Podcasts about pell grants

In a landmark decision, President Trump has signed an executive order to abolish the U.S. Department of Education, signaling a major shift in control over education to individual states. This move is aimed at improving the quality of education by reducing federal oversight and increasing state autonomy. During the announcement, Trump highlighted the inefficiencies and failures of the federal system, citing alarming statistics on student achievement in reading and math. He emphasized the need for a new approach to ensure that American children receive the high-quality education they deserve. State leaders and education officials have expressed support for the transition, viewing it as an opportunity to implement innovative and localized education strategies tailored to the needs of their student populations. Trump also assured that core functions like Pell Grants and resources for children with disabilities will be preserved in this restructuring. This decision has sparked a mixture of reactions, with some seeing it as a positive reform while others express concerns about potential disparities in educational quality between states. Regardless, this marks a significant moment in the history of American education policy.

The President signed an executive order aimed at dismantling the U.S. Department of Education. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the media that the department will be “much smaller than it is today” however “when it comes to student loans and Pell Grants, those will still be run out of the Department of Education.” While Trump has made his intention to close the DOE clear, to fully dissolve the department would require an act from Congress. Do you think education oversight should return to the states?Listen to WBZ NewsRadio on the NEW iHeart Radio app and be sure to set WBZ NewsRadio as your #1 preset!

The President signed an executive order aimed at dismantling the U.S. Department of Education. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the media that the department will be “much smaller than it is today” however “when it comes to student loans and Pell Grants, those will still be run out of the Department of Education.” While Trump has made his intention to close the DOE clear, to fully dissolve the department would require an act from Congress. Do you think education oversight should return to the states?Listen to WBZ NewsRadio on the NEW iHeart Radio app and be sure to set WBZ NewsRadio as your #1 preset!

E&I Host: Matt Levine, E&I Category Marketing ManagerGuest: Ben Kennedy, Kennedy & Company Managing PartnerExplore the looming challenges in higher education as Ben Kennedy from Kennedy and Company joins E&I's Matt Levine to discuss proposed federal funding cuts. Hear from Ben as he outlines critical issues such as  Pell Grant funding, the elimination of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and the impact on university enrollment strategies. Kennedy offers actionable insights for higher education professionals to navigate these challenges and maintain a positive campus experience amid fiscal uncertainties. Relevant Links:E&I Kennedy & Company ContractCooperatively Speaking is hosted by E&I Cooperative Services, the only member-owned, non-profit procurement cooperative exclusively focused on serving the needs of education. Visit our website at www.eandi.org/podcast.Contact UsHave questions, comments, or ideas for a future episode? We'd love to hear from you! Contact Cooperatively Speaking at podcast@eandi.org. This podcast is for informational purposes only. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host(s) or E&I Cooperative Services.

The Education Department under Secretary Linda McMahon plans to reduce staff by 50 percent. She said the department will continue to offer programs required by statute; student loans, formula funding, Pell Grants and a couple of others. Meantime some 600 employees accepted the earlier governmentwide offer of deferred resignation. What might be next? We get one view from a former assistant secretary for communications and outreach, Peter Cunningham. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Tuesday's Mark Levin Show, the House passed a continuing resolution that proposes slashing non-defense spending by $13 billion while aiming to avert a government shutdown. Representative Thomas Massie voted against it, he should recognize the importance of prudence in deciding when to vote "yes" or "no." The bill has advanced to the Senate, where Sen Lisa Murkowski will most likely oppose it, most likely due to her ties to the teachers' union.  Also, this is a liberation day for education; the Department of Education announced a reduction in workforce by almost half following a closure notice. Ronald Reagan tried to slash the size of the Education Department, but Senate Republicans blocked him.  The Department is utterly unnecessary, was the brainchild of the teachers' unions and the Democrat Party, and has done nothing effective to improve education throughout our country.  Better to block grant funds to the states, run the Pell Grant program and other such statutorily based programs out of a much smaller entity, and promote school choice for America's parents and children.  Finally, the Democrat party, the Democrat activist judges, the Democrat media and the Hitler youth are coming to the defense of Mahmoud Khalil. His activist group, CUAD perceives itself as a “revolutionary force working toward the destruction of the United States and Israel.” It sounds exactly like Hamas' mission statement. This group is swimming in terrorist propaganda. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Play Episode Description The ground is shifting daily in higher education—policy changes, legal battles, funding threats, and challenges to equity and access. These aren't just headlines; they have real consequences for students, educators, and institutions. That is why Student Affairs Now is launching a limited weekly series called "Current Campus Context." In this week's rapid-response episode, Dr. Heather Shea is joined by Drs. Brendan Cantwell and OiYan Poon to break down the latest developments—from the Department of Education's uncertain future to new guidance in the form of a Feb. 14 Dear Colleague Letter and FAQ, and executive branch threats to punish campuses that hold "illegal" campus protests. Why does it matter? And what can student affairs educators and higher ed leaders do to respond? Tune in for expert insights and actionable takeaways. Suggested APA Citation Shea, H. (Host). (2025, March 7). Current Campus Context: Dear Colleague Letter FAQ, "Illegal" Protests, and more (No. 249) [Audio podcast episode]. In Student Affairs NOW. https://studentaffairsnow.com/currentcontext_march7/ Transcript Heather SheaWelcome to the very first episode of current campus context brought to you by Student Affairs. Now the online learning community for 1000s of us who work in alongside and adjacent to higher education and student affairs, I'm your host, Heather Shea, and this episode was recorded at 5:15pm Heather Sheaon Thursday, March 6. Things might have changed by the time you listen. This new limited series is all about making sense of the moment. We're in higher ed is facing rapid change, and each week we will bring two experts to break down what's happening, why it matters, and what we can do within our spheres of influence. Our goal not just provide the news, but context, perspective and strategies for action. So I'm so excited to introduce our first two correspondents for today. First, Dr Brennan Cantwell is an expert in higher education policy, governance and the political economy of higher education. He is a professor of higher adult and lifelong education at Michigan State University. Hi, Brendan, hey, great to be here. And Dr oyun Poon is an expert in the racial politics of education, access, college admission systems and Asian Americans in education. She is a co director of the college admissions futures collaborative and consultant on higher education equity to Eleanor Governor JB Pritzker education team. Hello, well, welcome, hey, great to be here. Yeah. Thanks so much for joining. So this week, we're focusing on a few key developments with some significant implications for higher ed the first item earlier this week, Linda McMahon, immediately after being sworn in as Secretary of Education, issued her first statement about the department's final Mission. Pretty ominous sounding statement, and I think we expect it hasn't dropped as of the recording yet, an executive order charging McMahon with dismantling the Department of Education, even though we know that officially abolishing it would require an act of Congress. But this leaves me with questions about TRIO programs, Pell Grants, FAFSA. So that's Topic number ONE. Topic number two, february 14, your colleague letter. And then the subsequent FAQ document, which I think was meant to provide some clarification, but for me, made it more hazy in terms of what if anything we should be doing. And then meanwhile, the Chronicle of Higher Ed has been reporting that many campuses are taking anticipatory measures to comply. So that's topic two. And then the third topic, well, I don't want to bring in every single social media post. Earlier this week, Inside Higher Ed reported that the President doubled down on social media posting that college and universities that allow a legal protest would be at risk of losing federal funding. I'm thinking this maybe flies in the face of free speech. Maybe so. I think it goes without saying that these three issues wi...

