 10 years, 20 years down the line, but it's not a straight line.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_01: We we know that if we each look back at our own careers, we know that we've had to zigzag.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: So having the resilience skills and having the ability to make judgments and some of those intellectual skills that will help them to make choices along the pathway and establish the networks and collect experiences along the pathway through internships, through uh and be prepared for lifelong learning.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_01: So that's what I see as a large part of our role to help them along the way.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: And talking, you talked a little bit about lifelong learning, and I want to expand on that a little bit because there is always uh a conversation uh around higher ed of you know, is it worth it?
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, not WCC, but you know, often people will say it's so much money and you know it's such an investment.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: Is it really worth it?
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, I know what you're gonna say, but I would ask for you to respond to the money.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_01: Or yes.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: Is it always worth it?
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think the data uh speaks for itself.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_01: And so if you look at uh we we do we do track the data for how the economic mobility for our graduates, and that's something that uh colleges and universities are increasingly being held accountable for.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: Show us where your students are going, particularly when there's an investment of financial aid.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh there's uh government reporting that's very stringent that says what sort of um uh you know what kind of uh economic bands are our um graduates ending up in.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: And uh we want people to be able to afford a home and a car and to go out for a nice meal, uh you know, to celebrate life.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so so yes, we're we um we're very we're very intent on helping them to achieve those those kinds of outcomes.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: And you mentioned something in the beginning about the um the history of community colleges.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: Can you explain what it is?
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know what it is, and I I don't think maybe maybe some of our listeners don't, but what what is the history?
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the first community college was formed as a junior college, Joliet Community College, in I think in Illinois was it?
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and so the 1901.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: So really um an exciting um opportunity for uh people who were a little more place-bound, uh, because traditionally college meant uh going away, someplace, staying on a dorm, uh leaving your family, leaving your, you know, not having uh employment.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: And so uh higher ed became increasingly, there was more access over time since the first um college was formed in 1630 something.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: That was Harvard.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, the pilgrims came and said, we need a good college so that we can train our ministers.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: And so um over time there was the industrial growth in the nation and being uh preparing uh folks for industry, which is interesting because now there's the debate: do we need to be teaching people about a liberal education or preparing them for the workforce?
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_01: Same discussion.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: And we believe that there's great value in both.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: We do both.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_01: I described how our schools are structured, so there are the liberal arts, humanities, and social sciences as well as some of the more career-oriented.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: As a liberal arts major, I have to, I have to say a liberal arts degree is wonderful, in my opinion.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a poly sign major, so I'm with you, an English minor.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: So so these um so so that history and a lot of it um came to bear our uh with the Truman Commission on um community colleges.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: And it was 1947 Truman Report uh looking at how we're going to educate people who are coming back from war and community colleges being localized uh spaces were really important for that.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: And that's part of how um Westchester Community College was formed, looking at those who are coming back from war.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: From war.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's interesting because you talked about people being place bound.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, I think for for some people, there are you feel maybe you feel trapped in your career, maybe you feel like you can't move upwards because you don't have the right degree.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: And WCC can offer, you know, to pathways through all of that.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: That must can you explain that a little bit more?
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um many people start off in a career and they may decide that um, you know, it's a long time.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to tell you how long I've been working, but it's a that's a long, uh, it's it's the long road to be in a career.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it may not be 40 years for 40 hours on the same job, but typically um, if you're talking about roughly 20 years old to 65, let's say in general, I know that's not fine.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's a long time.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: So do you want, do you want to have opportunities for promotions?
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: Might you want to move into a management role or maybe uh change careers altogether?
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_01: And even retirees are looking for encore careers.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so we offer uh training and retraining and specialized programs for senior adult learners who want to remain uh cognitively engaged in uh demanding and challenging curricula.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: So uh we have that gamut of programming, but oftentimes uh we will have um You know, new in new equipment that is coming into industry.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: Just think about the infusion of uh technology across so many fields.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: That requires reskilling and upskilling.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: That's the language.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: And so we um we have a continuing education department that uh specializes in those in upskilling.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: And it means that we have curriculum advisory committees that work with our faculty for program review to say this is what's coming down the pike.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: We need to get uh folks prepared for this.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: And we also work uh as we're working with vendors on new equipment, it's important that we understand how does this work.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: So making sure that we have viable faculty uh development programs so that they can go in and learn that not learn the equipment is is really key as well.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, terrific.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: And we've I mean again, WCC is an institution it's in Westchester County that we have all known to, we've all loved, we've all grown up with.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: If people want to learn more about the programs, the opportunities, um, where do they go?
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: Where what is how can they find more information?
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: I would I would uh suggest that they take a look at our website and um oh gosh, it's www.suni, wcc.edu.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_01: And um and and they should uh visit when we have open houses.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: That was a little announced.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: And uh many, you know, thousands of students find their way to our open houses and to our um our uh career information sessions and and the like.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: And um I'll mention that we are SUNY's uh first and uh largest uh Hispanic serving institution.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: Terrify.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: We teach more um language, English language um programs, uh English is a second language uh than any other place in the state other than New York City.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_01: So we're excited about that.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_01: And and many of those programs are linked to, some of them are linked to career opportunities.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: We had a wonderful program with Whole Foods, where we were teaching new English language learners how to um the the English speaking skills that they need to succeed in the workplace.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we work with uh old payers who come for um, uh they'll be uh working with families to care for their children and um just to make sure that they have opportunities for uh advancing their education as well.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_01: So a comprehensive community college.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_01: We we are serving more than 20,000 students a year.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: It's unbelievable.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, between our degree and uh in certificate programs.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_01: So it's exciting.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's very exciting.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: Graduation is a wonderful, wonderful experience.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_01: Must be very emotional.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's it's delightful.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we now have two ceremonies, one in June and one, one in May and one in December.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_01: That's wonderful.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's really wonderful.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: And and you're changing lives and you're changing paths, and it's new opportunities.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's all it's all good stuff.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's all really good stuff.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it's our good pleasure.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's always a pleasure to part partner with Westchester County.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, us as well.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_01: Couldn't do it without you.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_00: And thank you for joining us today.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: Anything else you want to share with us?
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_01: Well, um, just um take advantage of the opportunities to come and visit the campus as you're perusing the website, look for special events.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_01: We have uh theater productions, there are lectures, guest lectures.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: We have a president's forum every uh fall, so we try to look at some pressing issues and we encourage your support and participation.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_01: Wonderful.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: Mike a pleasure.