Tyler Mills grew up and lives in what he calls “rural America”. His home is about an hour outside Iowa City and is indeed by any standard not an urban environment. Tyler also happens to be a person with a disability: he has Cerebral Palsy and uses a wheelchair. He has a degree in Human Resources Management from Bellevue University.   Tyler, through his company Mills Marketing Services has spent his adult life working to advocate on behalf of persons with disabilities especially in the rural portions of America. Tyler and I talk quite a bit about Rural America which he points out is dying right in front of us. He feels that a significant part of the challenges faced throughout America, especially in the less populated areas, comes from our move away from politically moderate leaders. He points out that this is not a partisan situation. He writes about his beliefs in his book “Death of the Blue Dogs”. The book discusses the political changes we are facing in this country and how those changes are severely impacting the economic fortunes of people in rural America. Of course, he also ties in the ways political changes are negatively effecting persons with disabilities again especially in rural environments. “Blue Dogs” were and still are politicians with relatively moderate views who put community over personal gain. You will hear all about them during our conversation.   My discussion with Tyler is fascinating and far ranging as you can imagine. I think this episode will be quite thought provoking and I hope you enjoy listening to it.       About the Guest:   I am a freelancer writer, the owner of Mills Marketing Services and a 2022 graduate of Bellevue University with a degree in Human Resources Management,  I have also worked in numerous national and local political campaigns.  Political consulting is something that I am passionate about.  I want to try to bring more people together o fix problems, instead of emphasizing our differences.    I am the author of the essay “Death of the Blue Dogs.” The book talks about the impact of the political changes in rural America, and how those recent changes have impacted the economic fortunes of the people that live there. Rural America has to get a realistic chance to win some of the venture capital resources that are out there to compete for economic development projects on a global scale.   I seek to be a voice for people with disabilities, particularly in the area of employment. There are still far too many barriers for the disabled when they seek employment, some of those barriers may have been unintentional when they were first proposed.   Ways to connect with Tyler:   https://www.lulu.com/shop/tyler-mills/death-of-the-blue-dogs-how-the-demise-of-the-blue-dogs-harmed-the-country-created-qanon-voters/paperback/product-42n9wy.html?q=Blue+Dogs&page=1&pageSize=4     Also available on Amazon:   https://www.amazon.com/Death-Blue-Dogs-Explaining-Politics/dp/1312517646/ref=sr_1_14?crid=178TODTDMZ3TR&keywords=Blue+Dogs&qid=1690048552&s=books&sprefix=blue+dogs%2Cstripbooks%2C324&sr=1-14   Abe Books:   https://www.abebooks.com/9781312517646/Death-Blue-Dogs-Demise-Harmed-1312517646/plp   Locally at Burlington by the Book:   https://www.midwestbooksellers.org/independent-bookstore-directory/burlington-by-the-book   Mills Marketing Services Contact Page:   https://www.facebook.com/p/Mills-Marketing-Services-100063553481698/?_rdr   Twitter Account:   https://twitter.com/tmills43   LinkedIn Profile:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-mills-93b14a24/   About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Well, hi everyone. I am your host, Mike hingson, and welcome to another edition of unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're here with us.  We really appreciate you coming and spending a little bit of time with us. And today we get to chat with Tyler Mills, who I find to be an interesting soul. Why do I say that? Well, he is a writer, among other things, and I'm really interested to hear about his his book that he's written. He's a freelancer writer. He is also the owner of Bill's marketing services, and he's worked on a whole bunch of political campaigns and in the political world, and I'm really interested in talking about that. I've done some things around Washington in the past, and had a lot of fun doing it, and met some interesting legislators and Congress people and so on. But sounds like he's done a whole lot more than I have, and I'm really interested to to get into that and and I know he's very interested in talking about rural America, and we're going to do that as well. So with all that in the background, Tyler, welcome to unstoppable mindset. How are you? Thank you, Michael. I'm doing great. Well. We really appreciate you being here with us. Why don't we start as I love to do? Why don't you tell us about kind of the early Tyler, growing up and some of that stuff? Yeah,   Tyler Mills ** 02:39 basically, I've grown up here in southeastern Iowa. It's, I'm about an hour away from Iowa City, the University of Iowa, and it's a really great community to grow up in. I actually live in Keokuk, Iowa. We're right on the Mississippi River. Our main, our main industry, is a, you know, high fructose corn syrup. So it's a, it's not necessarily everyone's favorite topic or favorite industry out there, but that's what we mainly do in Keokuk, Iowa. And I've actually done a little bit of, you know, work with people that have developed websites for them and in the past. And that's part of what I've done with Mills marketing. And then I've also, you know, lobbied for different causes regarding disability rights and disability employment issues around Southeast Iowa. So what got   Michael Hingson ** 03:37 you interested in dealing with disability rights and advocating as you do.   Tyler Mills ** 03:41 I I realized as I got into the workforce, so many people that are in similar situations as I am, they're they're either not getting the opportunities that or they're afraid to break out and take those opportunities. I think it's a situation where the system is not always as conducive to employment as it should be. I think that, I think that there are a lot of employers who would be willing to employ more people with disabilities, but they don't know how to navigate the different barriers and parameters themselves. And I think they're, I think they're scared. I think they're afraid that, you know, there's going to be a liability on their on their in their facility, I you know there's, there's a lot of different   Michael Hingson ** 04:32 elements there, yeah. Do you have a disability yourself, a cerebral palsy? Okay, so that's, are you and are you in a wheelchair? Or do you have that much CP? Or, yeah, I could   Tyler Mills ** 04:47 find a wheelchair. You are okay.   Michael Hingson ** 04:51 Well, my wife, for her whole life, was in a wheelchair. She didn't have cerebral palsy. She had scar tissue on her spinal cord at the t3 level. So she was a t3 para, and we lost her in 2022 we were married 40 years. So as I tell people, and I will always say, no matter what anyone says, She's monitoring somewhere. And if I'm not a good kid, I'm going to hear about it. So I gotta try to make sure I'm a good kid. Yeah, don't want to get in trouble with her, you know. But anyway, and,   Tyler Mills ** 05:26 yeah, go ahead, I was just gonna say, I, I really, I in the in the last few years, I really started to look at the statistics dealing with employment amongst the disability community, and we've really made a lot of progress. And I don't want to imply that we we haven't made a lot of progress, because we have, but we're still at around 23% of people with what's classified as a disability under the ADA employment, which is not bad, 23% a lot better than I, better than I had previously been. But we really didn't even start charting those statistics until 2008   Michael Hingson ** 06:02 right? So yeah, and I know the unemployment rate among employable blind people is still much higher than that, but still it is progress, and it's not at the 70% where it was when I was growing up and in college and just going from college to the workforce. So we're better, but we're we've got a long way to go. And you know, why do you think that is? Why do you think that we still aren't really in anywhere near the norm, like for people who don't have traditional disabilities, people,   Tyler Mills ** 06:35 people are scared that they're going to lose their health insurance by going out into the workforce. That's that, I think, is the main barrier. And I think employers are scared to offer a full, certainly, a full health insurance package to someone that is disabled, and then if you make a certain amount of money, you no longer become eligible for the program. Or SSI, right? That you need to survive,   Michael Hingson ** 07:01 yeah, well, but the other side of that is that, typically, in a group health environment, disabilities aren't supposed to be a factor.   Tyler Mills ** 07:12 You would like to think so. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 07:15 yeah, as I say, supposed to be what I guess. What I'm getting at is, if you look at the paperwork and you look at the rules of typical group insurance, disabilities aren't included, that doesn't they're not an issue, but that doesn't mean that they're not but group insurance doesn't measure directly whether you happen to have a disability or Not. Yeah,   Tyler Mills ** 07:40 it's really, it's really bad, because I find it, at least, I found in most states, we're down to basically one giant insurer for almost every single state, at least it seems to be in, at least in my research. Maybe I'm wrong about that, but, you know, I do wish there were more options just anyone it was seeking private insurance so they could be, you know, as as self sufficient as they would like to be, yeah, basically we, you know, as as great as the Affordable Care Act is, in many ways, it's still, it really hasn't challenged the monopoly that we still have in the private insurance market. So,   Michael Hingson ** 08:19 yeah, yeah, yeah, and that's why I was real specific in saying the insurance I'm talking about is company group insurance, which is a little bit different in a lot of ways than typical private insurance and life insurance, although none of us could get life insurance policies until the early to mid 1980s because insurance companies plane said we were a higher risk. And it took a major effort and enough consumers rising up to get state legislatures to pass a law that said that you can't discriminate against persons based on a disability unless you can show actuarial statistics or evidentiary data. And nobody's been able to do that yet,   Tyler Mills ** 09:07 which is wonderful, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 09:09 yeah. Well, there's a whole story I was very much involved in that. I actually led that fight. I was living at the time in Massachusetts, so I led that fight. But there, you know, there are other aspects of insurance that are still issues in a lot of the kinds of other insurance, other than life insurance that we would like, like health insurance and so on. You're right. It's, it's, it's still a major challenge, and it's all really based on prejudice, though.   Tyler Mills ** 09:40 Well, I and I think that some employers also automatically assume that they could only get a half day out of us when we go to work. And depending upon how, you know, physically or mentally straining the work is, they automatically say, Well, I can only get a half day out of them, or maybe three hours. A day out of them, and what I think that we have a well, I mean, obligation is not the right word, but we, I am, during my time in the workforce, I've tried to prove some of these people wrong, that we that we can do a full day's work, at least I and I've been blessed to be able to have that opportunity. So many people that would like to have that opportunity, I'm not, do not have the chance because, yeah, they face a lot deeper challenges than I do, right? Well,   Michael Hingson ** 10:30 and when I asked the question before about why is the unemployment rate so high, another part of the answer that I would give is, and it gets back to part of what you're saying in a different way, but we're not included in the conversation. We are left out. And you're right. Employers and so many people make assumptions, and we've had things like sheltered workshops that have contributed to that, and a number of agencies around the country, so called rehabilitation agencies have contributed to that by not really being strong advocates. And the bottom line is though, that we really can work a full day, and for those people who physically may not be able to to do as much as other people would be able to do, it also may mean that what we really need to do is to look at what the right job for them would be, so that they could do as much work as anyone else. And that's also a big part of it.   Tyler Mills ** 11:29 And we were struggling with my internet and we probably still are. That's that's another issue here in rural America. If you want to be able to work from home, you're still going to be struggling your internet connection a lot of the time. So we've, we that was, Well, part of my book is about, uh, death of the Blue Dogs. I want to to people to understand what, what, regardless of your, whatever your politics happen to be, you should want access to the internet so people can can be, you know, working and be productive and be taxpayers, and, you know, feel good about their day. And there may be some people that don't want to work, but in my, in my experience, I've always felt like work and the dignity of work has given me a purpose, as, you know, as made me just feel better about my day. And I I'm not that may not be for everyone, but it certainly has helped me. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 12:24 I would also point out or submit that maybe for some of those people who don't want to work again, even there they may be prejudice and thinking they can't work and so they don't want to, and I'm sure there are some who just want to use the system, but I think there, there are a lot of people who haven't learned to have the confidence to stand up and really fight for for their right To be in the workforce and in the system.   Tyler Mills ** 13:02 And another aspect of this is, I think at least within rural America, I think right now, our and within the country at large, I think the venture capital dollars are getting spent in they're being too concentrated to one part of the country or the other. And if there was a way that we could convince people to spread that opportunity around a little bit better. I think that would be helpful as well. Yeah, I'm   Michael Hingson ** 13:27 sure, I'm sure that it would be helpful. Well, you mentioned the book. Tell me what? What are Blue Dogs?   Tyler Mills ** 13:34 Blue Dogs are a group of moderate to conservative Democrats, and I didn't really want to write this as a partisan book. What I wanted to do is write this as a book saying rule America needs to elect legislators that care about their constituencies. They go out there and use and appropriate tax dollars to make sure that our roads are functional, to make sure that we have access to internet, clean water, you know, schools with top notch technology so we can learn everything that we need to learn about it with to be able to be competitive in a global economy. Because basically what happened the Blue Dog Democrats were started in the early 1990s as a response to what many people viewed as, you know, Bill Clinton being too liberal. And Bill Bill Clinton did. He did race raise some taxes on some people at the beginning of his administration. So basically, the there was a group of about 30 or 40 Democratic legislators who said, We've got to kind of create our own group, and it could sort of like find the middle ground between what they consider to be too liberal. And Bill Clinton and yet too conservative to to jump to the Republican caucus. So, so they basically said, we're in the middle and we're being squeezed blue. So that's kind of where that term comes from.   Michael Hingson ** 15:13 Got it. You know? It's interesting. I I grew up, went to college in the 1970s and so on. And I've been a member of the National Federation of the Blind since 1972 and I remember going to several national conventions and also being very involved in dealing with things in Washington. And while one party is more conservative than the other, what's really interesting is that the emphasis on disabilities and supporting disabilities, at least to a degree, has shifted from the Republicans, who really were more champions earlier, but are much less so now, just because they've taken a completely different position about spending money and so on, but they're not the champions in general. That is that that the Democrats are,   Tyler Mills ** 16:14 and I would like to see the Republican Party get back to that, because if they if they believe in self reliance and independence and making people feel good about having something to do in their lives and being as functional as they can be. This should. This is a non partisan issue. Yeah, not non ideological, because all you're doing is you're creating you're creating jobs if, if someone with a disability can go out and become an entrepreneur and, let's say, hire three to four people. You know that that really, it may not seem like much on paper, but it can make a big difference in a community. It really can. So I, I and I, I think that you can still have a sense of community and still be, you know, be a rugged individualist at the same time, and I unfortunately, maybe within the Republican Party, they kind of, right now, only want that rugged individualism. And I think in order to have a functional society, you have to have some sort of a sense of community as well.   Michael Hingson ** 17:17 Well, I I agree. I think there's we're losing a lot of of our sense of community, and we become so fractured as a society that it's really difficult to talk and form community. And how do we get back to to that? How do we get back to people being able to share ideas, to have legitimate discourse? And also have different opinions, and people respect that, so we can discuss it and discuss them, but at the same time, we don't just blast everyone because they're different than we are. We get back.   Tyler Mills ** 17:58 We have to realize that our children go to the same public schools together. We still, we still go to the same churches. There's still some people who still go to the bowling allies together. I social media and social media marketing is great. I've been in that industry for quite a while myself, but we've kind of used that technology to go into our own little corners, and we just kind of follow the road we want to follow, instead of considering other points of view, considering what other people in the community might think we just we kind of, at this point, want to hear what we want to hear, and I don't know if we always consider it the other, someone else's perspective. And many of the legislators that were defeated that I write about in my book death of the Blue Dogs, they were kind of those people that were, you know, kind of the cooling saucers of the Congress, and they would kind of consider those different perspectives, and that's what I'd like to see us get back to as a society, not just as, you know, From a legislative, congressional perspective, but as a society, get, get, get that broader sense of community back, talk to each other again, because really, we still go to those same schools, churches, wherever you might line up, and hopefully we can start have that conversation again.   Michael Hingson ** 19:14 How do we get there? Though,   Tyler Mills ** 19:19 you have to realize that we're all just human beings. And I think, I think we, in some ways, we've kind of like going, Oh, that that person listens to different music than I do. I must not like them. Just I don't know where, I don't know where we got off base to where it's good where we go. Oh, that person has a different opinion than I do. I must hate them, I or I must at least dislike them, or not want to communicate with them. I think, I think, I think we just need to really we, we the society and media accentuate the differences. When I think. That even, even though you, Michael, have spent most of your time out in California, and I've spent my most of my time out in the Midwest, I think we'd find out probably quite a few things, regardless of politics or whatever, we'd have a lot of things just to communist, basic human beings. You know, well,   Michael Hingson ** 20:16 I've been fortunate enough to actually have lived in several places around the country and traveled to many more, and I love the richness of this country, and I appreciate the different environments, the different areas and the different points of view. And I think it is extremely important that we recognize that and that we respect it. But that sure breaks down in in our times right now, at least when it comes to politics, you can't have a political discussion at all without somebody just flying off the deep end somewhere.   Tyler Mills ** 20:59 Well, yeah. I mean, if you, if you go to the cable news networks, they reward the people that are saying the most outlandish things, regardless of where one stands. The person that gets the most media attention is the person that says the, you know, the most sometimes unproven thing. And when you reward non factual behavior, or just straight up dishonest behavior that I think that encourages society as a whole to go in that direction. You know,   Michael Hingson ** 21:31 unfortunately we live in a country where, well, I won't say unfortunately we live in a country that provides and allows for free free speech, but unfortunately, we do sometimes see that carried to an extreme, as you're pointing out,   Tyler Mills ** 21:45 well, and I think, I think that they that for some reason we consider, right now we've got people, if you fact check someone, they consider it a form of censorship, yeah, and I don't, I don't think, I don't think fact checking someone and saying, Hey, I have a different I have my research says differently than this. I'm offering this point of view. I don't think that's a form of censorship, but unfortunately, we've kind of gotten to that point where people think that that's censorship   Michael Hingson ** 22:11 well, and it is unfortunate that we've seen a lot of that, and we we do see the whole idea of of fact checking, and some people just totally resent it. But the problem is they don't want to do anything other than do as I say, not as I do. And that's unfortunate too, exactly, exactly. Yeah. So it does make it quite a, quite a pain to deal with, needless to say. Well, so what do we need to do? I know you've sort of alluded to it a little bit, but what do we need to do to kind of bring rural America economically back more into the fold and than it is. You've you've   Tyler Mills ** 22:59 got to have people that don't automatically assume that we don't have the skills to get things done. I think, unfortunately, there's a lot of stereotypes out there about people that then so these stereotypes are true, and we there. Life is about constant improvement, and if you're not willing to make changes and see how you need to improve yourself, how you need to improve your community, then you're not going to progress. But I think that there are a lot of people out there that look at rural America as you know well, they just they don't understand their flyover country. They're not willing to learn. And I think in my in my community, I think we are willing to learn. I think we are willing to get better, but we have to prove ourselves back. We have to prove that to other people. I was watching the Daily Show one night with Jon Stewart, and a lot of people enjoy Jon Stewart. Of course, he's a very funny comedian, regardless of what your politics are. And he was making, he I, he was making fun of the state of West Virginia far too much. And if you know it was like, you know, he's making fun of how they don't, you know, their their teeth, and they don't read enough. And it was just kind of like John, you you consider yourself someone who likes to highlight the plight of the working class from time to time, and then here you are, you know, kind of going off on these people who clearly need help, clearly need assistance, and they need jobs in their communities. And I wish that we would get rid of some of those stereotypes and stop saying some of those hateful things about each other, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 24:42 yeah. And it's and it is so true. Well, if you take West Virginia, for example, and I've read that, you know, there's people there will drink a lot of soft drinks and so on, and their teeth aren't great and all that. Um. And there are, there are issues like that, but there are also other factors that really cause some of that to be the case. Aren't there? There   Tyler Mills ** 25:07 are, there are. I wish that that people would actually go to some of these communities more often. I wish that, you know people were able to travel more and to learn more about why, if you look at the history of West Virginia, Was it really the best place to even put a state you know that that's that's worthwhile to be so can you really blame that on the people that live there now, as far as economic development, as far as you know that, and we're in a lot of these communities, smaller communities. They're They're controlled by one employer. You know, what a what? Once one, one employer gets locked into a community, they kind of dictate whether another employer can come in, because they're afraid that their workforce, they're going to lose their workforce if this other employer comes in and that that's another the monopolistic practices or the, you know, I I'm not sure what the exact wording of it would be, but it's certainly a controlling process for a lot of these communities, because they're afraid to lose that One major employer, and then what do they have?   Michael Hingson ** 26:22 And they're afraid to lose or they think they would lose their identity,   Tyler Mills ** 26:27 absolutely. And I I think work. And some people would disagree with me this. They would say, well, Tyler, you should just find more leisure time. Find more things with your leisure time, and not worry so much about work, but I think that the people that are encouraging a society without work are often some of the most successful people in society that don't have to worry about it anyway. I worry that people, regardless of their politics, they figured the game out, they figured the world out. They know how to make money. They know how to, you know, pretty much get anything they want. And then they're going to say, well, you know, just sort of Pat us on our head, right? And just sort of say, Well, you shouldn't have to work anymore, or you shouldn't worry about that stress anymore. And in some ways that would be a good thing, but in some ways, I need that stress. I need that challenge well,   Michael Hingson ** 27:23 and I think that's the real operative part of it, it's challenge. We as a as a race, tend to like challenge, whether we always admit it or not, we do. We like challenge, and we like to have things that we have to overcome. And for those people who have, quote, made it, that's real lovely, but the problem is they tend to forget along the way what it took to get there. And the result, ultimately, is that they don't really help people like they can to get other people to maybe work like they did, and get there as well. Yeah,   Tyler Mills ** 28:02 and AI and all these different forms of technology are going to be absolutely wonderful for so many people with disabilities. But we've also got to consider, you know, if you've got a bit of a cognitive disability, are you going to be able to catch on to this AI technology as quickly as you should? And are these and are these programs going to be, are there going to be funding for the, you know, to go to the community college in a smaller community where someone could learn how to use this technology better? I think that some of the some of the people that are creating the technology are not thinking of me in rural America, or other people in rural America that have disabilities, it may take us a little bit longer, and that it's going to be, you know, might, we might pick it up four or five years down the road, but those four or five years are going to be rough, you know?   Michael Hingson ** 28:53 Well, yeah, and AI in general is so new that we really miss out on thinking in the more long term approach of what it will and can become. Of course, now we've got so many people who are going, Oh, it's horrible. It's going to take all of our jobs away. Kids are just going to use it to create all their papers and so on at school, so they're not going to learn anything. And from my perspective, hearing those kinds of comments tells me you're really missing it, and you're you're not recognizing the value that AI really brings to the world. So for example, for for for the classroom, if children are writing their papers and just letting ai do all the work, you may or may not be able to tell it when you're grading the paper, but the thing to do is to maybe get creative and think about a little. Bit different way of teaching. For example, when you assign students to do a paper, and especially you're concerned that they just may be letting AI write it, chat, GPT or something, write it, the easy thing to do is take one period of your class and have all of your students individually come up and take a minute and defend your paper, and you'll know very quickly who really understood it and who used it all the right way or not.   Tyler Mills ** 30:34 Yeah. I mean, I mean, when I, when I was going through school, we would, you know, the teacher would kind of read the whole book to us, and instead of having us read out loud, and then, and then you, and then you graduate high school, and then you're like, some of these kids can't read. And then it's like, well, where, where were you in the seventh grade checking to make sure that they could read?   Michael Hingson ** 30:56 Well, yeah, yeah, um, and I think there, yeah, I've had some teachers that all they did was parrot the book, which is not what a good lecturer should do at all. The book is the book, and the teacher needs to really add value to that process. And and that's something that you don't always see, which is also the case. My belief is that a good boss, if they're really exercising leadership skills, a good boss, has to work with each person in their team and figure out how the boss can add value to make them more successful, rather than just focusing and telling them what to do and and not not being involved anymore. That's not leadership Exactly,   31:46 exactly.   Michael Hingson ** 31:49 So I think it is important that you know we need to, again, look at all of that well. So it is. It is pretty clear to me that what you would really like to see us do is shift some of what we're doing in our priorities, like in the political spectrum and so on, to be a little bit more moderate and not be one side or the other necessarily. How do we do that? We how do we convince people that we got to go back to a more moderate environment? We   Tyler Mills ** 32:20 look we look at people's resumes. We look at we look at people who actually consider it different points of view. I back in 20, 2015 2016 I worked for a guy named us, Senator Jim Webb. He was from the Virginia and he was a Vietnam veteran, he ran as a Democrat for president, but he also served in the Reagan administration. And thing about Jim is, when I first met him, you know, basically in the past, so some candidates that I'd met were a little bit hesitant to work with me because of my disability, but because of Jim's background as a veteran, and he dealt with people with disabilities before, he was very, very inclusive, very, very receptive to not only me, but also all points of view. And I think that if people honestly just want to take the time and listen to good, moderate people, regardless of whether they have an RD or anything else behind their name. Part of it is, I think, is our attention span. I don't mean to be insulting the people by saying it's an attention span issue, but I don't think that they take the time to listen and say, Hey, this this individual is considering more than one side of the coin, more than one point of view? Yeah?   Michael Hingson ** 33:46 Well, yeah, it really gets down to you. Got to spend time thinking and strategizing and not just reacting and recognizing there's more to life than just one opinion,   Tyler Mills ** 34:03 exactly i and that's the thing about the the people in this book, they were, they, these were these were people that you know were getting votes from people that didn't necessarily agree with them ideologically. But what they would do is they would take the time to listen to other people and to help people with their social security matters, or help people with, you know, making sure that their son was able to apply for that Pell Grant, or their daughter was able to apply for that Pell Grant. And so even though you didn't necessarily line up with everyone on an ideological basis, a lot of people would still cast their ballot for them, and because they would actually do the work what a congress person is supposed to do, in my opinion, and like we were talking about earlier on Fox News or on any of the cable networks, I think that people again, are rewarded for being loud instead of doing the work of what a member of Congress is supposed to do. I.   Michael Hingson ** 35:00 Yeah, yeah. And it's, it's tough to get enough people together to to deal with that kind of vision. And so the result is that when you get, as you pointed out, people who may be a little bit more moderate, or people who want to really make contributions to society as a whole. They drop out because they feel like they've got just too many things stacked against them, and they're just too many people who don't want to listen.   Tyler Mills ** 35:31 Yeah. I mean, there's a part of my book during the CNN debate and Anderson Cooper was questioning Jim Webb and some of the other candidates about the Americans with Disabilities, act and Senator Webb and made the point in the past about affirmative action, possibly not considering income enough as far as making sure that people had opportunities well. Anderson Cooper implied during that debate that Jim Webb was anti Ada and I kind of went I highly doubt many of these other presidential candidates have people on in wheelchairs, on their in wheelchairs and dealing with a lot of other disability related issues on their steps right now, working on their campaigns. And here's Anderson Cooper telling me that my candidate might be anti Ada, and I was that just kind of it took me back, because I again, I think that it's the responsibility of a journalist to actually dig deeper into someone's writing, their what their public statements, everything about their as much as they can before they make some outlandish question or comment like that. And again, I think it's, it's just some of it is a lack of responsible journalism because you're trying to get ratings. You're trying to, you know, get the headlines there, instead of actually digging into the issues that people are going to need in order to be able to survive.   Michael Hingson ** 37:04 So you've talked about the Blue Dogs being involved in rural America on the question that comes to mind is, aren't they just as important for the big city and non rural America? Yeah,   Tyler Mills ** 37:16 yeah. And that's the thing is, back in the 70s, when, you know, when we people were trying to get the farm bill done, they would make sure that provisions were in there to, you know, create more farming opportunities in urban America. So there weren't food deserts. There are food deserts in urban America too. And I think that when, when you elect people that don't care about a farm bill, that don't want to, they don't want to earmark resources to a community, you know, they want to act like they're just going to save money on this or that, when really, I don't think there's that much savings going on, because I think a lot, a lot of a lot of Countries are running debt. They've always been running debt. And I think it's not that debt doesn't matter. Debt absolutely does matter. But at the end of the day, if, if your people are living in a food desert, because the farm bill is not, you know, the resources there are not properly, you know, allocated, that's an issue that's far deeper than a than a structural, you know, spending deficit,   Michael Hingson ** 38:28 yeah, yeah. And we, well, we've, we've got to figure out a way to bring a little bit more sanity to the process. I guess we've, we've seen these kinds of cycles before, though, and the hope, and the hope is, over time, we'll be able to see maybe the the cycle shift, and we bring a little bit more sanity into the whole structure. But it's going to take somebody who's a really strong leader, who understands that, who can make it happen? And I'm not sure that we are seeing any of that even today in society, we have two political candidates, and I think one is closer to that ideal than the other, but I'm not sure whether we have anyone who really is strong enough or sophisticated enough to outsmart and bring about the kind of changes that we're talking about.   Tyler Mills ** 39:26 Well, the thing that frustrates me, and one of the things that frustrates me, is that some, some of these people that that were that were elected to Congress, are now seeing their communities die out. That they're, they're they're losing population. You can, you can look at the statistics. These are not made up statistics. These are proven statistics that that all a lot of these rural communities are losing population and alarming rates, and yet, you these people are continually getting rewarded by getting elected again and again. Wouldn't they want to see their community? Grow? That's my question. Maybe I don't want it seems like a false way of thinking here, because a lot of these communities are dying out, and yet you're getting rewarded by getting re elected or given a higher position in some sort of organization. And I'm like, You are losing population in your community at an alarming rate, and yet you're bragging about getting, you know, whatever you think done to me, you would want your community to grow and prosper? Well,   Michael Hingson ** 40:31 I would think so. But again, what we find is people's priorities are a little bit different than than I think what we would believe would be the ideal, yeah,   Tyler Mills ** 40:44 and it's, it's, it's frightening, because, you know, I the goal of of any, any society, it should be to help as many people as you can reach their full potential. Yeah? And if, and if rural America and in parts of urban America, absolutely, if they're not getting resources allocated to them, there's always so much you can do completely on your own in this world, in my opinion, and without that sense of community, I think a lot of people are being left behind, and it's just it's extremely unfortunate.   Michael Hingson ** 41:18 Do you think that we'll be able to see a shift, and we'll find more moderates coming back at some point,   Tyler Mills ** 41:25 we have to find a way to punish the media for what they do. They they encourage just out. They want people to start yelling. They want people to start yelling at each other. It's like, it's like a professional wrestling match. Michael, it's not like, you know, we basically got talk radio on in the halls of Congress now. Instead of, instead of saying, Hey, you're a human being, I'm a human being, I have constituents. You have constituents. We literally have members of the United States Senate, you know, threatening union leaders saying you want to fight, you want to have a fist fight, you know, yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 42:09 And well again, what do we do to change all of that? And you're right, the media is certainly a part of it. One of the things that really frustrates me is that we have these things. When candidates for president, for example, get together, they call them debates, but they're not debates. No, I'm not sure. I don't remember the Kennedy Nixon debate, and so I don't remember whether it really was a debate, but I bet it was closer to a debate than anything that we see today, because we're not really seeing any kind of good, real, legitimate debate discourse. No,   Tyler Mills ** 42:54 it's, it's sound bite after sound bite and attack line after attack run, and the questioning, the questioning is set up that way, and it's and I understand why they do it, because they want viewership. They want people to be talking about, oh, this candidate said this tan. And now we're going to talk about it for the 24 hour news cycle, and then we're going to move on to the next news cycle. Instead of having a substantive debate where people can discuss issues and actually solve, you know, internet connectivity in rural or parts of urban America, we end up with a debate over I, you know, whatever the you know, space lasers or whatever you know so well.   Michael Hingson ** 43:40 And the other part about it is that, I think, in reality, with a legitimate, real debate, you would have just as much to talk about, and would still allow for all of that to happen. Yeah,   Tyler Mills ** 43:52 yeah. So maybe, again, maybe it's maybe they need to give more air time to it. But again, that attention span that I think partly, personally, because of technology and the way things have changed. For better or worse, people don't have that attention span anymore, and I'm just as guilty as anybody so   Michael Hingson ** 44:13 they don't have that attention span. I hear people talking all the time about making videos to put up on YouTube or whatever, and I am told constantly it's got to be 30 seconds, because people won't pay attention for any longer than that. Yet, what content can you really do in 30 seconds?   44:33 Nothing, nothing,   Michael Hingson ** 44:37 or very little of any substance anyway, which isn't to say that you want to have a video that's 15 minutes or a half hour. It's got to be something that that makes sense. You got to keep people's attention, but I have yet to see if you do it the right way, where you can have a five minute video that keeps. That doesn't keep people's attention, if you do it, right?   Tyler Mills ** 45:03 Yeah. I mean, I, you know, I all listen to a good podcast. I mean, you know, like, just like we're doing right here, and you know, if it really gets my attention, I'm gonna, I know, and then I'm gonna come back for more, you know. And I think people hopefully, you know, hopefully they enjoy that sort of thing still, and, you know, really embrace it. I hope, I certainly hope so.   Michael Hingson ** 45:23 We have typically made these podcasts an hour long, and I've had the opportunity to be interviewed on a variety of different kinds of podcasts, and I've been lectured not about mine so much as other people say, Well, no one's going to listen to a podcast if it's an hour long. That's why we only make ours 15 minutes, or 20 minutes, or at most, a half hour, and yet, when they ask questions, they they don't really ask questions, much less do it in a way that creates content and does does what they really ought to do, even If it's only a half hour long.   Tyler Mills ** 46:00 Yeah, I, I, I think, I, I wish that content could be more substantive. I think, I think you're spot on about that. No doubt about it. So, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 46:16 so what we have, we have seen changes come about, although sometimes it isn't, perhaps in the ways that we ought to I mentioned earlier sheltered workshops, and there's been a big battle in the blindness system about the fact that all too many rehabilitation agencies and other entities push so many blind people into sheltered workshops, and those workshops have a way where they don't have to pay even minimum wage, and they've played some really strong games with that, but there's been a lot of visibility about that, and so a number of those shops have actually changed their model. But what do we do again to get the Congress to really deal with it? Or, you know, or is that asking the same question we've asked so many times already during this conversation? You know,   Tyler Mills ** 47:15 I think, I think it's up to the private sector. I think the private Congress right now is at a standstill, and I think that they prefer their permanent stand. So I, I've spoken to HR professionals, and my degree is actually in the human resources. And a lot of these HR professionals are not aware of the different programs that are out there, and then they're not aware of the tax credits. Yeah, it's not, it's not that they're not well, it says they're not willing to learn. I just don't think that was part of their program. I've worked at a call center now. You know, for over eight years, I'm still, obviously, there are all kinds of disabilities out there, but I'm still the only person in a wheelchair out after over eight years. And I don't know if I hope it hasn't been my own performance that has discouraged them from hiring other people with disabilities, but because that really would upset me, but it would, it would, but I, I You would think that someone else would have come across the line during the time I've been out there, because, Like, even when I got out there, they're like, they're like, you're the only person in wheelchair I've ever ain't out, you know? And they, they'd been working for other call centers before, and I was like, this is call center work. This is one of the most obvious things that people like me can do, yeah, and   Michael Hingson ** 48:35 it's and it's easy, it doesn't require an incredible amount of physical labor. And there are actually some good technological ways that a blind person could do that. It does take, it does take some some additional kinds of things, given the typical call center software, but the technology is there to do that today.   Tyler Mills ** 48:58 Yeah, I, I don't know if you've ever had the chance to work with different call centers about that kind of technology, but apparently some of them still need to help. So   Michael Hingson ** 49:07 oh, they do. I know of some mine, and I've I've dealt with some that actually have put the effort into it, but still, I know what you're saying. But then it gets back again to the whole idea of we're not included in the conversation. And I think that mostly when it comes down to dealing with people with disabilities, we don't think about it that way. We don't think about we're not included in the conversation, and we don't necessarily really deal with that. And when I'm talking about the conversation, why isn't the President every time he, or possibly in the future, she, is talking about one thing or another that they don't just talk about race and gender, they also automatically include people with disabilities and. Use examples. We're not included in any of those conversations.   Tyler Mills ** 50:04 Well, I think, unfortunately, we're, we're given absolutely necessary social programs there, you know, disability benefits, Medicaid, different things are absolutely necessary for survival. But I think people just sort of like, make sure that their tax dollars go to that, and then they don't think, they think, well, we it's not that they think we've done enough, but they think that, you know, well, we are making sure that these people are able to stay alive, and maybe in their minds, that is enough. But for for you and me and other people that think about this on a deeper level, we want more, and are we being selfish? I don't think so. You know, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 50:47 well, so we've talked a lot about work. Does society value work? Is that changing?   Tyler Mills ** 50:53 I don't, I don't think so. And as much as I embrace new forms of technology, I think that there's some. I think a lot of our drug problem, and particularly in rural America, is because you don't, you don't have some of those. You're not giving some of those menial labor jobs to the regular working class anymore. You're letting the technology do which is fine if you want to let the technology do it. That's completely your prerogative and your perspective, do you know to just sort of move, you know, the self checkout thing, and that's that's fine if companies want to go that route. But I think at the same point, there's a value to getting that person who may have been struggling in life, to get them to add a local grocery store, be at a Costco, or whatever the case may be, instead of, you know, having a self checkout, you know, it does, it does it hurt a company's bottom line? Absolutely, in many ways it does. But I think that we've lost a sense of that. Yeah, no purpose of work,   Michael Hingson ** 51:55 yeah, well, um, and you, you, you cut out a little bit. So maybe you can repeat some of that, because you cut out for a few seconds.   Tyler Mills ** 52:04 Yeah, the internet's going out, like we were talking about earlier, just again about how I think, I think it's important to still have part of that is the loss of the sense of the community is because we don't we use the technology now that it can be very, very helpful. But at the same time, if you give that job to a person who was previously struggling and not able to make find their way in life, maybe struggling with a fentanyl or struggling with some sort of drug related issue, now that they can have a job, they feel better about themselves, they can get a paycheck and be it be a larger part of society. Obviously, we'd rather have them, you know, getting an advanced degree and moving on to that larger scale to scale job. And hopefully they would be able to do that in the future. But I think society doesn't value, you know, having a someone to check out your groceries or someone to, you know, wash your car or mow your grass, or some of the menial jobs that are going to be eliminated here in the future, and in many cases, have been eliminated now. So we're as beautiful. Technology is going to be great for us. It's going to work in so many great ways. But we also don't look at the other side of the coin enough either. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 53:30 the other side of that, though, is let's take self checkout here in California, for example, when you talk about if you have to hire somebody, does that affect the bottom line, it does. But what we're also discovering is that self checkout is affecting the bottom line because there are too many people who cheat that system, and the result is that they they're able to get out without paying for everything or whatever. So their their challenges, all around and again, what I'm hearing you say, and I think there's merit to it, is that what we're really not doing is representing enough the value of giving people the opportunity to have jobs and encouraging them. And the companies aren't tending nearly to be as loyal as they used to be for people and working. And you're right. They're going to technology and everything else, and they're not being loyal like they used to be. You don't see the same loyalty. Hence, people move so often from one job and one company to another job and another company.   Tyler Mills ** 54:45 Yeah, when you have people in the investing in your company, they're just looking at the profit at the end of the quarter. They don't look at the you know, they see that profit in their stock portfolio, which is fantastic, because, well, anybody should be able to play the stock. Could do whatever they want, but again, if Walmart turns a massive profit by eliminating 1520, jobs, if they're different operations, what kind of larger impact does that have on a local community? And that's that's a question that should be asked. Now we might come to the conclusion that that's overall a good thing. I I don't come to that conclusion necessarily, but I think, I think it's a conversation that needs to be had   Michael Hingson ** 55:29 all the time, and it's like anything else. How do we get that conversation to occur more often?   Tyler Mills ** 55:36 Well, I think, again, I think we've kind of lost our sense of I don't, but when I, when I was growing up, I think that people were just nicer to each other. I and I, I don't know if it's because people just think they can say whatever they want to each to each other, yeah, now, now that we're behind the keyboard, or we can just be agree or disagree. We should never be as just unkind and be calling each other stupid and uninformed? And you know, we need to consider all different perspectives as much as we can. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 56:09 you know, we we should, and I really would love to see a world where we could have a lot more discussion without somebody becoming offended, because discussion is always valuable if we really have a discussion, and can if going back to using that term debate something. But you know, so do you think more people with disabilities ought to move and be involved in more rural America? Would that be a beneficial thing?   Tyler Mills ** 56:50 I think would be beneficial. I think if we there are a lot of extremely compassionate people here. I think that just because they people assume, just because a certain community starts to vote a certain way, that they've lost their compassion. I don't think that's necessarily the case. I think you've got a lot of compassionate people here who who love, who love, to help other people. They're not necessarily voting the way. They're not actually voting their values. They're extremely compassionate people, but they're not voting that way. So then people who are voting the opposite way assume that they don't care. I think it's a lack of information. I think we've got we've got as much information as we've ever had at our fingertips. I don't know if we're actually on a search for knowledge within that information, you know? So, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 57:47 we, we don't know how to search. We don't know how to or, oftentimes it seems like we don't want to get that information, because it, it, it's the the usual, don't bother me with the facts, and that's unfortunate.   Tyler Mills ** 58:06 And I also worry about, you know, a lot of these bigger banks and bigger companies are able to swallow up the smaller banks in the smaller communities, and so the, again, the capital dries up. The that's that's really important. I I don't understand completely why, why some people who would consider themselves more conservative aren't worried about anti trust laws if they truly want those rural communities that they represent to survive. The reason why I wrote this book is because I see, again, I see a lot of people who are who are elected to represent rural America, are letting it die out, and I do not understand why that's and that's what I tried to explore in the book. And it just it. It boggles my mind. And I could write 15 books on it, and it would still make me go, Hmm,   Michael Hingson ** 59:00 well, your voice still needs to be heard out there, and people need to hear I think what you're saying, it's, it certainly isn't a very relevant and valuable viewpoint. And we've, we've got to get to the point where we can have good discussion and good interaction with each other. We've lost the art of conversation all the way around.   Tyler Mills ** 59:26 Yeah, it's, it's because we we text each other and we message each other and and shorthand, and we don't really, I don't think we have those same kind of full length conversations that we used to have.   Michael Hingson ** 59:37 One of the things that I do regularly when I'm looking for speaking opportunities, and I've looked at some databases, and I will send out emails and talk to people about becoming or hiring me to be a speaker. I love it when somebody responds to me, and even if they say I'm the. Right person. We're not doing anything right now, but they leave a phone number because I think it's so important to be able to reach out to people on the phone. Email is so insensitive, and texting, of course, is there's nothing like communicating with someone on the phone. And I know that a lot of times I've been able to get speaking engagements because I was able to actually have a phone conversation. And some people have gone so far as to say, most people don't call me. I really appreciate the fact that you called me and took the time to to let me get to know you better, and whether we have anything right now or not, isn't the issue, but thanks for at least initiating the phone call.   Tyler Mills ** 1:00:47 Yeah, you you can talk about why you care about a project more. You can really go into detail as to why you know this. Do you think that this particular situation, whatever you're working on, would would really help benefit everyone involved in a text message. I don't think you can necessarily lay out that kind of emotion, you know, you   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:09 certainly can't lay out the emotion. Yeah, yes, it is just, isn't there? Well, Tyler, this is really been a lot of fun. We have spent an hour doing it, and I have no problem with that, just okay. So I really appreciate your time, and I think I really thank you for being here, and I want to thank you all for listening. This has been a lot of fun, and I hope that you've enjoyed it, everyone out there listening and watching us, I hope you've enjoyed it, and that you will let us know what you think. Please feel free to email me. Michael, H, I m, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, I, B, e.com, and we'd love to hear from you. We'd love if you whenever you're listening or wherever you're listening. If you give us a five star rating, please rate us Tyler. If people want to reach out to you and interact with you more, how do they do that? They   Tyler Mills ** 1:02:07 can find me on LinkedIn, Tyler mills. Type in Tyler Mills, Mills, marketing services. You also my book is on lulu.com that's where I get the most money for it, to be honest, amazon.com wonderful site if you want to get it there, but I only get 37 cents on Amazon. But so if, if you can go to lulu.com death of the Blue Dogs, Tyler Mills, if you want to learn more about my book, any, any of the projects that I have to do with Mills marketing services, you could find me on LinkedIn. You can find me on Facebook. Mills marketing services. I'm I'm available. I got my phone number, email everything, so I'm good to go. Cool.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:46 Well, we put links in the cover notes as well, so the show notes, so they'll be there. So again, I want to thank you all. I really appreciate you, Tyler, taking the time. And if you know of anyone else who ought to be a guest on unstoppable mindset. And for all of you out there, if you know anyone who you think ought to be a guest or might be a good guest, I want to hear about it. We're always looking for people who want to come on and tell their story and talk about what they do. So please, by all means, refer people to us. I think it would be great. And we would love to talk with them and explore them coming on the show. So once again, I want to thank you, though all for being here. Tyler, I want to thank you for being here. This has been fun.   Tyler Mills ** 1:03:29 Thank you for the opportunity. Michael, I really enjoyed it. Thank you for letting me speak to your viewers.   **Michael Hingson ** 1:03:40 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

Direct from the classroom, four teachers join AFT President Randi Weingarten to talk about the devasting impact that President Trump's and Elon Musk's education cuts will have on their students and communities. From ripping away services for special education students and supports for impoverished kids to robbing working-class students of Pell Grants and the chance to go to college, social studies teachers Heather Stambaugh and Rodney Fresh and special education teachers Marsena Toney and Jennifer Graves give a firsthand account of how these cuts will hurt kids. They also discuss ways they are standing up to protect kids and preview actions happening across the country on March 4 to stop these cuts.

In this episode of Learning Can't Wait, host Haley sits down with Gail daMota, the president of the Education Finance Council (EFC), to discuss the complexities of higher education financing and the importance of accessible, affordable education. Gail shares her journey into the education finance sector, where she has worked for over 30 years advocating for nonprofit and state-based financial aid organizations. They explore the challenges students face when navigating the financial aid system, including the impact of FAFSA's recent rollout issues and the importance of understanding the various funding options available, such as scholarships, state grants, and low-cost loans. Gail also highlights the need for federal policy reform, including better loan repayment options and increased Pell Grant funding. Offering invaluable insights for students, families, and educators, this episode provides listeners with practical guidance on how to navigate the financial aid process, ensuring more equitable access to higher education. Tune in to learn how you can make the most of available resources to secure the funding necessary for pursuing post-secondary education.

In this 7th annual end-of-year episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton becomes the guest of our podcast as we welcome this year's guest host, Tom Netting, of TEN Government Strategies, to review McNaughton's higher ed predictions for 2024 and explore his higher education 2025 predictions. The discussion reveals how higher education fared over the polarizing election year and what to expect in the coming year.  Review of 2024 Higher Ed Predictions and Outcomes Political Environment and Higher Education: Grade A The prediction about increased political involvement in higher education proved remarkably accurate in 2024, particularly given the election year dynamics. The sector experienced unprecedented political scrutiny, culminating in the October 7th congressional hearings that led to the departure of three university presidents. State-level political intervention was particularly evident in Florida, where more than a fifth of University of Florida professors failed post-tenure review under new requirements. A Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) survey of 6,000 faculty members across 55 colleges revealed that one in seven faculty members reported being disciplined or threatened with discipline due to their teaching, research, academic discussions, or off-campus speech. The election year amplified these tensions, with higher education becoming a focal point in political debates. 2024 Enrollment Challenges and Demographics: Grade A The prediction regarding enrollment challenges proved accurate, with institutions facing significant pressures: FAFSA rollout complications created unexpected enrollment barriers Regional institutions and private colleges were particularly affected Institutions under 1,000 students faced the greatest vulnerability Demographic realities showed concerning trends: from 3.4 million students in 2010 to 3.9 million by 2025, with a projected drop back to 3.4 million over the next 15 years. Institutional Closures and Market Consolidation: Grade A The closure rate accelerated dramatically, rising from 50 closures in 2022 to 80 in 2023. In 2024, 16 nonprofits closed, with Christian colleges representing half of these closures. The impact extended beyond campuses - Wells College's closure in Aurora affected the town's elementary school, water treatment plant, and community medical center. Academic realignment became crucial, exemplified by West Virginia University's cuts of 143 faculty positions and 28 programs and PASSHE's consolidation of six universities into two regional entities. As predicted, smaller private institutions became prime targets for acquisition: Institutions under 1,000 enrollment faced greatest pressure Those without strong endowments particularly vulnerable Early movers in seeking partnerships fared better than those waiting until financial crisis Market showing clear signs of mature-to-declining industry characteristics Technology and Artificial Intelligence Adoption: Grade A- The sector showed a clear divide in AI adoption approaches: Miami Dade College and Kogod Business School fully integrated AI across curricula Other institutions maintained strict opposition to AI-generated content Faculty concerns about AI replacing jobs emerged at institutions like University of Wisconsin Progressive institutions recognized AI's potential in enrollment management, student outcomes measurement, and program assessment Student Needs and Pandemic Recovery: A- Post-pandemic adaptation revealed mixed results: Successful intense tutoring programs demonstrated three to four months of focused support could gain students a year in academic progress Faculty resistance to changing traditional teaching methods remained stronger than anticipated Growing sense of student and faculty disengagement emerged Increased burden on faculty as informal student counselors Shift toward more transactional educational relationships Higher Education 2025 Predictions Legislative and Regulatory Environment Higher Education Act Reform Partial reform through budget reconciliation rather than comprehensive overhaul Implementation of short-term Pell Grants with bipartisan support Department of Education reorganization likely but not dissolution Enhanced focus on workforce development while maintaining liberal arts values Regulatory Changes Significant modifications to existing regulations under new administration Major changes to accreditation oversight through legislation Evolution of NACIQI's role and authority Enhanced institutional accountability measures Challenges to regulatory authority through cases like Loper Bright Market Evolution and Institutional Viability Enrollment and Demographics One-time enrollment increase in early 2025 due to FAFSA resolution Subsequent decline as demographic cliff impacts materialize Uncertainty in international student enrollment due to immigration policies Critical need for innovative recruitment strategies Expansion of direct admission programs Institutional Sustainability Accelerated pace of closures and mergers Increased pressure on institutions under 1,000 enrollment Four strategic options: acquire, sell, consolidate, or close Enhanced focus on mission-critical programs Need for proactive partnership exploration while financially viable Academic and Administrative Transformation Campus Climate and Governance Continued pressure on DEI initiatives with more institutions modifying policies Persistent free speech challenges requiring balanced approaches Enhanced board engagement beyond traditional meeting schedules Evolution of shared governance models Balance between oversight and operational support Technology Integration Required AI adoption across operations Integration of AI into teaching and administrative functions Need for systematic faculty development in technology Balance between innovation and academic integrity Enhanced focus on critical thinking in AI use Financial Sustainability Limited progress on broad student debt forgiveness Focus on program cost-benefit analysis Innovation in financial aid delivery Growing emphasis on affordability initiatives Enhanced scrutiny of return on investment Strategic Imperatives for Leadership Proactive Planning and Adaptation Institutions must: Develop comprehensive contingency plans for enrollment fluctuations Create distinctive value propositions Implement effective academic realignment strategies Balance workforce needs with educational mission Consider strategic partnerships before financial pressure becomes acute Governance and Leadership Evolution Boards must: Increase engagement frequency Maintain appropriate oversight without micromanagement Consider institutional sustainability options proactively Support presidents in navigating complex challenges Ensure alignment between mission and market realities Focus on student success and community impact Wrapping Up McNaughton's 2025 Higher Ed Predictions The higher education landscape stands at a critical juncture where decisions made in 2025 will determine institutional trajectories for years to come. Success requires balancing traditional academic values with market realities while maintaining focus on student success and institutional sustainability. The sector must embrace transformation while preserving core educational missions, requiring unprecedented levels of strategic thinking and proactive leadership. The demographic cliff, political challenges, technological change, and market evolution demand a new approach to higher education leadership. Institutions that survive and thrive will be those that can adapt to changing conditions while preserving their essential character and mission. The time for proactive strategic planning and decisive action is now, before external pressures force reactive responses. Read the transcript on our website at https://changinghighered.com/higher-education-2025-predictions-2024-year-in-review/ #Highereducation #2025HigherEdPredictions #HigherEducationPodcast About Our Podcast Guest Host Tom Netting Having spent all of his professional career devoted to higher education policy oversight and implementation, Tom Netting has an extensive knowledge of the laws and regulations governing all aspects of higher education. His considerable background and experience have afforded him the opportunity to view the development and implementation of federal higher education and workforce development policy in their entirety – including issues related to higher education and workforce development, health care, veteran affairs policies, and the procurement of federal appropriations. About the Co-Host Dr. Drumm McNaughton is the founder, CEO, and Principal Consultant at The Change Leader, Inc. A highly sought-after higher education consultant with 20+ years of experience, Dr. McNaughton works with leadership, management, and boards of both U.S. and international institutions. His expertise spans key areas, including accreditation, governance, strategic planning, presidential onboarding, mergers, acquisitions, and strategic alliances. Dr. McNaughton's approach combines a holistic methodology with a deep understanding of the contemporary and evolving challenges facing higher education institutions worldwide to ensure his clients succeed in their mission.

Higher Education Policy in the 119th Congress Part 2 of this podcast continues with Tom Netting, president of TEN Government Strategies and our Washington Update expert, examining ways in which the outcome of the 2024 US elections will transform higher education. Drawing from over three decades of policy expertise, Netting provides an insider's perspective on the anticipated changes a Trump administration and the 119th Republican-controlled Congress could bring to higher education. Netting analyzes shifts in key Congressional committees, focusing on the implications for higher education funding, accreditation, and the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. He also addresses the impact of potential regulatory changes, executive orders, and court decisions on issues such as student loan repayment and Title IX. Finally, he offers advice to higher education institutions on preparing for these upcoming changes. Higher Education Policy in the 119th Congress: 2024-2025 Impact Analysis Tom Netting, president of TEN Government Strategies and Washington Update expert, provides crucial insights into how the 2024 US elections will transform higher education. Drawing from over three decades of policy expertise, Netting offers an insider's perspective on the anticipated changes under a Trump administration and Republican-controlled 119th Congress, exploring implications for institutions, students, and education policy. Congressional Leadership Transformation and Committee Impact Critical Committee Changes Reshaping Education Policy Senate HELP Committee leadership transition to Bill Cassidy (R-LA) from Bernie Sanders (D-VT), signaling a potential pivot toward healthcare-focused policy and reformed higher education priorities. House Education and Workforce Committee leadership race between Joe Wilson (R-SC), Tim Wahlberg (R-MI), and Burgess Owens (R-UT), following Virginia Foxx's retirement, with implications for education policy direction. Significant Appropriations Committee turnover affecting crucial decisions on: Pell Grant funding allocations Student loan program resources Financial aid program sustainability Institution support mechanisms Regulatory Transformation Immediate Regulatory Changes and Their Institutional Impact Comprehensive revision of existing regulations: Borrower defense mechanisms and institutional accountability Updated gainful employment metrics affecting program viability Modified 90/10 rule implementation for proprietary institutions Reformed institutional quality standards Status of proposed rules and NPRMs: Student borrower relief programs Program Integrity and Institutional Quality guidelines TRIO program modifications Distance education requirements Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculations Delayed or abandoned 2025 initiatives: Cash management reforms Accreditation standard updates State authorization requirements Executive Action Implications Immigration policy changes affecting: International student enrollment Institutional revenue streams Campus diversity initiatives Title IX implementation challenges: 26 states blocking new regulations 24 states implementing changes Institutional compliance complexities Student loan repayment modifications: New repayment structure implementation Institutional reporting requirements Student success metrics Accreditation Evolution and Institutional Impact Fundamental Accreditation Reform Reexamination of accreditor core mission and scope Controversial DEI standards debate: Five of six former regional accreditors requiring DEI standards SACCOC's contrasting approach Potential prohibition implications Academic freedom considerations: Faculty concerns about restricted discourse Institutional autonomy questions Cultural and political influence on standards Higher Education Act reauthorization implications: Potential solutions for accreditation challenges Updated oversight mechanisms Reformed quality assurance frameworks Liberal Arts Education Transformation Innovation and Adaptation in Liberal Education Strategic evolution of traditional programs: Career pathway integration Skills-based learning incorporation Industry alignment strategies Public service value recognition: Loan forgiveness program preservation Community impact assessment Social value metrics Educational delivery modernization: Hybrid learning models Virtual education integration Technology-enhanced instruction AI integration strategies: Curriculum enhancement Administrative efficiency Student support systems Three Key Takeaways for Higher Education Leaders Stay tuned for leadership changes. The new leadership will set the tone and tenor for upcoming policy changes, and a lot of the direction will come from the new President-Elect. Be prepared for discussions around accreditation and outcomes. There will be considerable discussion around accreditation and outcomes, as well as how the return on investment for all of education is assessed. Institutions should prepare to discuss outcome measures and how to demonstrate their return on investment, regardless of what type of institution they are. Be aware of the upcoming student loan repayment process. All of Congress is aware that student loan repayments are going to become due, and the process that is undertaken by both Congress and the new incoming administration will be a major topic of discussion in 2025. #HigherEducation #HigherEdPolicy #WashingtonUpdate Read the transcript on our website at  https://changinghighered.com/washington-update-implications-of-2024-elections-on-higher-ed-part-2/ About Our Podcast Guest Tom Netting Having spent all of his professional career devoted to higher education policy oversight and implementation, Tom Netting has an extensive knowledge of the laws and regulations governing all aspects of higher education. His considerable background and experience have afforded him the opportunity to view the development and implementation of federal higher education and workforce development policy in their entirety – including issues related to higher education and workforce development, health care, veteran affairs policies, and the procurement of federal appropriations. About the Host Dr. Drumm McNaughton is the founder, CEO, and Principal Consultant at The Change Leader, Inc. A highly sought-after higher education consultant with 20+ years of experience, Dr. McNaughton works with leadership, management, and boards of both U.S. and international institutions. His expertise spans key areas, including accreditation, governance, strategic planning, presidential onboarding, mergers, acquisitions, and strategic alliances. Dr. McNaughton's approach combines a holistic methodology with a deep understanding of the contemporary and evolving challenges facing higher education institutions worldwide to ensure his clients succeed in their mission.

American fertility has dropped 21% in 14 years, and another 4% since 2021 (post-Dobbs). That's 72,000 more babies lost every year to either abortion, abortifacients, or some other means. Expect another 80 colleges to close in the next few years. Already, 1,660 colleges have closed and more to come. That's bad news for the blue left, but good news for the red right in this country, assuming the university is the cause of birth implosions and the bad worldviews that undermine the nation, and human society in general. It's a self-immolating vision for the left. This program includes: 1. The World View in 5 Minutes with Adam McManus (CEO killer suspect caught, Syrian president fled country for Russia, Trump: Liz Cheney should go to jail) 2. Generations with Kevin Swanson

American fertility has dropped 21% in 14 years, and another 4% since 2021 (post-Dobbs). That's 72,000 more babies lost every year to either abortion, abortifacients, or some other means. Expect another 80 colleges to close in the next few years. Already, 1,660 colleges have closed and more to come. That's bad news for the blue left, but good news for the red right in this country, assuming the university is the cause of birth implosions and the bad worldviews that undermine the nation, and human society in general. It's a self-immolating vision for the left.This program includes:1. The World View in 5 Minutes with Adam McManus (CEO killer suspect caught, Syrian president fled country for Russia, Trump: Liz Cheney should go to jail)2. Generations with Kevin Swanson

A new MP3 sermon from Generations Radio is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: College Closings, Infertility, and the Pell Grant - How the Left Loses Speaker: Kevin Swanson Broadcaster: Generations Radio Event: Radio Broadcast Date: 12/10/2024 Length: 33 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Generations Radio is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: College Closings, Infertility, and the Pell Grant - How the Left Loses Speaker: Kevin Swanson Broadcaster: Generations Radio Event: Radio Broadcast Date: 12/10/2024 Length: 33 min.

Students who graduate with a college degree in a STEM field are well-positioned for careers where they will make high wages. But community college students can't get a STEM degree or even transfer to a university without first passing calculus. That's been a huge hurdle for many students, especially Black, Latino and Pell Grant students. Some studies have shown that students who start college with calculus, rather than preparatory courses, are more likely to pass the course. The California Community College system, spurred by AB 1705, a new law that takes effect in 2025, is pushing its 116 campuses to place more STEM students directly into Calculus. Some community college students and math faculty are concerned that this push will leave students unprepared for the advanced math they need for their STEM majors. But other math professors who are early adopters say that they're optimistic that this law is exactly what California students need to get on track for success in STEM fields. Guests: Rena Weiss, Math Professor, Moorpark College Amy DiPierro, Reporter, EdSource Michael Burke, Reporter, EdSource Read more from EdSource: Educators divided on impact of changes in STEM math placement at California community colleges What to know about changes in STEM math placement at California community colleges Education Beat is a weekly podcast. This episode is hosted by EdSource's Emma Gallegos and produced by Coby McDonald.

This week on “Off The Cuff,” Hugh and David are joined by Tonya Hsiung, NASFAA U Program Manager, to discuss and answer some common questions, misconceptions and topics that catch some members by surprise in various NASFAA U courses. Topics discussed include loan fees, cost of attendance (COA), professional judgement (PJ), the Pell Grant recalculation date and more. David and Tonya provide a variety of examples and scenarios throughout the conversation and remind listeners that they can sign up for specific courses that spend weeks diving into a given topic through our NASFAA U course schedule.

Lisa Foshee, is the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel. She provides an update on the Repair Act, detailing its trajectory and legislative hurdles. She also sheds light on the association's workforce initiatives and highlights the importance of technician training for the industry's future.Find the Auto Care Association here00:00 Discussing The AAPEX Show, elections, and Repair Act.05:43 Plan reintroduce bill, gather co-sponsors, assess control.06:39 Strategizing Repair Act introduction in Senate.11:18 Concern over delayed legislation affecting industry control.13:36 Excited for technician training, workforce initiative progress.16:21 2025 tax law changes impact retailers universally.20:06 Subscribe, share, review, follow us everywhere! Learn more about how Shop Controller can make your shop more efficient HERE

Project 2025, an initiative aligned with several policy proposals for a potential future administration, has sparked concern among college students, particularly in Houston, regarding the future of student financial assistance. The plan proposes several sweeping changes to the current structure of student loans and financial aid, which many students and educators fear could significantly impact access to higher education.One of the central recommendations of Project 2025 is the termination of student loan forgiveness programs. Currently, these programs provide relief to students who have taken on significant debt, particularly those entering public service fields or who demonstrate consistent repayment over a period of years. The potential removal of these forgiveness opportunities raises concerns about the financial burdens on graduates, especially those with lower income levels or those pursuing careers in fields that traditionally offer lower salaries.Moreover, Project 2025 suggests the privatization of student loans. This would transition the administration and distribution of student loans from a federally managed system to one overseen by private financial institutions. Advocates of this approach argue that it could increase efficiency and expand options for students. However, critics worry that privatization may lead to higher interest rates and reduced access to loans for students who are deemed higher risk, such as those from low-income backgrounds or with no credit history.Additionally, in certain scenarios outlined by the initiative, there is the potential for structural changes to the Pell Grant program. Pell Grants currently provide critical financial aid to low-income students, reducing the barrier to entry for higher education. Changes to this program could restrict access or reduce the financial support available, further exacerbating the financial challenges faced by many students.The proposed changes come at a time when the cost of higher education continues to rise, and students are increasingly reliant on loans and financial aid to fund their education. The potential implications of Project 2025 have ignited discussions and debates among students, educators, and policymakers about the future of higher education funding in the United States.As the details of Project 2025 continue to be deliberated, the uncertainty surrounding student financial aid remains a critical concern. Stakeholders are actively engaging in dialogue to address these concerns and advocate for policies that support equitable access to higher education for all students, regardless of their financial background.

Learn how the presidential candidates' policies on health care and student loans differ in how they could impact your finances. What impact could presidential policies have on health care and student loans? How might these policies affect your personal finances? Hosts Sean Pyles and Anna Helhoski discuss health care costs and student loan forgiveness to help you understand how upcoming elections may influence your financial future. They begin with a discussion of health care with Richard Frank, director of The Center on Health Policy, about the feasibility of lowering prescription drug prices, the candidates' stances on Medicare and Medicaid, and the potential for health care tax credits to be extended.  Then, Anna talks to Student Loans Nerd Eliza Haverstock about student loan repayment policies and financial aid. They discuss the fate of income-driven repayment plans like SAVE, the future of public service loan forgiveness, and the costs of alternative education pathways for students beyond traditional four-year colleges. Stay up to date on the latest financial news by visiting NerdWallet's Financial News Hub: https://www.nerdwallet.com/h/news/financial-news  In their conversation, the Nerds discuss: presidential policies, healthcare costs, lowering healthcare costs, healthcare tax credits, healthcare reform, Affordable Care Act, ACA, Kamala Harris healthcare plan, Donald Trump healthcare plan, student loans, student loan forgiveness, Medicare, Medicaid, SAVE repayment plan, public service loan forgiveness, PSLF, prescription drug prices, financial aid, college affordability, Pell Grant, alternative education pathways, election impact on finances, student debt relief, healthcare policy, college tuition costs, and healthcare in the US. To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email podcast@nerdwallet.com. Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend.

In July 2023, Congress lifted a ban on federal Pell Grant funding for incarcerated individuals in prison education programs, but there still remain barriers to enrollment and success for these learners. The Petey Greene Program (PGP), a non-profit organization that partners with prisons and higher education institutions, launched a College Bridge program in 2020 to increase college-level writing, reading and math skills for incarcerated students. In this episode, PGP's Chiara Benetollo, executive director of The Puttkammer Center for Educational Justice and Equity, and Katherine Meloney, director of the Villanova Program at SCI Phoenix, discuss the college bridge program and the ways higher ed can support justice and learning for incarcerated individuals. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Ashley Mowreader. This episode is sponsored by KI. Read a transcript of the podcast here. Follow us on  Apple Podcasts   Google Podcasts   Stitcher   Spotify

Medicare, Pell Grants and the Immigration Act of 1965 were all passed under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Several important government agencies were formed too. In fact, some historians argue that LBJ’s Great Society agenda was the last major shift in the relationship between the executive branch and the U.S. economy. In this episode, how does legislation passed under President Joe Biden compare?

Medicare, Pell Grants and the Immigration Act of 1965 were all passed under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Several important government agencies were formed too. In fact, some historians argue that LBJ’s Great Society agenda was the last major shift in the relationship between the executive branch and the U.S. economy. In this episode, how does legislation passed under President Joe Biden compare?

People who are incarcerated across Virginia are about to start getting access to college classes. Michael Pope reports.

SPONSOR:The Richmond ForumLINKS:Pod Virginia | PatreonLearn more about Jackleg MediaCheck out Black Virginia NewsIN THE NEWS:The tradition in Virginia politics for many years was for state Democrats to remain quiet about national Democrats they did not like and didn't want to vote for. Now things are much more explicit--and some experts are predicting more Never Trump Republicans will emerge in Virginia.For years, schools identified how many students lived in poverty by taking a look at who received free or reduced-price lunches. That left many high-poverty students out of the equation, and the system had to be scrapped when many divisions started making meals universally available. The new way of identifying high-poverty students is based on participation in federal assistance programs, and the Department of Education estimates that 43 percent of public students are at-risk. For many years, Pell Grants were not available to people who are incarcerated. But now the law has changed, and about 14,000 people who are incarcerated have access to the money to pay for college classes. But only 11 of Virginia's 45 prisons offer college classes.TRIVIA: How much blood did George Washington's doctors remove from his body the day he died?Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia

This week marks the one-year anniversary of federal higher education funding that is available to people who are incarcerated in Virginia. Michael Pope explains. 

00000190-6e93-d482-af95-7f9ff49e0000https://www.wvik.org/podcast/good-morning-from-wvik-news/2024-07-01/pell-grants-are-down-in-illinoisJim O'HaraPell Grants Are Down In Illinois100

A study finds sea level rise threatens infrastructure near Long Island Sound. Nassau lawmakers pass a bill banning trans-women from playing on women's sports teams at county facilities. Proposed legislation would expand who is eligible for Pell Grants. And a WSHU reporter details his experience getting information from the Connecticut Port Authority.

LISTEN: On the Monday, June 24 edition of Georgia Today: New federal legislation aims to strengthen the Pell Grant Program; lawmakers prepare to debate the definition of a navigable river or stream; and U.S. second gentleman Doug Emhoff explains why abortion is not just a so-called "women's issue."

On today's show we open with how the government and the Left is trying to paint the jobs report in the best way possible, yet they have to overlook all of the problems. In fact, nearly every subject today runs the gamut between best and worst case scenarios. While I never said, for a fact, that President Biden pooped in his pants, how sad is it that the worst case scenario here is that he really did poop in his pants in front of the world, while the best case is his wife dragged him off the stage as fast as possible, leaving a foreign president to have to shake hands with American WWII vets in attendance. In the state of Arizona, Gov. Katie Hobbs may have gotten herself in a little trouble. Apparently, Arizona's Democrat AG Kris Mayes, is launching a criminal investigation into the governor for bribery and fraud. The current J6 Subcommittee investigation now move to the Big Fani Willis RICO case in Georgia. Apparently they have reason to believe the Fulton County DA's office was also in touch with star witness Cassidy Hutchinson. By the way, I forgot to mention earlier in the week that the appeals court has agreed to hear the disqualification review and they scheduled it for October. That means there is no chance whatsoever of the Big Fani RICO case being heard and decided before the November election. Seems the Tennessee trans terrorist finally had more pages of her manifesto released. And, as we all surmised in the New Media, her mental health crisis was fueled by the Transgenderism movement. We also learned that she used tax-payer provided funds from a Pell Grant to purchase the weapons she used to kill three 9-year-olds and three adults at a Christian school. Dr. Phil had an interview with Donald Trump and the concept of “retribution” and “vengeance” came up and some did not agree when Trump told Dr. Phil he would be okay not seeking such things. I heard it in a slightly different way and believe that Trump still plans to follow the “rule of law.” I don't think that means letting the criminals get away with what they have done. Think the Biden E.O. for the border is actually doing anything? Think again. A report from the border shows there is no difference in the migrant crossings nor how Border Patrol is allowing them all to come inside. White, female, elitist, Chelsea Handler, reveals her bigoted racism by saying she had to remind the rapper 50 Cent that he was black and that he was not allowed to vote for Trump. Don't you just love the white saviors in the Democrat party? I take a moment to reflect again on the name of the “Right to Contraception Act” and how it was always designed to be a campaign tactic, and not a real bill. I really hope one day we can get to single issue bills being brought to the floor for votes. Let's start to close with climate change and a look back to a news report from 1982 and how it relates to Jill Biden flying 7,000 miles round trip with nary a peep from the climate alarmist crowd. The scam has been going on my whole life, yet people still keep buying it. Finally, in a moment of levity, someone has created a “documentary” style voice over narration to go with Joe Biden's squatting on stage yesterday. It's a little bit of comedy to send us off into the weekend. Take a moment to rate and review the show and then share the episode on social media. You can find me on Facebook, X, Instagram, GETTR and TRUTH Social by searching for The Alan Sanders Show. You can also support the show by visiting my Patreon page!

Learn about the intersection of education research and the labor market with host Jason Altmire as he chats with Jeff Strohl, Director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW). They explore the significance of certificates and certifications, the critical role employers play in workforce development, and the challenges of aligning educational programs with labor market demands.The discussion also covers CEW's annual ranking of colleges and universities. Strohl explains the variation among institutions, including the performance of for-profit institutions in delivering high-quality education to students. Additionally, they examine the benefits of short-term Pell Grants and the impact of the push toward transparency and accountability in evaluating educational outcomes.To learn more about Career Education Colleges & Universities, visit our website.

This Day in Legal History: American Red Cross FoundedOn this day in legal history, May 21, 1881, Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross. Inspired by her experiences providing care to soldiers during the Civil War and influenced by the International Red Cross in Europe, Barton established the organization to offer emergency assistance, disaster relief, and education in the United States. The American Red Cross received its first Congressional Charter in 1900, which was later updated in 1905 to formalize its responsibilities and relationship with the federal government.The charter defines the organization's mission to provide aid to victims of natural disasters and armed conflict, as well as to maintain a system of national and international relief in times of peace. Under Barton's leadership, the American Red Cross played a critical role in responding to natural disasters such as the Johnstown Flood in 1889 and the Galveston Hurricane in 1900.Today, the American Red Cross continues to be a vital component of the nation's emergency response infrastructure. It provides blood donation services, supports military families, offers health and safety training, and responds to over 60,000 disasters annually. The organization's founding marked a significant moment in the history of humanitarian aid in the United States, embodying a commitment to compassion and service that endures to this day.In recent developments regarding Rudolph Giuliani's bankruptcy, creditors are seeking documents from John Catsimatidis, the billionaire owner of WABC Radio, which recently canceled Giuliani's show. The creditors' committee has filed a motion in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to subpoena Catsimatidis for communications and documents related to Giuliani's relationship with WABC, his compensation, and details about the shows he hosted.The move comes after Catsimatidis canceled Giuliani's show due to the former mayor's repeated false statements about the 2020 election. The creditors are also interested in information about Giuliani's termination, statements he made regarding the Georgia poll workers who won a $148 million defamation judgment against him, and other potential assets.Giuliani filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy following the defamation suit loss, and his recent attempt to challenge the judgment failed. The committee has expanded its efforts to subpoena over 20 individuals associated with Giuliani, including his son, to uncover additional assets for distribution among creditors. Giuliani Creditors Target Billionaire Radio Station Owner (1)Martin Gruenberg, head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), announced he will step down following a report of a toxic work environment at the agency. The report, conducted by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, detailed allegations of harassment and discrimination, highlighting a problematic culture at the FDIC during Gruenberg's tenure. Despite surviving intense congressional hearings, Gruenberg faced increasing political pressure, notably from Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown, who called for new leadership to implement fundamental changes.Gruenberg, who has been an FDIC board member since 2005 and served twice as chairman, promised to address the agency's issues but acknowledged his resignation once a successor is confirmed. The White House plans to quickly nominate a replacement to maintain the Democratic majority on the FDIC board, ensuring the continuation of the administration's regulatory agenda.The FDIC is currently collaborating with the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on new capital requirements for big banks, a contentious issue in the financial industry. Gruenberg's departure could impact these regulatory efforts, especially if the board becomes evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. House Majority Whip Thomas Emmer called for Gruenberg's immediate resignation, suggesting other capable leaders could take over.The White House expressed its commitment to appointing a new chair dedicated to consumer protection and financial stability, aiming for swift Senate confirmation. The unfolding situation underscores the ongoing challenges and political dynamics within federal financial regulatory bodies.FDIC Chair Says He'll Leave Job After Toxic Workplace Report (2)The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) is developing a new "environmental context" metric to provide law schools with more information about the socioeconomic challenges applicants face. This metric will include data on institutional student spending, graduation rates, and the percentage of undergraduates receiving federal Pell Grants. Unveiled during an American Bar Association meeting, the project aims to offer a fuller picture of applicants beyond grades and test scores.The initiative is a collaboration with The College Board, which already provides similar contextual tools for college admissions. LSAC's research director, Elizabeth Bodamer, highlighted the importance of understanding the hurdles applicants have overcome. This new metric comes after the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 decision limiting the consideration of race in admissions, though LSAC had planned the project years earlier.Law schools are testing the metric on 2023 applications to evaluate its impact on admissions decisions. Initial findings show that applicants from high-challenge colleges are 2.5 times more likely to be first-generation students compared to those from low-challenge colleges. Additionally, nearly all applicants from low-challenge colleges are accepted into law school, while fewer than two-thirds from high-challenge colleges gain admission.Law school applicants' socioeconomic hurdles measured by new metric | ReutersIn my column this week, I discuss the IRS's acknowledgment of racial disparities in taxpayer audit rates, as highlighted by Stanford's Institute for Economic Policy Research in 2023. The IRS plans to reassess and refine its compliance mechanisms, but mere algorithm adjustments won't suffice. Accountability is crucial for addressing how these algorithms exhibited biases and ensuring taxpayers can trust the system's integrity. Transparency, such as open-sourcing the audit algorithms, is essential for enabling feedback from researchers and watchdog groups.The issue of biased algorithms extends beyond statistics. Racial disparities in audits undermine trust in the tax system, which is vital for voluntary compliance. Although algorithms aren't inherently biased, the people who create them can introduce biases, whether intentionally or not. This is evident in similar cases, such as the Netherlands' tax audit scandal, where policies flagged ethnic minorities for audits on childcare benefits, leading to widespread disallowance of said benefits and massive financial harm to numerous innocent individuals.In the U.S., the IRS's audit algorithms may disproportionately impact Black taxpayers due to the way they predict income misstatements. Stanford researchers found that Black taxpayers were audited at rates 2.9 to 4.7 times higher than non-Black taxpayers. Whether these biases are overt or incidental, the experience of those audited remains unjust.Greater transparency in audit algorithms is necessary to ensure equity across all demographics. While there are concerns about revealing audit selection criteria, the benefits of transparency outweigh the risks. Disclosing audit rates across demographics and open-sourcing the algorithms will allow for independent assessment and help identify and eliminate biases. Open-source algorithms can also expose vulnerabilities, enabling improvements.The column underscores that addressing biases in enforcement processes requires more than algorithm tweaks; it involves engaging with affected communities to rebuild trust through transparency and accountability. This level of openness is crucial for restoring taxpayer confidence in the fairness of the IRS's audit practices.IRS Racial Audit Disparities Need Accountability to Be Resolved Get full access to Minimum Competence - Daily Legal News Podcast at www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

Stand Up is a daily podcast. I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 700 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous souls Austin is an expert on agricultural and antitrust policy. During the 2020 presidential campaign, he advised candidates Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Pete Buttigieg on agricultural policy before ultimately serving as Co-Chair of the Biden campaign's Agriculture Antitrust Policy Committee. He is a Fellow of the Thurman Arnold Project at Yale University, an initiative that brings together faculty, students, and scholars to collaborate on research related to competition policy and antitrust enforcement. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Common Good Iowa and the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project. In 2022, The Advocate named him a "Champion of Pride.” He recently published his debut book, Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry, which profiles a series of powerful magnates to illustrate the concentration of power in the American food system. The book has received universal acclaim. Publishers Weekly gave it a Starred Review and the host of Bloomberg's Odd Lots commended the book, remarking that “I have come away with a completely different idea of agriculture that I cannot unsee." The book has received praise from across the political spectrum, including a rave review from The American Conservative. Austin also has a strong track record of organizing conferences and other forums to push the conversation forward on agriculture policy. He recently worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to organize a conference and publish a compendium at Yale Law School entitled “Reforming America's Food Retail Markets,” which explored competition issues in the nation's food retail industry. He previously spearheaded other conferences at the Yale Law School, including “Big Ag & Antitrust: Competition Policy for a Sustainable and Humane Food System.” He also created & organized the "Heartland Forum" in Storm Lake, Iowa, the first candidate forum during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary process, which focused on the impacts of economic concentration in rural America. ​Austin is a 7th generation Iowan. His mother Kathy managed a beauty salon in his hometown of Cedar Rapids before opening her own bakery. His father Scott delivered and merchandised beer for a local, family-owned beer distributor. Austin's passion for agriculture comes from spending weekends working with his Grandpa Frerick. ​He has held a job since the age of 12, when he started working at the Cedar Rapids Gazette as a paperboy. He attended Grinnell College on merit scholarships and Pell Grants. While in college, Austin wrote two theses on corporate power in Iowa's slaughterhouse communities. After being the first in his family to graduate from college, Austin attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for graduate school on a full academic scholarship. He has since held positions at the Congressional Research Service and at the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Tax Analysis, where he published research on executive compensation, pharmaceutical corporate charity abuses, and the growth of concentration in the American economy. “In this eye-opening debut study, Frerick, an agricultural policy fellow at Yale University, reveals the ill-gained stranglehold that a handful of companies have on America's food economy…It's a disquieting critique of private monopolization of public necessities.” --Publishers Weekly, starred Barons is the story of seven corporate titans, their rise to power, and the consequences for everyone else. Take Mike McCloskey, Chairman of Fair Oaks Farms. In a few short decades, he went from managing a modest dairy herd to running the Disneyland of agriculture, where school children ride trams through mechanized warehouses filled with tens of thousands of cows that never see the light of day. What was the key to his success? Hard work and exceptional business savvy? Maybe. But more than anything else, Mike benefitted from deregulation of the American food industry, a phenomenon that has consolidated wealth in the hands of select tycoons, and along the way, hollowed out the nation's rural towns and local businesses. Along with Mike McCloskey, readers will meet a secretive German family that took over the global coffee industry in less than a decade, relying on wealth traced back to the Nazis to gobble up countless independent roasters. They will discover how a small grain business transformed itself into an empire bigger than Koch Industries, with ample help from taxpayer dollars. And they will learn that in the food business, crime really does pay—especially when you can bribe and then double-cross the president of Brazil. These, and the other stories in this book, are simply examples of the monopolies and ubiquitous corruption that today define American food. The tycoons profiled in these pages are hardly unique: many other companies have manipulated our lax laws and failed policies for their own benefit, to the detriment of our neighborhoods, livelihoods, and our democracy itself. Barons paints a stark portrait of the consequences of corporate consolidation, but it also shows we can choose a different path. A fair, healthy, and prosperous food industry is possible—if we take back power from the barons who have robbed us of it.   The Stand Up Community Chat is always active with other Stand Up Subscribers on the Discord Platform.   Join us Thursday's at 8EST for our Weekly Happy Hour Hangout!  Pete on Threads Pete on Tik Tok Pete on YouTube  Pete on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page All things Jon Carroll  Follow and Support Pete Coe Buy Ava's Art 

Welcome to NASPA's SA Voices From the Field Podcast where we delve into discussions that shape the future of higher education and student support. In today's post, we reflect on the poignant insights from Dr. Joisanne Rodgers, Director of Contemporary Student Services at George Mason University, who recently graced our podcast episode. **Bridging Gaps: From First-Gen Student to Student Advocacy** Dr. Rodgers' noteworthy journey from a security-seeking first-generation college student to a beacon for inclusive education mirrors the ambitions of many striving to find belonging within academia's halls. Her multifaceted career path exemplifies how diverse experiences can coalesce into a powerful drive for institutional change. Rodgers' role at George Mason University is not just about administration; it's about forging connections with and for students who have traditionally been on the periphery of college life support structures. **Language Evolution: A Step Toward Inclusion** The evolution from 'non-traditional' to 'post-traditional' student terminology that Dr. Rodgers discusses signifies an important shift in the higher education lexicon. By moving towards more inclusive language, institutions like George Mason University acknowledge the changing demographics of their student bodies and the unique challenges these students face, underscoring a commitment to support that encompasses not just academic, but life success. **A Supportive Community: More Than Just Space** Dr. Rodgers highlights that creating physical and conceptual spaces for students to flourish is paramount. George Mason University's community spaces, unique ambassador positions, and appreciation events underscore an approach that sees students not as secondary participants in their education but as central figures with rich, intricate narratives expanding beyond the classroom. **Post-Traditional Pioneering: A University's Role** The university isn't just leading the charge through in-house initiatives but is contributing to the broader dialogue on supporting post-traditional students, partnering with organizations such as NASPA. These partnerships foster a crucial exchange of best practices and innovative ideas, equipping institutions to better serve their diverse student populations. **Looking Forward** As Dr. Rodgers and many other advocates for contemporary students make clear, universities have an opportunity and responsibility to adapt, evolve, and provide equitable support. This not only benefits post-traditional students but enriches the entire educational community. Their successes aren't just personal triumphs; they are milestones in the progress towards a more inclusive, holistic approach to higher education.    TRANSCRIPT Dr. Jill Creighton [00:00:01]: Welcome to student affairs voices from the field, the podcast where we share your student affairs stories from fresh perspectives to seasoned experts. This is season 10, continuing our season 9 theme of on transitions in student affairs. This podcast is brought to you by NASPA, and I'm doctor Jill Creighton. She, her, hers, your essay voices from the field host. Welcome back for our next episode of essay voices from the field, where once again we were able to sit down with a guest at the NASPA annual conference. I'm pleased to introduce you today to doctor Joisanne Rogers, sheher. Joisanne is a first generation college student, a post traditional student, a life long learner, and an educator passionate about post traditional and contemporary students. Doctor Rogers has worked in higher education for nearly 20 years in various roles, including admissions and recruitment, advising and success coaching, housing and residence life, marketing and outreach, retention initiatives, and student success initiatives. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:00:55]: She currently serves as director of contemporary student services at George Mason University in Virginia. Doctor Rogers leads a fantastic team of advocates and champions, serving Mason's contemporary student population. This team collaborates and partners throughout the Mason community to support contemporary student belonging, thriving and success. The team are proud recipients of the bronze level 2023, 2024, NASPA Excellence Award in commuter, off campus, military connected, non traditional, and related. Doctor Rogers also serves as an adjunct associate professor at University of Maryland Global Campus, where she earned outstanding adjunct faculty designation as an alumni volunteer at Algany College in Pennsylvania. Doctor Rogers earned a bachelor's in political science and dance studies from Alghany College, a master's in student affairs and higher education from Western Kentucky University, a specialist in leadership from American College of Education, and a doctorate in leadership with a focus on higher education from American College of Education. Her research interests include post traditional and contemporary students, mitigation and elimination of institutional barriers, and student success and retention. Welcome to essay voices, Joisanne. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:01:58]: Thank you. I'm glad to be here. And thank you so much for taking time out of your conference schedule to sit with us here in Seattle. Joisanne Rodgers [00:02:04]: Absolutely. It's delightful rainy weather, So glad to hang out with you for a bit. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:09]: This is my hometown and, you know, people are always like, oh, it must rain a lot in Seattle. I'm like, oh, not really. And I really appreciate that Seattle's like showing out for you all with the rain today. Joisanne Rodgers [00:02:20]: It's true. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:20]: We also may get to be dodging a protest for a different organization today. So, you know, all sorts of eventful things happening in Seattle. Joisanne Rodgers [00:02:28]: Well, coming from DC, I'm I'm a pro.  Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:30]: Oh, the other Washington. Yeah. The other Washington. The other Washington. Joisanne Rodgers [00:02:33]: We got it covered. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:33]: I do when I say I'm from Washington, people go DC and I'm like, no. State. The other other farther away one. But we're really looking forward to learning from you today about your transition story into higher education from an arts background. That's something that you and I share in common. My bachelor's degree is in music performance. And weird fun fact, I used to teach top classes to pay for college. So Nice. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:55]: So I'm really looking forward to hearing that from you. We got to know you a little bit at the top of the show through your bio, but we always love to start with asking our guests how you got to your current seat. Joisanne Rodgers [00:03:03]: Sure. So first of all, I'm a 1st generation college student, and so I went to undergrad not far from where I grew up. A little bit of safety in that. I knew the institution, knew the campus. And so not knowing much of anything else, that was where I was going. I had friends who went there. So I went to Allegheny College as an undergraduate, majored in political science, and minored in dance studies. Joisanne Rodgers [00:03:29]: I taught community ballroom classes.  Dr. Jill Creighton [00:03:32]: So I love this. I love this so much. Yeah. Joisanne Rodgers [00:03:35]: And then I figured out while I was there. I went in, wanting to be a lawyer. That's what I was gonna do. And non spoiler spoiler alert, that's not what I'm doing as I'm on the NASPA podcast. Right? And so I found that those folks that were outside of the classroom were really the folks who were making big differences in what my access and what I could do and how I thought about things and and that kind of stuff and figured out that that was a job. Yeah. Who knew? And so I started looking for programs and positions both and got hired at Western Kentucky University. So I was a full time housing residence life staff member, part time graduate student there. Joisanne Rodgers [00:04:18]: I was an assistant hall director and hall director through that, and then moved to the DC area and realized that many times there's a gap between the academic side of the house and the student affairs side of the house. Mhmm. And I wanted to collect secret decoder rings Oh. To help build those bridges. So I started looking in the DC area for positions that were maybe academic adviser positions or those kinds of things that leaned into the student affairs counseling things that I've been doing just kind of in a different way. And so I became an academic advisor that then kind of morphed into a success coach role at what was then University of Maryland University College is now University of Maryland Global Campus, and started working with post traditional students at a non traditional institution, which was very different than any experience at at the institutions I had been at, small liberal arts, regional with some global reach, into this global giant institution and learned a lot through my work there, but also connecting with colleagues and moved up and around there and decided I should probably go for that next degree because why not? Worked on my doctorate, did my research in institutional barriers for non, post traditional students, and all of that kind of came together for the position that I'm in now at George Mason University. So in 2019, George Mason University created the contemporary student services unit, which is a really innovative, first of its kind way to serve all of these different post traditional populations and the intersectionalities of all of those in a one stop shop kind of way, really. And so, like I said, it's a it's a first of its kind, and as of last Google, the only of its kind. Joisanne Rodgers [00:06:05]: So when I saw the job description, it was one of those things where I took a moment and thought, okay. Either someone is totally stalking me online and created this specifically for me, or I may have just found the job I've always been looking for. Either way, like, I sent it to my friends. I'm like, I'm not misreading this. Right? Like They wrote this for me. Joisanne Rodgers [00:06:25]: They wrote this for me. I didn't completely, like, lose total reading comprehension. Right? So, I had that moment of this is too good to be true. Right? And it wasn't, and that is fabulous. And so I applied and hired on and now work with this incredible team of folks who are dedicated to post traditional students, contemporary students off campus transfer, adult learners, student parents, veteran military connected folks, foster care alumni, system impacted folks. So it's a really great place and a really great space to be innovative and stay ahead and to use all of that background. I like to tell folks because we had a conversation about having that arts beginning that I use my dance theory and knowledge just as frequently student development. It just really depends because they both are part of the everyday process of the work that I do. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:07:26]: I'd like to dig into the language that you're using a little bit because I think that is an evolution and transition of how we've talked about students over 25 and students with children and etcetera, etcetera. So you're now using the term post traditional students and non traditional student is the terming that had been used for years. So tell us, about the inclusion of that new term and how it's reflective of current practice and why it's different. Joisanne Rodgers [00:07:51]: Yeah. So nontraditional, anything non. Right? You're not the usual. That makes you feel great. Right? Like, no. Am I really supposed to be here? But I don't yeah. So there's some othering about that. And so post traditional is more inclusive, still descriptive, and is coming up in the research. Joisanne Rodgers [00:08:12]: More is the the term used. And that definition of that is, yes, 25 and older, but also anyone who has adult, and I'm putting air quotes around that that you can't see, adult responsibilities. So that includes those student parents, married, widowed, divorced, military and veteran connected, although, admittedly, there's a whole another set of criteria and things going on for those folks when we talk about JSTs and all these other things. But so it's more inclusive of that in a kind of a broader umbrella, and the term, the language to it is better, in my humble opinion, for that population. But then elevating that even more, talking about contemporary students at Mason, and our definition of that is, yes, our post traditional, but also our transfer students are part of that. Our off campus students are part of that as well. So those folks who, again, don't fit that traditional mold, who come in with more experience than the traditional student might. And it's really about honoring and seeing the folks, the students that are sitting in front of us and not the picture that we have in our head of 18 straight out of high school straight in has no other responsibilities living on campus. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:09:23]: I really appreciate that new framing of contemporary student. I'm also wondering how you connect that term to the students that you're serving because it might be new for them as well. Joisanne Rodgers [00:09:32]: It's absolutely new for them. It's also new for our faculty and staff as well. Mhmm. And so we've spent some time like I said, the contemporary student services or CSS was established before lockdown. And then lockdown happened, and there was a lot of turnover and a lot of changes, of course, as everybody's experienced. So in this post lockdown era, 3 of my 4 staff members, myself included, were new into CSS. And so that really gave us a chance to kind of reestablish ourselves and reach out and connect with the faculty and staff as well as the students across the institution to reintroduce, reconnect, and reestablish contemporary, what that is, what that looks like, and how the great thing is also that all of my staff members hold some contemporary identity. I was an adult learner. Joisanne Rodgers [00:10:26]: 1 of my coordinators is a transfer student. Another one is student parent. So we all hold those identities. So when we say peer, we mean it though we may not be in classes right now, it honestly wasn't that long ago that we were in that very same spot. And so having those conversations and having that lived experience really makes the biggest difference when we're connecting with students, but also when we're representing our students and advocating for our students. So, I'd like to say our work is about ACEs, a c e s. We advocate, celebrate, educate, and serve. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:10:58]: Okay. And we have to make sure that we're separating that ACES from adverse childhood experiences.  Joisanne Rodgers [00:11:04]: Yes, for sure. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:11:05]: That's really helpful to kind of wrap our minds around this different conceptualization. You also said that George Mason is on the forefront of this new transition of how we're thinking about serving these very unique but growing populations at our university. Mhmm. How are you working with others in the field to kind of stabilize some of this and normalize it? Joisanne Rodgers [00:11:25]: Yeah. So we're doing a lot internally and then regionally and then nationally. Right? So we've partnered for some of our subpopulations. We've partnered with folks like Generation Hope and participated in a Family U cohort. We, in this last year, earned the Family U seal, which is really exciting. Congratulations. Thank you. We're super excited about that to kind of amplify and celebrate our work with student parents and caregiver caregivers. Joisanne Rodgers [00:11:54]: And but we're also working with our 1st generation center because the when you add 1st gen over over contemporary populations, that Venn diagram doesn't really get all that much bigger. It still stays real tight. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:12:05]: Mhmm. Joisanne Rodgers [00:12:06]: So we partner with our friends in 1st gen center, which are part of the 1st gen efforts through NASPA. And so having NASPA support in that is beautiful and really helpful. And we also are working with everyone from, for example, our Marcom, our marketing communications folks at the institution and in our university life space to make sure that there's visual representation of all of our students too. And so we wanna make sure that we're seeing that our students are seeing themselves in all of the collateral that happens in the marketing that happens across the institution and across the region because there are buses driving all over DC with Mason on them, and we want them to see themselves in that in that place and space too. And now we're looking at I'm here at NASPA. We're, taking that in. We're also Generation Hope is hosting their very first HOPE conference this year in New Orleans. So I'm going straight from NASPA to that conference Mhmm. Joisanne Rodgers [00:13:03]: To present, but also to take in what other folks are doing. And we're part of an Aspen network for Ascend. So we're really trying to connect in to work smarter, not harder, as I mentioned. So for us, we have, as I mentioned before, 4 full time professional staff members. We have a graduate student and student staff as well as an office manager. And sometimes I'm talking to folks and they say, oh my gosh. You only have 4 staff members to do that. And I talk to other folks, and I'm like, oh, my gosh. Joisanne Rodgers [00:13:32]: You have 4 staff members. I'd love to have that. So we're in a great spot, kind of. And so looking at that too and making sure that as we're looking at emerging populations and looking at our work, that we're staying in a place where we can really help and advocate across the institution that we are not the only ones doing this work. Joisanne Rodgers [00:13:55]: I think that's the important part of it too is as we're gathering ideas from NASPA sessions, as we're gathering ideas from Hope Conference sessions, some of my staff went to FYE this year. And gathering that information, it's about how do we partner, what are great ways that we can advocate, consult, do these things so that, ideally, all of our faculty and staff across Mason see this contemporary student work as their work too. Joisanne Rodgers [00:14:25]: And a lot of times, it's just having the conversation about the language or having a little bit of conversation about calling them in to that work and making just little tweaks and changes because most of the time they're doing it. They just don't know that they're doing it. Or we're saying, that's really great. What if you could? And kind of leveling it up. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:14:45]: There's a book for 1st gen student success that NASPA, I believe, is a co publisher on, or maybe the publisher on. I I don't know exactly, but there's a list in it about, like, the 15 or 25 things that you can do to support first gen students. And the messaging I always come back to with that is if it's good for 1st gen students, it's good for all students because it's really about teaching people how to navigate the system of higher education, creating new to the system don't have, the social capital to understand, and and I really hear the echoes of serving those first gen students with your contemporary students. And it just it's so great to see that you're creating synergy with your 1st gen success center as well. Joisanne Rodgers [00:15:28]: Absolutely. And you're 12,000 percent correct in that, like, that hidden curriculum, the paper ceilings that a lot of our adult learners and and folks are hitting, and that's what's bringing them back into our into higher ed. But also understanding this strange lexicon that they've either never encountered or it's been a really long time, or maybe they encountered it with their children when they were sending their kids to college, but they've never had to apply that to themselves. And so it works a little differently. And so, yeah, you're absolutely right. Like, those overlaps are spot on. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:16:01]: I wanna talk a little bit about that dance theory component because with your origins being in the arts and dance theory, a lot of people that have never studied the arts in a formal context probably are saying I didn't know that there was theory to apply to to arts in that way. And we have those theories in music education and dance education. It's about how we teach learning. It's about how we absorb and create and a number of other things. So I'm wondering if you can tell us a little bit about 1 or 2 of the dance theories that you rely on and how you're transitioning those from context of the ballroom to context of contemporary Joisanne Rodgers [00:16:34]: students. Sure. So I have this kind of, like, running list of yes. There's, like, the formal theories and learning and and things like that, but I also kind of have this running list of things that always came from the director of the dance program, my undergrad, who doctor Jan Hyatt, love her, had these phrases that she always used that really stuck. And so a couple of those I think I have a list of, like, 10 or 15 in my notebook that have come with me all of these years later. And so the one that I use most frequently is you have to put the support in place before you need it. So whether you're executing a dance move, whether you're like, you don't just start playing for music, like, you just don't start playing. You ready yourself, instrument up, fingering, all of those things. Joisanne Rodgers [00:17:20]: Right? And so even when you're taking a step forward, your body is you do it unconsciously, more likely than not, but your body is putting these supports in place so that when you step forward, you don't fall flat on your face. Mhmm. So it's the same thing. We're talking about emerging populations. There were changes in Pell Grant rules and regs that open possibilities for previously incarcerated folks. That means that's that's opening up this emerging population. We've been looking at that population for the last year and a half or so, doing some research, doing some interviews, and putting together toolkits so that we can put the support in place before we need it. Mhmm. Joisanne Rodgers [00:17:57]: So, yes, some of those students already exist in our population, but we know that the possibility of more is coming. So we're putting that support in place before we need it. Just like if we were stepping forward, we don't wanna fall on our faces. Not that it's gonna work perfectly. Right? Practice and test and learns, that's how we come at it, but applying that. The other thing that I will say from her, mainly because this links directly into the podcast, is life is in the transitions. And so the importance of a move to the space in between the two moves is just as important as hitting your point or hitting the move or those kinds of things. And so that transition space and time is when things happen. Joisanne Rodgers [00:18:37]: Like, that's where the good stuff happens. And so that is always part of what I remind myself of as things are happening, and I translate that into the work and kind of the business y thing of, like, testing test and learns. Right? It's always a process and it's an iterative process. Speaking of more theory, formal theory, is one of my favorite quotes from Margaret Dobler is, where the sum total are experiences Mhmm. And that's the only way we can show up, and that's the only way that we can react, which to me says meet the students where they are. Like, those things are very, if not exactly the same, very, very similar, which is a tenet of student affairs. Right? How many times do you hear folks say meet the students where they are? Dr. Jill Creighton [00:19:19]: Mhmm. That tenet has been one of the major constants through NASPA's existence, I think. You know, the organization itself is, I think, a 100 ish years old, and the the core of NASPA's philosophies have been fairly constant over time. I had the pleasure of interviewing some folks, it was maybe 3 years ago at this point, who were the administrators at Kent State University during the Kent State situation, situation. And they read me the NASPA manual from that year, and it was all still relevant. So it's really interesting to see how the way that we approach the work has changed a lot over time and we've become more justice focused, we've become more inclusive, we've become broader in who we serve, but we are still keeping that core of we're trying to help college students and young adults kind of realize their full selves in that out of classroom space, continue to show up as our best. Joisanne Rodgers [00:20:08]: Yeah. Keeping that good stuff as the core. Absolutely. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:20:11]: I'm wondering if you could tell us how folks might be able to read more about these new evolutions in serving contemporary students. Because we're not seeing that research necessarily show up as boldly in some of the major journals, but there's so much work that is, I think, the future of what's happening in American higher education, specifically. Joisanne Rodgers [00:20:28]: Yeah. I think when we're looking at research, we get really specific. So for me, when I was doing, for example, my dissertation research and doing my lit review, it was a lot of looking at the specific subpopulations. Student parent, parenting student, all the variations of that. And so looking at that broader space, you know, I think about all of the advice that I got as I was constructing my research questions and things like that. And without fail, the first I would like to say 2 to 3, but it was probably more like 6 to 8 times. It was like, no. You gotta get narrower. Joisanne Rodgers [00:21:12]: It's like you're you're gonna you're never gonna get this done if you don't get specific. And so I think that's what's hard is that post traditional is so big and broad, contemporary is so big and broad, and so we talk a lot and there's a lot of research about those subpopulations, but looking at that in the broader sense is a little harder. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:21:31]: You just said what every doctoral student has heard, too much pain. Right? Like, please please narrow your focus. I'm working with a person right now who is trying to narrow their focus from studying a population that is millions of people and going, oh, I just wanna study the population. Okay. But what about that population? And it's just so important for doctoral students to remember this is the first time you'll do independent research, not the last time. Yes. That's a hard lesson to learn, I think. Joisanne Rodgers [00:22:00]: Yeah. It absolutely I did a lit review on contemporary students, what would I be doing, and how would I look at these subpopulations, and how would I bring this together? And then thinking about those big, over arching Mhmm. Needs that are identified in that in that literature. So coordination of service being one of those, access and not necessarily access to education, which might be where your brain goes immediately when I say access, but it's really access to information. Mhmm. It's that social capital piece. Exactly. And so having those and having a not just a group of peers, but a group of peers that reflect their identities Mhmm. Joisanne Rodgers [00:22:46]: And whatever is most salient in the moment. So we know that for adult learners in particular, and this is true across all contemporary populations, but if they have a peer group that is just traditional students, it's not great. It can be detrimental. Mhmm. So helping them find their community and find their village, I've been at Mason I don't know. It feels like maybe 12 minutes. Really, it was probably a couple months. And one of our student parents who is working with us with Generation Hope was our student parent fellow. Valeria said at a convening, said everybody says it takes a village. Joisanne Rodgers [00:23:26]: But not everybody has one. Mhmm. And that just I was like, yeah. Exactly. That, like, just hit me, and it was this beautiful encapsulation Joisanne Rodgers [00:23:38]: Of everything that we were talking about, of students coming in and not having what they need, but that we could help and we could connect them, and we could be a village. We could be part of that support network and system. And not being a student parent, but being an auntie of, like, in with my best friend who was a student parent. She was getting her MBA, and my goddaughter was really, really tiny. And I was doing my doctorate, and so we were trading off for doing homework and hanging out with the kiddo and all of those things. And so I get that village. I'm like, I am a villager. We can be villagers. Joisanne Rodgers [00:24:15]: Let's do it. But that's not just true for our student parents and caregivers. It's true for many of our students. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:24:22]: You just gave one great example of what that can look like in practice. I'm wondering if you have any other practice elements that you think is important for our listenerships. Yeah. Joisanne Rodgers [00:24:29]: I think the big things for us that we've gotten really big positive feedback on are several things. 2 that I'll pull out is 1, we have community spaces that we plan out early so that we can let our students get those on their calendars and make notes so that they can make the time. We'll also do multimodal, so sometimes they'll be in person, sometimes they'll be online, so they can connect with each other. And it's really it's truly just a space of, like, we're providing the space, but our students our student workers, we've created, student ambassador positions that work differently than your traditional student worker position where you're asking for 15 or 20 hours a week. Those aren't working for all of our contemporary students, particularly for our adult learners, our student parents, and military veteran connected folks. Many of them are already living in time poverty, so asking for 15 to 20 hours a week, not gonna happen. Mhmm. So we created these ambassador positions that are right now, I think we have them set to, like, 50, 55 hours over the entirety of the semester. Joisanne Rodgers [00:25:37]: Okay. And we have a stipend that's attached to that because their lived experience is important, and if we're doing things for them, we wanna do that with them. And so those students are supporting those spaces and coming up with ideas of activities or topics and connections. So that's one thing that has been really great, and it's really helped our students build their own villages and build their their success network across the Mason community too because we also invite our colleagues into that space and into our lounge that we have on campus. I think the other thing is that, like every other population, we have us the contemporary student appreciation week. But we do that in April, and at the end of the week, we have a graduation celebration for our contemporary students. So we have contemporary student courts that they can come and pick up and wear at commencement. But at the graduation celebration, if they haven't already grabbed those, we have those available for them. Joisanne Rodgers [00:26:35]: But we encourage them to bring their village. We don't limit the number of folks that they can bring. We want them to bring their kids. We have kids' activities at the at the event. We want them to bring their parents. We want them to bring whoever is supporting them and has been a champion for them, including Mason faculty and staff. So So when they RSVP for that event, we ask them, who's been a champion for you? Who really made a difference? Is there a professor, a staff member, a community member that really just lifted you up or amplified or advocated for you or just was there and supportive and would listen? And when they identify the folks, we send them an invite. You know, like, come celebrate with us. Joisanne Rodgers [00:27:16]: And so we have this really great mix of students and their families and faculty and staff, and our VP comes and talks, and our AVP, and it's just this really beautiful event. We give them a whole bunch of, like, different areas. They can take pictures, and it's just a really beautiful event that kind of setting yourself up for success when you do a graduation celebration. That part I won't lie about. I know. Like, we're already starting at a 7 out of 10. But those connections are also really great in that space of having gratitude at the end of this journey that was not easy. Yeah. Joisanne Rodgers [00:27:50]: There isn't anybody in that room being like, this was a breeze. Glad to see I'm out. No. Everybody in that room is, this was a hard one situation. Mhmm. And I had to make some hard decisions. I had to make some really difficult priority management decisions, And I just have some really interesting conversations with my partner, with my kids about, it's homework time. You do your homework. Joisanne Rodgers [00:28:15]: I'm doing my homework. This is what we've gotta do. But at the end, it wasn't easy, but it wasn't worth it. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:28:21]: It's time to take a quick break and toss it over to producer Chris to learn what's going on in the NASPA world. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:28:27]: Thanks so much, Jill. So excited to be back in the NASPA world, and there's a number of professional development opportunities that are coming up in the future that some of you may have an interest in. The 2024 Women's Leadership Institute is coming up December 10th through December 13th, and the call for programs ends on May 9, 2024. The Women's Leadership Institute provides an experience that offers strategies for women to succeed in the higher education profession. Participants include women with from facilities and operations, administration, auxiliary services, student affairs, recreation, and libraries who share a passion for the profession and plan to lead with lasting impact. This is a joint venture between NASPA and ACUI and a great opportunity for anyone looking to hone their leadership skills for working in a rapidly changing environment while also developing a better understanding of the campus as a workplace and culture and being able to connect with others to share experiences about how campuses are adapting and adjusting to the new reality that surrounds us. Early registration goes through October 21st, but the big deadline right now, as I mentioned at the beginning, is the call for programs, which does end on May 9, 2024. Some of the leadership cycle topics that are encouraged include topics surrounding supervision and performance management, strategic planning, financial well-being, upskillreskill, the bridge to the future, delegating and giving away, picking up new skills and putting things down. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:30:00]: I highly encourage you to consider putting in a program proposal and if not, consider attending this amazing professional development opportunity. You can find out more on the NASPA website. The 2024 NASPA M. Ben Hogan Small Colleges and Universities Institute is coming up June 23rd through 26th in Portland, Oregon. This institute is hosted on a biannual basis by NASPA Small College and Universities Division. The Institute is a 4 day residential program, during which vice presidents for student affairs and the equivalent and other senior level leaders engage in discussion and reflection about critical issues in student affairs and examine effective and innovative programs. There's still time to register under the early registration deadline, which is April 30, 2024. This Institute offers amazing opportunities for individuals working at small colleges and universities to be able to build lasting friendships and connections that will help them to be able to lead their own units at their own institutions in new ways. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:31:04]: If you've never attended this professional development in the past, I highly encourage you to attend this year. You definitely don't want to miss this opportunity to be able to connect, be rejuvenated and to prepare yourself to lead your organization to the next level. The 2024 Leadership Educators Institute is happening December 9th through December 11th in Philadelphia. This is a partnership between NASPA, ACPA, College Student Educators International, and the National Clearing House for Leadership Programs. LEI provides a unique opportunity for all professional levels within our field to engage in critical dialogue to promote positive, sustainable change on your campus. The Leadership Institute creates a space for student affairs administrators, scholars, and practitioners to discuss and advance current leadership topics, such as modern leadership theories and models, including new research, applications and critical perspectives, innovative and inclusive curriculum, pedagogy, and strategies for leadership studies courses, assessment and evaluation of leadership programs, student development and learning outcomes, future directions in leadership education and development based on widely used studies and standards such as the multi institutional study of leadership, CAS, and ILA guiding questions, unique co curricular program models and high impact practices, including those with cohort and multi year engagement, distance and online learning, service learning, mentoring, and global experiences. Strategy and management of leadership program operations, including staff training, funding, and partnerships, as well as interdissectional and interdisciplinary approaches to leadership education. If you are someone that is leading leadership training and leadership development of students on your own campus or wish to be a part of that in the future, this professional development is a must go to. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:33:06]: Registration is now open. Pre early registration ends on June teenth with early registration ending on September 9th. Find out more on the NASPA website. Every week we're going to be sharing some amazing things that are happening within the association. So we are going to be able to try and keep you up to date on everything that's happening and allow for you to be able to get involved in different ways because the association is as strong as its members. And for all of us, we have to find our place within the association, whether it be getting involved with a knowledge community, giving back within one of the the centers or the divisions of the association. And as you're doing that, it's important to be able to identify for yourself, where do you fit? Where do you wanna give back? Each week, we're hoping that we will share some things that might encourage you, might allow for you to be able to get some ideas that will provide you with an opportunity to be able to say, hey, I see myself in that knowledge community. I see myself doing something like that. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:34:14]: Or encourage you in other ways that allow for you to be able to think beyond what's available right now, to offer other things to the association, to bring your gifts, your talents to the association and to all of the members within the association. Because through doing that, all of us are stronger and the association is better. Tune in again next week as we find out more about what is happening in NASPA. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:34:42]: Chris, thank you so much for another great addition of NASPA World. We really appreciate you keeping us informed on what's going around in and around NASPA. And, Joisanne, we have reached our lightning round. Oh. I've got 7 questions for you. 90 seconds. Oh my. Alright. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:34:56]: I'm ready. Question 1. If you were a conference keynote speaker, what would Joisanne Rodgers [00:35:00]: your entrance music be? Ain't No Man, The Avett Brothers. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:35:03]: Number 2, when you were 5 years old, what did you wanna be when you grew up? Joisanne Rodgers [00:35:06]: I wanted to be a teacher because student affairs professional, not on the kindergarten chart.  Dr. Jill Creighton [00:35:12]: True story. Number 3, who's your most influential professional mentor? Joisanne Rodgers [00:35:17]: I had a list. I talked about Jan, which is important. I think in the place and space that I'm in right now, it's my current supervisor, Sally Laurenson, and she has been amazing. Number 4, your essential student affairs read. Oh my gosh. Everything. Consume everything you can and run it through the lens of you and your life and your strengths and your institution. Number 5. Joisanne Rodgers [00:35:45]: The best TV show you binged during the pandemic. I feel like I should say The Chair, because it just is absolutely directly related, but really the guilty pleasure version of that is Love is Blind. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:35:57]: Number 6, the podcast you've spent the most hours listening to in the last year. Joisanne Rodgers [00:36:00]: Oh, that one's easy. Malcolm Gladwell revisionist history. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:36:04]: And finally, number 7, any shout outs you'd like to give personal or professional? Joisanne Rodgers [00:36:08]: Oh, my gosh. Everybody. I stand on the shoulders of giants is really what that is. So I have this really amazing family that despite not having a lens necessarily for what I do is still a 1000% in. And when I say things like, I'm sorry. I can't come home for Thanksgiving if you want me home at Christmas. They were not thrilled about it, but they made it work and were lovely the whole time, and I know that was difficult. And so I love them, but, also, I've had the privilege of working with some really great folks and having people like Ted Smith, who was my first RD, who told me this could be a job, and support from folks at Allegheny, as well as then moving into my first professional position at Western Kentucky University and having this group of folks who were in it and wanted everyone to succeed in just this really great village of folks that supported me in that and helped me learn how to be a professional in that place and space. Joisanne Rodgers [00:37:10]: And my first supervisor, Nick Wired, and Brian Powell, and Ben Ellis just absolutely giving me space and grace to fail fast and forward, and supporting me in that, and having a leadership team, particularly in in HRL, but also in my internships and things like that. So my Western Kentucky family, my Hilltopper family being great support in that as well. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:37:38]: Joisanne, I know I learned a lot from you today, and I'm sure there are others who have. If they'd like to reach out to you, how can they find you? Joisanne Rodgers [00:37:44]: Absolutely. You can find me on LinkedIn. Look at the ad for my name. It's spelled a little differently than you might think, but I'm pretty easy to find. So connect with me on LinkedIn, send me a note, add a note to that that you heard me here and ask some questions. I'm always happy to answer those or jump on a Zoom with someone and chat about what's going on. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:38:03]: Thank you so much, Joisanne, for sharing your voice with us today. Joisanne Rodgers [00:38:06]: Absolutely. Thank you for having Dr. Jill Creighton [00:38:10]: me. This has been an episode of Student Affairs Voices from the Field, a podcast brought to you by NASPA. This show continues to be possible because you choose to listen to us. We are so grateful for your subscriptions and your downloads and your engagement with the content. If you'd like to reach the show, please email us at sa voices at naspa.org or find me on LinkedIn by searching for doctor Jill L. Creighton. We always welcome your feedback and your topic and guest suggestions. We'd love it if you take a moment to tell a colleague about the show and give us a 5 star rating on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening now. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:38:44]: It really does help other student affairs professionals find the show and helps raise the show's profile within the larger podcasting community. This episode was produced and hosted by doctor Jill Creighton, that's me, produced and audio engineered by doctor Chris Lewis. Special thanks to the University of Michigan Flint for your support as we create this project. Catch you next time.

CAP CHAT LIVE! NIL GONE WILD Host: Josh Tyler & Tyler Tomlinson April 1st, 2024 Josh and Tyler catch up after Tyler's knee surgery and discuss appropriate communication with coaches, setting parameters for contacting coaches, and the importance of understanding time zones. They also talk about financial aid packages and the changes in the Pell Grant evaluation process. The conversation then shifts to the impact of name, image, and likeness (NIL) in college sports, including the potential effects on player decisions and the transfer portal. They discuss the need to protect student athletes and the potential changes that may occur in the future. The conversation concludes with their thoughts on the current state of college athletics. Effective communication with coaches requires understanding time zones and setting appropriate contact parameters. Financial aid packages can be influenced by changes in the Pell Grant evaluation process. The name, image, and likeness (NIL) rules in college sports have the potential to significantly impact player decisions and the transfer portal. Protecting student athletes and ensuring fair opportunities in NIL deals is crucial. Potential rule changes may be implemented in the future to address the impact of NIL and the transfer portal. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rushsoccerpodcast/message

**Breaking Ground as a First-Generation Trailblazer**  In this episode of SA Voices From The Field Dr. Jill Creighton had the chance to speak with Alejandra Campoverdi, a formidable force advocating for women's health and an inspiration for many first-generation college students. Her memoir, 'First Gen: A Memoir,' beautifully encapsulates the emotional complexities that accompany the breaking of generational barriers, a theme that resonates deeply with many of our podcast's listeners. Alejandra's narrative is both personal and universal, detailing her own struggle with panic attacks and other challenges as she navigated the social ladders of legacy-based institutions. Her experience in the White House, and the pivotal role mentors played in her journey, offers a powerful testament to the lasting impact of educators and advocates across different walks of life. **Legacy and the Emotional Rhyme of Generations** Alejandra poetically introduces the concept of 'generational rhyming,' drawing lines between the past and present experiences. By reflecting on the courage of women in her family—those who confidently stepped away from chaotic relationships while carrying the burden of pregnancy—Alejandra emphasizes the inheritance of resilience and the personal choice to either continue or modify the legacy we carry forward. **The Cultural Tapestry of Health and Sacrifice** This episode also delves into Alejandra's advocacy for women's health, illustrating the interweaving of cultural expectations and individual wellness. Her frank discussion on BRCA mutation and confronting a familial pattern of breast cancer underscores the critical necessity of breaking cycles, not only socially and economically but also health-wise. **Systemic Issues and the Imposter Experience** Alejandra's views on 'imposter syndrome' are particularly enlightening, challenging the notion that it stems solely from personal insecurity rather than also being rooted in systemic disparities. This perspective invites a broader conversation on the structural changes needed to support and validate the experiences of those breaking new ground. **Connecting with Alejandra Campoverdi** Listeners can reach out to Alejandra Campoverdi via her DMs on Instagram, LinkedIn, or her website. Her gracious acknowledgment of her mentors, including her former White House boss, and her thanks to the NASPA family and Dina from the First Gen Center, that manifests an ecosystem of support that many 'firsts' heavily rely on.    TRANSCRIPT Dr. Jill Creighton [00:00:01]: Welcome to student affairs voices from the field, the podcast where we share your student affairs stories from fresh perspectives to seasoned experts. This is season 10, continuing our season 9 theme of on transitions in student affairs. This podcast is brought to you by NASPA, and I'm doctor Jill Creighton. She, her, hers, your essay voices from the field host. Welcome back essay voices. It was amazing to run into so many of you at the annual conference, and thank you again for continuing to listen to us. Today, we're gonna be releasing the first of several annual conference episodes, and we were thrilled to sit down with the closing keynote speaker, Alejandra Campaverdi. Alejandra is a nationally recognized women's health advocate, best selling author, founder, producer, and former White House aide to President Obama. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:00:48]: Alejandra's memoir, First Gen: A Memoir, examines the often unacknowledged emotional tolls of being a trailblazer. A national bestseller, 1st Gen is the winner of the California Independent Booksellers Alliance Golden Poppy Martin Cruz Smith Award and long listed for the outstanding works of literature award for the 1st year experience. 1st Gen is also the 2024 Opportunity Matters book club selection for the Council For Opportunity in Education, a national book club for 1st generation and low income students at colleges and universities across the country. Previously, Alejandra served in the Obama White House as the 1st White House deputy director of Hispanic Media. She produced and appeared in the groundbreaking PBS documentary, Inheritance, and founded the Latinos and BRCA Awareness Initiative in partnership with Penn Medicine's Master Center for BRCA. Alejandra holds a master in public policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and graduated cum laude from USC. She currently serves on the boards of Harvard's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, and the California Community Foundation. I hope you enjoy our conversation. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:01:50]: We were able to have this one live in person, so you may notice some slight audio differences in quality. Please enjoy and we're also going to be bringing you couple more bonus episodes throughout the next couple of weeks. Alejandra, welcome to SA Voices. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:02:03]: Thank you so much for having me. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:05]: I am really excited to get to know you a little bit and we really appreciate you taking time out of your schedule to talk to SA Voices here in Seattle. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:02:12]: I know. It's fun to be in Seattle. Right? Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:13]: Is this your first time? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:02:14]: No. I was actually here a few weeks ago for another conference, but I had so much fun eating my way through the city. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:20]: Oh, what was your favorite thing? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:02:22]: That was a lot. The crumpets over at the Pike Place Market, incredible. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:27]: Crumpets. Okay. That's a new one. Most of my friends say Top Pot Donuts is their their jam or, I haven't been to the crumpet spot. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:35]: This is my hometown so it's always fun for me to see people discover it through fresh eyes. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:02:39]: Nice. Well, you have to give us your tips then. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:02:42]: Really, it's just don't eat downtown. I think it's my biggest tip. Most of my friends and family enjoy restaurants kind of more out in the community. But we are glad to have you here as our closing keynote speaker for NASPA 2024 here in Seattle. On our theme of transitions, you were just an excellent guest to have to talk about all the transitions you've gone through in your life. Your book right now is 1st Gen, a memoir, and that has been just a really beautiful read. I've been able to take a look at least the first couple of chapters and and really kind of get to know you through that lens. But I'm wondering if you can tell us a little bit about your journey as you've written about it. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:03:17]: Well, thank you for reading it, Amy. I feel really honored to be invited to speak at NASPA. As I say in the book, the reason why I felt compelled to write it really was because, you know, as someone who was a Pell Grant recipient myself and grew up in a lot of pipeline programs and nonprofits, when I would go and speak to young people, especially students even before this book was even an idea in my mind, I noticed that there seemed to be a lot kind of hanging in the air. Some mixed emotions and almost like looks on folks' faces that I recognize on my own face at these kind of transitional achievement moments that should kind of be 1 dimensional but kind of weren't. And as I noticed that, I started kind of changing the way that I would speak and the kinds of stories I would share. And the more vulnerable I was about how it was harder than many times we're led on to believe in inspirational speeches, really helped crystallize for me how much of not only my own experience but a lot of our experiences have some shame around them that there are conflicting emotions that we don't always share even though they're so completely widespread. And a lot of it namely about the emotional toll of social mobility and the American dream as it's been presented to us. And, you know, in the book, I really talk about how it's for first and only. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:04:45]: I call us first and only because it isn't just this gatekeeper definition of who has a right to kinda like that first gen experience. I understand that in in academia and in different institutions, you need to have a definition of who qualifies and doesn't qualify. But for this emotional experience in the book, it's about being as inclusive as possible because this experience of cycle breaking and that emotional toll transcends race and gender and and so many different experiences. So that was a lens that I discussed this with, and I really use my own story growing up, you know, as the daughter of a single mom who had immigrated from Mexico a few years before I was born to kind of be the companion of walking through a lot of these different dynamics. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:05:33]: You talk about generational rhyming in your book as part of that transition story. Can you talk to us about what you mean by that? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:05:39]: Well, as a part of this book, I named something called the trailblazer tool. And I don't name that from a position of authority as someone who is a trauma specialist or an academic or a specialist in psychology or so on. The reason why I do that is because as I mentioned, you can't heal from that which you don't name. Mhmm. And so how do we create space for this holistic view that doesn't only include imposter syndrome but includes the way that being a cycle breaker first and only moves throughout our entire life even before we get to school and for many, many years after. You know, once by the time you're a 1st gen student, you've been 1st gen already many times over and you'll continue to be 1st gen. And so to that point, how is it that this even began pre birth? When you're thinking about generational inheritance and emotional inheritances, when you're looking for those answers, they say history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Mhmm. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:06:35]: Well, what is the rhyme that is coming from our family? And they're not just negative. Many are positive. It's not just about generational trauma. It's about emotional inheritances and those I call them invisible inheritances. Many times they're intertwined. Many times, you know, you're looking at the fact in my instance, I have a great grandmother and a mother who both left very chaotic borderline abusive relationships while they were pregnant. Mhmm. Now that's not an inheritance that I would wanna continue. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:07:06]: Yet if you say it a little differently, I have 2 women in my family that left these relationships while they were pregnant. I mean, think of the strength and fortitude it takes to do something like that. So, I mean, I'm proud to be a a beneficiary of that inheritance. And then the third part is the inheritances that we choose to perpetuate as our own future ancestors right now. You know, every day, we have a choice to become a better ancestor. Mhmm. So those are the rhymes that not only we're coming into these lives with, but the rhymes that we're choosing to continue and be intentional about and maybe tweak a little bit. That intentionality is a lot of the end game because I don't have all the answers and this book doesn't pretend like it has all the answers. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:07:51]: But it's about validating and acknowledging a lot of what as first and only is we almost feel like we don't know have the privilege too many times. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:07:58]: I'm wondering if you can talk to us a bit about being a first generation student who entered collegiate spaces that are really legacy based institutions where maybe you're entering with classmates who have multiple generations of people who went to those institutions who know how they work, who understand the nuance and the subtleties of social culture and enter with a lot more social capital on how to engage in those worlds and how you found yourself evolving into those spaces and ultimately thriving in them. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:08:25]: Well, just how Invisible Inheritance is kind of where we start, you know, a couple steps forward is what I call chutes and social ladders. And I don't know if you remember the board game. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Chutes and Ladders. And the reason why I named it that was because that's what it kind of felt like to me. You know, you land on the right spot. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:08:44]: You do everything just right and you shoot into this different social class, into this different just like societal plane that feels so foreign, yet if you've messed up, God forbid don't do it just perfectly, you can backslide completely out of it. Right? Yeah. Without warning sometimes. Absolutely. And it feels really precarious. And to me, that made sense to me as a way to look at it. In the book, I talk about the familial chaos that I was in, this kind of pressure cooker, as well as in the romantic relationship that I highlight in the book. That's also something else that was, you know, leading to a lot of personal angst. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:09:25]: Mhmm. Yet the way that I was dealing with that was in a lot of ways of trying to kind of stabilize and have some semblance of control in my life by overachieving. Mhmm. You know, how that overachieving and sometimes that perfectionism can be as well as ambition, but can also be a coping mechanism for trauma. Right? And so I was making myself a really good college applicant at the same time as I was really struggling with a lot of issues around this kind of dynamics in my home and my relationships. So by the time I get to USC, it was one blurry summer apart from a very different kind of cultural experience where if anything, I was teased for, quote, acting white because I would get good grades. But then you get to college, and I remember by then, I was already struggling very much with panic attacks and panic disorder, and I had my mom be on campus with me. I grew up under 20 miles from USC's campus but had never visited. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:10:27]: You know, you don't visit colleges. Who does that? Like, what is that? So my mom is there with me pushing this running stroller around with my little sister, and I just didn't want her to be out of my sight because I felt so much pressure. Like, a lot of these students I know. I hear from them. I'm traveling around the country right now talking to them. So much pressure that not only did I have to do this to kind of this was my chance to, you know, break that cycle of poverty, but this was also my chance to help my mom, to help my family. You know, it was this kinda like double layer of stress. And my mom went to the parent orientation and I'm sitting there and feeling that, and all of a sudden, my ears start ringing. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:11:05]: Everything starts getting spinny, and I run out of Boulevard Auditorium in USC and pass out in the middle of campus. So when I came to, somebody had gone to get my mom, and we went to the health center, and then they gave me a prescription and, you know, sent me on my way. And I remember sitting on a bench with her and thinking, oh my god. Am I gonna be able to do this? I worked so hard to be able to get there, and it felt like everything was within grasp that I had dreamed of, that we had dreamed of. But I didn't know if I could physically do it because all of these experiences and these emotional experiences that we're talking about had started catching up with me. Mhmm. You know, and that's that's not something that's unique to me. Right? Because there's a saying I point to in the book, when you're skating over thin ice, your speed is your safety. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:11:52]: Mhmm. And many times that's what it feels like when you're cycle breaking and you're kind of trying to adjust to these new kinda stratosphere jumps, you don't have time to really process what's happening. You're just kind of surviving and morphing and adapting however you can. And there was a lot that was coming up for me at that time. I was fortunate that, you know, my mom was able to help me kind of navigate a little bit but in a lot of ways I ended up experiencing a whole another big jump that was difficult to recalibrate. At the time, my mom, not knowing any better, encouraged me to get involved with the Greek system. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:12:30]: Okay. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:12:30]: And we can imagine at that time, USC in the late nineties, early 2000, you know, that was like taking me to the most extreme example of kind of world jumping and recalibrating and understanding what that meant for my Latinidad and how it expressed itself on campus. How I was able to show up and fit into a system that had experiences that were beyond my comprehension and how it is that I was able to do that and manage all that while at the same time trying to keep up with grades. And it it was a lot. And I go into this a lot deeper in the book about what that felt like, but I definitely don't. And I'm not saying now nor do I say in the book that I figured it all out. Mhmm. The point was that I was white knuckling it. The point was that I was surviving in that space in those spaces as best I could, but not really understanding a lot of the dynamics that they weren't personal to me. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:13:32]: Like many women of color who are leading in new spaces, you've had transitions in this academic space, you've had transitions with health, and you've had transitions in career. So I wanna talk a little bit about your transitions in health because you're well known as a women's health advocate. When you were going through your own health transitions, how did you balance that with everything else that was going on in the world? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:13:53]: Well, I didn't know that I because I'm a BRCA mutation carrier, hereditary cancer in my family, but I didn't know that until I was in my thirties. So what I did know was that women in my family tended to all get breast cancer. And until my mom's generation, they would pass away from breast cancer. So it was especially when my mom was diagnosed and I was in my early twenties, that was a really pivotal time as far as just graduating from school and trying to figure out, I call it the lonely hustle, how to kind of go after my dreams without any safety net. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:14:28]: Mhmm. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:14:28]: When my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, I realized I didn't really have the privilege to do that. I had a little sister that I assumed I was gonna be a single mom too. And so I went home to help take care of my mom during that time and, you know, slept on the air mattress in her living room. And as far as I was concerned, that was it. Your parents, a lot of times, you feel like they sacrifice so much for you to have these opportunities and that feels especially in the dynamics and the cultural dynamics in a lot of our communities that that's a collectivist mindset about what it means when you drop everything to be able to take care of the family unit. And so I didn't realize back then that that was something that I was also going to have to face. Mhmm. But breast cancer has been an ongoing drumbeat throughout my entire life. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:15:17]: You know, I don't go into my own journey with breast cancer in this book because this book ends before that happens. But, you know, when you're thinking about cycle breaking even with our own bodies, you know, how it is we disrupt these cycles in our families and the choice that I made to have preventative surgery at the time, not knowing that when it was after the fact of the surgery, we would discover in retrospect that actually I did have an active breast cancer already developing, which validated that choice. But all that to say is our health is another way that we're able to try to break some of these cycles. And I always say, you know, like one of the the biggest cycles that we can break and we don't always think about is to give ourselves the privilege of rest and balance and that kind of wellness on every different level because we can break cycles of poverty. We can be the first to go to college. We can be the first to have a job or buy a house or so on. But unless we do some of this inner work, one of the biggest cycles that can lead to illness in our body but for sure in our minds and our emotional health is not gonna get broken.  Dr. Jill Creighton [00:16:32]: When you think about cycle break in your own life, what advice do you give to others on how they can also engage in that work? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:16:36]: I think that the first step is to be conscious of it, to acknowledge it. And that's the energy that this book is written in for us to know ourselves and for us to know each other and for us to know that we're not alone in these experiences because a lot of it feels so isolating and a lot of it feels just really personal. And if I I've learned anything I mean, I've been to dozens of colleges now across the country. I've been really blessed to speak to so many educators as well. And it's the same experience of nodding everywhere that I go. Mhmm. Nodding in tears and acknowledgement. And sometimes people will raise their hands and I remember I was speaking in Miami, and this gentleman raised his hand. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:17:17]: He said, how do you deal with, like, the loneliness? And he started crying. And I looked out at the crowd, and I and I tell you, there were so many people crying. And I told them, I said, well, take a look around. Do you feel alone? Look at all these people that that are feeling the same thing you're feeling. And that's what the energy that this book is hopefully calling us to, which is to take a look around and acknowledge all the nodding heads. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:17:45]: I think one of the most powerful things you do in this book is give voice to a common experience that a lot of people are afraid to talk about or afraid to say out loud because we live in a capitalist society. We're fearful of being perceived as, you know, not always out in front of things sometimes. So I really appreciate that you're naming a lot of this, and it's clearly resonating with audiences around the country, and I'm sure will be very resonant for our NASPA members here, especially for our professionals who are 1st and onlys or are there 1st gen in their family to attain a university degree and then likely an advanced degree, and now we're all working in this field where a lot of people don't really understand our work. It's kind of an ongoing joke in student affairs that even our own parents don't understand what we do on a daily basis. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:18:26]: And I write about that in the book that that's a loneliness inducing experience as as well that I write about when you go home. And I mean, I would come home from the White House and I wouldn't get questions about my work, and that's at a neutral level. Then there's the hands of the students where they raise their hands and say, I'm dissuaded from doing these things. They're told, like, why are you doing this? Why don't you get a more job where you make more money? Why would you study abroad? That's a waste of your time. Almost kind of getting this negative messaging. But to your point, that's why I feel so honored to be speaking here at NASPA because on so many different levels, a, you guys are the ones on the ground. You guys are the ones on the ground with these students every day working so hard and doing so much to support the leaders of the future. And also because I see very clearly how many of the educators I'm speaking to are literally these students who also had the same experience. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:19:23]: You know, we get called to the work that we do, whether it's writing books or being an educator because of something usually very personal. We're called to something because of the empathy many times that we have for experiences. And like I said earlier, the book is written not just about that part of the student experience. There's many many chapters about what happens when you're on the other side of the sausage maker, which is all of us. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:19:49]: Mhmm. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:19:50]: And you're gonna spit out the other side and you're like, okay, woah, what happened? Because there is a point where you're the arc of the first gen experience kind of concludes. That doesn't mean that you don't have ambitions for the future and you don't have all these other things you wanna accomplish, but that initial kind of ascension into breaking out of certain cycles, same things that originally was driving me? Are they the same things or have they shifted? And if they've shifted, then how is it that I show up differently? You also name feelings of imposter syndrome in Dr. Jill Creighton [00:20:31]: the book, especially when you're first invited into the White House spaces and during your process of getting top secret security clearance and all of those things. How did you work through those feelings of imposter syndrome even though you're sitting in some of the most powerful spaces in the world at that point in time and knowing that so many of our listeners are facing impostor syndrome in their own careers even though, you know, we're all qualified to be in the spaces we're in? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:20:53]: Well, one of the things that I really make a point to highlight in the book is I actually really have a problem with the idea of impostor syndrome as it was presented to me. I'll make it personal, as I've seen it be presented also in general, is the idea that it really is about this crisis of confidence singularly and not about the second part of it, the other side of the coin, which is no matter how confident we are, how it is that the way that we show up or we're received in these spaces and in these kind of constructs that is reflected back to us sometimes that we don't belong in ways that are subtle and not so subtle at times. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:21:29]: I think imposter syndrome syndrome's a system issue personally. Right? It's 2 ways. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:21:34]: Exactly. I mean, it's 2 ways. We we still have to acknowledge our contributions and show up in that space and there's systemic issues at play too. And so that's the lens through which I talk about it at that time at the White House and not just at the White House, but that nuance, I think, is helpful because I know when I used to blame myself for feeling a lack of confidence, it's not fair on top of everything else. It's also we're pointing the arrow directly back at students to just feel more confident and not acknowledging the dynamics with which they're operating. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:22:14]: Is there anything else you want our NASPA membership to hear from you today? Just that Alejandra Campoverdi [00:22:18]: I had several inflection points that I talk about in the book that really had to do with either an educator or a mentor, someone in a position of power saying something, doing something that completely changed my life. And I wasn't someone who had mentors that would follow my life for decades. You know, it was these angels that sometimes would step in and sometimes would derail, you know. Sometimes people help you in ways that are positive and negative to kinda get you back on track. Mhmm. But the point is that these people in my life and certain things they said and didn't encourage me to do changed everything. And so I like I said, my message is gratitude to this community for being the in the spaces between the bullet points because that's what I call it in the book. That's what the book is. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:23:08]: I wanted to write something that didn't just look at the bullet points on my resume or in my bio the same way that all of us have our schools and our achievements and our jobs, but that's not where the real story lies. It's really in the spaces between those bullet points and that's where you guys are. That's where the whole story goes one way or another. And so it's just expressing my gratitude for the work that you do and for the way that you're changing lives every day. Before we go to our break, I Dr. Jill Creighton [00:23:37]: would be remiss if I didn't ask how cool is it to be on Air Force Alejandra Campoverdi [00:23:40]: There's nothing cooler. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:23:43]: It's time to take a quick break and toss it over to producer Chris to learn what's going on in the NASPA world. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:23:49]: Thanks so much, Jill. Really excited to be back in the NASPA world. And today, I am really excited to be able to share some amazing news. If you missed it, an email was sent out after the annual conference that NASPA has selected a new president. We are thrilled to share with you that the outcome of the national search of the NASPA president has concluded. And after a thoughtful and deliberate process spanning the past 6 months, the NASPA board of directors have selected Dr. Amelia Parnell as the next President of NASPA. You may know Amelia the from her work as vice president for research and policy at NASPA, a position that she's held since 2015. In this role, she has selected the association's research policy and publications portfolio, providing critical thought and support to the membership. She oversees large scale projects, represents NASPA globally, is speaking engagements in the media, and leads analysis of applicable federal and state legislation and regulatory developments. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:24:53]: Over the past 8 years, Amelia has secured over $22,000,000 in philanthropic funding, represented NASPA through service to over 20 organizations, including the US Department of Education, and served as the chair of the governing board for the Higher Ed Equity Network and Chair of the Finance and Investment Committee for the EDUCAUSE Board of Directors. Additionally, she has led an 18 month examination of the future of student affairs, overseeing a large volunteer and staff task force and engaging in listening sessions with NASPA members. Prior to NASPA, Amelia served as Director of Research Initiatives at the Association For Institutional Research and Director of National Survey Research for the Association For Institutional Research. From 2005 to 2012, she served as education policy analyst for the Florida Legislature. Amelia has authored numerous scholarly articles and has been regularly quoted in national and trade publications. She is author of the recent book, You Are a Data Person, Strategies for Using Analytics on Campus, which has sold over 3,000 copies to date and is widely used by institutions across the country. She is also a faculty member for the Institute on ePortfolios of the American Association of Colleges and Universities. Amelia holds a BS and MBA in Business Administration from Florida A&M University and a PhD in Higher Education from Florida State University. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:26:21]: Beyond Amelia's credentials and organizational knowledge, the search committee and the board were most impressed by her vision for continuing to position NASPA as an indispensable organization serving the student affairs profession and higher education more broadly. Her collaborative leadership style combined with her extensive experience and genuine commitment to student success set her apart in a strong and diverse field of applicants for the position. Emilia will begin her tenure as president on July 1, 2024, at which time Kevin Kruger will become president emeritus. As we continue to move toward this next chapter in NASPA's story, we wanna thank the NASPA president search committee and especially the co chairs, Betty Simmons, retired vice president of student development enrollment management at County College of Morris and Pat Whiteley, senior vice president for student affairs and alumni engagement at the University of Miami. These volunteers gave so much of their time to ensure that the next leader of NASPA would be someone who can build on the successes of the last 12 years and position the organization to help its members face the challenges that we know lie ahead. In selecting Amelia, they have done exactly that. We would also like to extend our thanks to the team at Korn Kari for their counsel and support in this search. Our largest congratulations go out to doctor Amelia Parnell, past guest of the show, and we will be having her in the future to talk about that vision for NASPA. Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:27:47]: Every week, we're going to be sharing some amazing things that are happening within the association. So we are going to be able to try and keep you up to date on everything that's happening and allow for you to be able to get involved in different ways, because the association is as strong as its members. And for all of us, we have to find our place within the association, whether it be getting involved with a knowledge community, giving back within one of the the centers or the divisions of the association. And as you're doing that, it's important to be able to identify for yourself where do you fit? Where do you wanna give back? Each week, we're hoping that we will share some things that might encourage you, might allow for you to be able to get some ideas that will provide you with an opportunity to be able to say, Hey, I see myself in that knowledge community. I see myself doing something like that. Or encourage you in other ways that allow for you to be able to think beyond what's available right now, to offer other things to the association, to bring your gifts, your talents to the association and to all the members within the association. Because through doing that, all of us are stronger and the association is better. Tune in again next week as we find out more about what is happening in NASPA. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:29:12]: Chris, thank you so much for this week's edition of NASPA World. We always appreciate you keeping us updated on what's going around in and around NASPA. And, Alejandra, we have our lightning round questions now. I've got 7 questions for you in about 90 seconds. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:29:26]: Okay. Let's go. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:29:27]: Alright. Question number 1. Since you are a conference keynote speaker, if you got to choose your entrance music, what would it be? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:29:33]: Well, I don't know if it's a known fact but First Gen has a playlist cause each chapter title is a song. So I'm gonna pick one of the songs off of the playlist which is Fast Car, Tracy Chapman version though. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:29:46]: Oh, she just performed recently. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:29:47]: Oh, so good. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:29:47]: Love her. So good. I'm gonna sidetrack us and say where can people find your playlist? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:29:51]: It's on Spotify and in the back of the book, there's a link. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:29:54]: Alright. Number 2, when you were 5 years old, what did you wanna be when you grew up? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:29:58]: When I was 5 years old, I wanted to be Cinderella. I actually write about that in the book. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:30:05]: Number 3, who's your most influential professional mentor? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:30:08]: My most influential professional mentor was my boss at the White House for a lot of reasons and I I actually there's a whole scene in the book about the way she modeled to me what true leadership was like and really had the power to be able to either support me or not support me in a very pivotal moment at the beginning of the book. And she, to this day, is somebody who's still in my life and threw me a book party when the book came out, which meant a lot. So I would have to say her. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:30:38]: Number 4, your essential higher education read. I'd be remiss Alejandra Campoverdi [00:30:41]: if I didn't say 1st gen. Come on. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:30:43]: Number 5, the best TV show you binged during the pandemic. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:30:47]: I watched Breaking Bad again. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:30:48]: Number 6, the podcast you've spent the most hours listening to in Alejandra Campoverdi [00:30:51]: the last year. So because I actually, over the past year, have been so crazy promoting the book. I haven't listened to a lot of podcast. I'm gonna give a shout out to this one. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:31:00]: Thank you. Alejandra Campoverdi [00:31:02]: So SA Voices from the Field. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:31:04]: And finally, any shout outs you'd like to give personal or professional? I just like to Alejandra Campoverdi [00:31:08]: thank the NASPA family for welcoming me and of course to Dina over at the First Gen Center. I've had such an incredible experience getting to know folks in this world and a lot of the folks in student affairs and 1st gen programs. And so shout out to everyone here and the work that they're doing and to you for having me. I appreciate it. Again, the Dr. Jill Creighton [00:31:28]: book is First Gen, a memoir by Alejandra Campoverdi. You can pick it up in the NASPA bookstore or wherever you buy books. Now if folks would like to book you for a speaking tour on their campus or reach you otherwise, how can they find you? Well, Alejandra Campoverdi [00:31:40]: I'm super in my DMs. So you could DM me on Instagram or send me a LinkedIn message or on my website. There's an email that you can also reach out to me there. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:31:50]: And what's your website? Alejandra Campoverdi [00:31:51]: Alejandracampoverdi.com. Thank you Dr. Jill Creighton [00:31:54]: so much, for sharing your voice with us today. Thank you. This has been an episode of Student Affairs Voices from the Field, a podcast brought to you by NASPA. This show continues to be possible because you choose to listen to us. We are so grateful for your subscriptions and your downloads and your engagement with the content. If you'd like to reach the show, please email us at sa voices at nasa dotorg or find me on LinkedIn by searching for doctor Jill L. Creighton. We always welcome your feedback and your topic and guest suggestions. Dr. Jill Creighton [00:32:26]: We'd love it if you take a moment to tell a colleague about the show and give us a 5 star rating on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening now. It really does help other student affairs professionals find the show and helps raise the show's profile within the larger podcasting community. This episode was produced and hosted by doctor Jill Creighton, that's me, produced and audio engineered by doctor Chris Lewis. Special thanks to the University of Michigan Flint for your support as we create this project. Catch you next time.

We explore the controversial topic of college education and recent changes in FAFSA requirements.  Questioning the necessity of all students filling out the FAFSA and exploring the financial implications on students and families. What You'll Learn: - The repeal of the FAFSA graduation requirement in Louisiana and its impact on students and families. - Emphasizing the importance of educating students and parents about options rather than mandating FAFSA completion - The low graduation rates in Louisiana and the financial implications of pursuing higher education with the help of Pell Grant. - The marketing tactics and persuasion involved in filling out the FAFSA, questioning the true cost and effectiveness of the program. We uncover the complexities of FAFSA requirements and debate the value of college education.  Whether you're a student, parent, or educator, this episode will challenge your perspective on higher education and financial aid.  Tune in to the Degree Free Podcast for more insightful discussions. Ready to set your teen on the path to success after high school?  Apply for our Degree Free Launch Program and let's build them a personalized career roadmap: https://degreefree.co/launch To keep up with everything Degree Free check out our website: https://degreefree.co Your questions, answered on air! Head over to https://ask.degreefree.co/question and Ryan and Hannah will answer your question on the podcast!

Bills expected on the Floor of the House this week:HR 6585: Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act– SUPPORTThis bill expands student eligibility for Pell Grants by establishing the Workforce Pell Grant Program.Call Your Representative: ask them to vote YES on HR 6585Read more here(PASSED – HR 7102: Native American Entrepreneurial Opportunity Act – we asked you to SUPPORT last week. Passed out of the House 2/29/24!!)Senate Hearings Scheduled:Homeland Security and Government AffairsHearings to examine closing corporate loopholes that reward offshoring jobs and profits.Tune in at 9:30am ET, Wednesday, March 6, 2024 (or watch after!)Where to find other Senate hearings!https://www.senate.gov/committees/hearings_meetings.htm

Hosts Jon and Mushtaq are joined by special repeat guest Justin Draeger, president and CEO of NASFAA, to talk about the Education Department's flawed rollout of the new FAFSA form and the implications for students and colleges as well as what happens next. They also dive into the proposed legislation that would extend Pell Grants to short-term career training programs.   Tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @ACEducation or podcast@acenet.edu.  House Committee Approves Bills on Short-Term Pell, WIOA Reauthorization American Council on Education | Dec. 18, 2023 Department of Education Announces Steps to Make Better FAFSA® More Readily Accessible Diverse: Issues In Higher Education | Feb. 13, 2024 Education Department Says FAFSA Fix Is Coming for Social Security Issue USA Today | Feb. 20, 2024 OPINION: Every FAFSA Delay Puts College Further Out of Reach The New York Times (sub. req.) | Feb. 8, 2024 Extending Enrollment and Financial Aid Deadlines American Council on Education

U.S. stocks were mixed Tuesday. Plus, Kellogg's CEO suggests cereal for dinner, Sony to lay off 900 employees, and 7.3M more students become eligible for Pell Grants.

Bills expected on the Floor of the House this week:HR 7102: Native American Entrepreneurial Opportunity Act – SUPPORTThis bill establishes an Office of Native American Affairs within the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes.Call Your Representative: ask them to vote YES on HR 7102Bipartisan sponsorsRead more hereHR 6585: Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act– SUPPORTThis bill expands student eligibility for Pell Grants by establishing the Workforce Pell Grant Program.Call Your Representative: ask them to vote YES on HR 6585Read more here

Last season, Jeff and Michael explored the reinstatement of the Pell Grant for incarcerated learners. The question now is what's next for these learners and where can they actually get to use their federal funds? In this episode, Jeff and Michael look at the innovative College Unbound model with co-founder and president Adam Bush and Jose Rodriguez, the assistant vice president for community and belonging. College Unbound is an accredited college with a single degree and a model that allows learning to happen wherever it happens, in kitchens or even in prisons. The episode is sponsored by Ascendium Education Group.Key Moments(0:00) - Intro(1:15) - Innovative college model and accreditation(5:34) - Prison education program and its impact on inmates' lives(9:19) - Scaling a non-traditional college model(12:02) - College Unbound's innovative approach to adult education(19:31) - Higher education for incarcerated individualsLinksCollege Unbound Connect with Michael Horn:Sign Up for the The Future of Education NewsletterWebsiteLinkedInX (Twitter)ThreadsConnect with Jeff Selingo:Sign Up for the Next NewsletterWebsiteX (Twitter)ThreadsLinkedInConnect with Future U:TwitterYouTubeThreadsInstagramFacebookLinkedInSubmit a question and if we answer it on air we'll send you Future U. swag!Sign up for Future U. emails to get special updates and behind-the-scenes content.

Combating Complacency with James Schlosser James Schlosser is joining us from Washington, DC, to discuss combating complacency. This topic is important to him because he grew up in poverty and lived in survival mode with a scarcity mindset. He had an issue with his eyes that made reading hard; therefore, school was exhausting and discouraging. Eventually, he went to college without direction on a Pell Grant. During his last semester of school, his father passed away, and that led him to drop out of school and start working in a woodshop with his brother-in-law. He wasn't making enough money at the woodshop, so he pursued a job in sales, and it turns out that was precisely where he was meant to be. Eventually, he had the money, the cars, the house, and the savings, but he couldn't shake the scarcity mindset. James nearly lost it all after becoming a top sales performer due to burnout and complacency. That is when the real soul-searching started for him. Today, on the other side of that journey, he is a speaker helping people build core values, create a mission, and become intentional. He talks about how complacency leads to burnout, finding your "why," and how to bounce back after losing it all. He has found that focusing on what is essential brings them success in life and manifests success in work and finances. James says complacency means being too comfortable, getting bored, and losing sight of long-term goals. Complacency can also plague your home and relationships, but by being present, mindful, and grounding ourselves in gratitude, we can be better partners, parents, and people. What if you knew you had only two weeks to live? What would become most important for you? Those things must be your first priority right after you wake up and before you go to bed. Busy lives lead us to make concessions, and eventually, our values and ourselves can get lost in the fog of life. Writing things down helps us stay accountable to ourselves and consistent in the marathon of life. Time blocking, creating boundaries, and prioritizing your values are how we combat complacency. Learning to put work away helps us be present where we are, whether at work, with family, or with friends. “If you want your life to change, you have to change your life.” In this episode, you'll hear: What leads to complacency and a scarcity mindset? How to tell if you are falling into a rut and how to get out of it. Practical advice to combat complacency daily Follow the podcast:  Listen on Apple Podcasts (link: https://apple.co/3s1YH7h)  Listen on iHeart (link: https://ihr.fm/3MEY7FM)  Listen on Spotify (Link: https://spoti.fi/3yMmQCE)    Resources: JamesSchlosser.com James Schlosser on LinkedIn   Connect with Mathew Blades:  Twitter - twitter.com/MathewBlades Instagram - instagram.com/MathewBladesmedia/  Facebook - facebook.com/mathewbladesmedia/  Website - learnfrompeoplewholivedit.com/   Additional Credits: LFPWLI is managed by Sam Robertson

Title: Flyover Friday, November 10, 2023Intro: On this episode of The Heartland POD for Friday, November 17, 2023A flyover from this weeks top heartland stories including:GOP Senators can't stop Biden's student loan plansIllinois legislature approves plan for Small Nuclear ReactorsOhio Republicans can't take a hintOhio Secretary of State misses personal financial disclosure deadlineBiden Administration expands veterans' health careDemocrat Dan Kildee of Michigan is retiringWelcome to The Heartland POD for a Flyover Friday, this is Sean Diller in Denver, Colorado.We're glad to have you with us. If you're new to our shows make sure you subscribe and leave a 5 star rating wherever you listen. You can also find Heartland POD content on Youtube and on Twitter @ THE heartland pod. Alright! Let's get into the storieshttps://missouriindependent.com/briefs/attempt-to-kill-biden-student-debt-relief-plan-tied-to-income-fails-in-u-s-senate/Senate Republicans fail to kill President Joe Biden's income-based student debt relief planBY: ARIANA FIGUEROA - NOVEMBER 16, 2023 7:10 AM     WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia was the sole Democrat who joined Republicans in backing the resolution, which was 2 votes short of passing.Following the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said “There are millions of students, poor, working class … who will benefit from what the president has done. Republicans don't think twice about giving huge tax breaks to ultra-wealthy billionaires and large corporations, but when it comes to helping out working families with student debt relief, suddenly it's too much money, it will raise the deficit, we can't afford it. Give me a break.”The Department of Education unveiled the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan hours after the Supreme Court in June struck down the Biden administration's one-time student debt cancellation that would have forgiven up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt for anyone making less than $125,000 per year.Borrowers who received Pell Grants would have been eligible for an additional $10,000 in forgiveness of federal student loans.The new income-driven repayment plan calculates payments based on a borrower's income and family size and forgives balances after a set number of years. More than 5.5 million student loan borrowers have already enrolled in the SAVE plan, according to data released by the Department of Education.Repayments on federal student loans restarted last month after a nearly three-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic.With the SAVE plan, borrowers with undergraduate loans will pay 5% of their discretionary income, rather than the 10% required under previous income repayment plans. https://capitolnewsillinois.com/NEWS/illinois-lawmakers-approve-plan-to-allow-small-scale-nuclear-developmentIllinois lawmakers approve small-scale nuclear developmentThursday, November 9, 2023Governor, who vetoed previous bill, supports new effortBy ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinoisaadams@capitolnewsillinois.comSPRINGFIELD – Lawmakers on Thursday approved a proposal that would allow companies to develop new nuclear power generation in Illinois for the first time since 1987. House Bill 2473 does not entirely lift the 36-year-old moratorium on nuclear construction, but rather creates a regulatory structure for the construction of small modular nuclear reactors, or SMRs. The bill limits the nameplate capacity of such reactors to 300 megawatts, about one-third the size of the smallest of the six existing nuclear power plants in Illinois. It also requires the state to perform a study that will inform rules for regulating SMRs, which will be adopted by regulators at the Illinois Emergency Management Agency by January 2026.  Proponents of the measure say it is a step to make the ongoing transition away from fossil fuels more reliable for customers throughout the state, while opponents warn the unproven technology comes with safety risks and the potential for cost overruns. The bill passed with bipartisan support in the Senate, 44-7, and the House, 98-8. The opposition came exclusively from Democrats. Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement that he would sign the bill. He worked with lawmakers on the new bill after vetoing a broader measure this summer. Leadership of the Illinois AFL-CIO umbrella labor organization released a statement Thursday calling the policy “important for our state's economy and our clean energy future.” It echoed a release from the Illinois Manufacturers Association, an industry advocacy group that testified in support of the proposal several times, saying that it would allow the state to “continue leading in energy and manufacturing innovation.”The legislation's sponsors, Republican State Sen. Sue Rezin, and Democratic State Rep. Lance Yednock said the bill has the potential to bolster Illinois' electric reliability as intermittent sources like wind and solar begin to make up a larger portion of the state's energy output. Sen. Rezin said she is particularly interested in the potential for SMRs to be developed at the sites of former coal plants in Illinois, avoiding the need to build new transmission lines. Because permitting nuclear energy takes many years at the federal level, the earliest a nuclear project could be brought online in Illinois would be in the 2030s.  But critics of the bill and of nuclear power are worried.David Kraft, an outspoken critic of nuclear energy and head of the Chicago-based advocacy group Nuclear Energy Information Service, urged lawmakers at a Thursday committee meeting to reject the bill. Kraft said he was concerned about the lack of existing SMR installations and the unproven nature of the technology. While some nuclear reactors of this scale do exist in other countries, no commercial SMRs have ever been built in the United States. In a follow-up interview, Kraft said that SMRs bring with them security concerns, as the smaller installations have different staffing requirements than traditional reactors and use a more highly enriched type of uranium. This relative abundance of this uranium, according to Kraft, could incentivize the further proliferation of nuclear weapons. Sierra Club Illinois chapter director Jack Darin called nuclear energy “at best, a distraction.” Sierra Club was one of the main advocacy organizations that sought Pritzker's veto of the previous bill. Since 2016, five other state legislatures have either repealed or weakened their bans on nuclear construction. Counting Illinois, bans on nuclear construction remain on the books in 11 states. Several of the states that have lifted their bans in recent years have done so to pave the way for SMR technology. But the biggest player in that industry has seen several upsets in recent weeks. As lawmakers debated the bill on Wednesday, NuScale Power – the only company with a federally approved SMR design – announced that it was canceling its highly watched “Carbon Free Power Project” in Utah, which would have been the first commercial project with a NuScale reactor. The project's cancelation comes after months of falling stock prices and criticism from trading firms. Still, its leaders say the company will continue with its other projects, which are at various steps of regulation and planning. Bill sponsor Sen. Rezin noted that “there's a lot to learn” from NuScale's canceled project, but hopes Illinois' and other states' moves to reverse their construction bans will encourage nuclear energy development in the U.S. She said “If we do not build out this technology with companies that are in the United States, there's other companies and countries such as Russia that are looking to sell that technology. We don't want that.” Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of print and broadcast outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/11/16/ohio-senate-gop-floats-idea-of-15-week-abortion-ban-despite-voters-saying-no/Ohio Senate GOP floats 15-week abortion ban despite voters saying noBY: MORGAN TRAU - NOVEMBER 16, 2023 5:00 AMThe Ohio Senate president has floated the idea of a 15-week abortion ban following voters decisively choosing to keep lawmakers out of their reproductive care.The debate over Issue 1 continues at the Statehouse. Some fringe and alt-right Republican House representatives are infuriated with the voters who stood up to secure abortion rights in the state.Issue 1, the proposal to enshrine abortion access into the state constitution, passed 57-43% on election night. Despite this large victory, Statehouse Republicans have been mulling over ways to combat it.State Rep. Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester) is seemingly leading this fight with other far-right representatives Bill Dean (R-Xenia), Melanie Miller (R-Ashland) and Beth Lear (R-Galena). The quartet is described by other Ohio Republicans as being on the extreme end of their caucus due to anti-vaccine beliefs, peddling of conspiracy theories, and attacks on the LGBTQ+ community.Describing a potential 15-week abortion ban, GOP Senate President Matt Huffman said “clearly there is a majority of people in Ohio” who want the ban - however, that would of course be the opposite of what the voters just said a week ago. ere are no statistics to prove this, and based on the language of Issue 1, the voters chose not to have any restrictions before viability.Statehouse reporter Morgan Trau asked President Huffman “Would 15 weeks be going against the will of the people?” He said he didn't know.After the election where Ohioans stood up to demand abortion rights, the Senate President said this “wasn't the end” and there would be a “revolving door” of repeal efforts.  This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/11/16/sec-frank-larose-misses-deadline-for-u-s-senate-financial-disclosures/Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose misses extended reporting deadline in U.S. Senate race. He's the only one who didn't file. BY: NICK EVANS - NOVEMBER 16, 2023 4:55 AM     The three Republican candidates hoping to topple U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-OH, go before voters in a few months, and by now should've disclosed information about their personal finances. Two of them, state Sen. Matt Dolan and entrepreneur Bernie Moreno, have done so. But after filing an extension through Nov. 14, though, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose still has not.In both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, candidates and members have to regularly file disclosures that describe their financial positions, assets and liabilities. But the reports stick to broad strokes. Filers name their mutual funds, for instance, but the amount of their holdings are bracketed — $1,001-$15,000, $15,001-$50,000, etc.Current U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown reported about $27,000 in retirement income from his time as a state official. His U.S. Senate income doesn't need to be disclosed, nor do his U.S. Senate retirement accounts.Brown also reports serving as a trustee at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. since 2008.Under U.S. Senate rules, candidates must file financial disclosure reports within 30 days of becoming a candidate. LaRose announced his candidacy July 17, and filed for a financial disclosure extension August 9. That extension gave him until November 14 to file his report.Despite that 90-day reprieve, LaRose still has yet to file. The Ohio Capital Journal reached out to his campaign to see if the report has been filed but not yet posted or if the campaign has requested a further extension. The campaign did not respond.Late filing carries a $200 penalty and failing to file or filing a false report carries a civil penalty of up to $50,000.LaRose's failure to file thus far is particularly notable given a $250,000 personal loan he made to his campaign in September. While his Republican opponents have loaned their campaigns significantly more money, LaRose's previous disclosures from his time as a state lawmaker don't suggest he'd have that much cash readily available.Chagrin Falls Republican Matt Dolan comes from a wealthy family that owns the Cleveland Guardians baseball team. In addition to serving in the legislature, Dolan has worked in the Geauga County prosecutor's office and as an Assistant Attorney General.The state senator's investment holdings are vast—including stocks from more than 250 companies, more than 50 mutual funds and bonds. He reports a Morgan Stanley money market account with more than $1 million alone as well as several mutual funds worth more than half a million dollars each.Dolan also reports a handful of retirement accounts, partial ownership of several LLCs and real estate. One residential building brought in more than $50,000 in rent.In addition to his income Dolan holds personal line of credit with Morgan Stanley worth at least $5 million. The interest rate for that credit line is just 5.96% according to Dolan's amended report — roughly 2.5 percentage points below the current prime rate.Dolan has loaned his campaign a total of $7 million.Next, there's Bernie MorenoIf anything, Moreno's disclosure is even more complex. The Westlake entrepreneur began his business career selling cars, and his report describes his role as director of 17 different automotive business entities, most of which are no longer operating. But from cars, Moreno has branched into several other lines of business including real estate and tech.Moreno's assets are held in a series of trusts, and the report includes several notes about partial ownership and recent sales. He owns 65% of Dryver, LLC, for instance, which the report values at between $5 million and $25 million. Moreno recently sold off his stake in a different company called Champ Titles, and reports making more than $5 million on the deal.He has investments worth at least half a million dollars in handful of Tel Aviv companies working technology, social media investing and healthcare AI. Moreno has also invested in Narya, the venture capital firm U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-OH, started before running for office. Vance has endorsed Moreno's senate bid.Moreno also reports owning millions in residential and commercial real estate. He owns 43% of a home in Ocean Reef, FL worth at least $5 million. It appears the property is a rental because it generated more than $50,000 in income. Moreno also owns a 1% stake condos located in Washington, D.C., and New York City, as well as a $1 million unimproved parcel in Zapotal, Costa Rica, and at least $1.5MM sitting in two checking accounts.Moreno has loaned his campaign $3 million.https://kansasreflector.com/briefs/veterans-health-care-coverage-expanded-by-biden-administration/Biden Administratoin expands Veterans' health care coverage BY: JACOB FISCHLER - NOVEMBER 10, 2023 4:01 AM     Officials said the Department of Veterans Affairs will expand health care coverage for certain groups of veterans and their families, and create new programs meant to make care more accessible.The VA will make coverage of certain toxic burn pit-related conditions available sooner than anticipated. Family members of veterans who served at North Carolina's Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune from between 1953 and 1987 will be eligible to have the costs of treating Parkinson's disease covered. And all living World War II veterans will be eligible for no-cost health care, including at nursing homes, the department said in a series of news releases.The administration will also create a new graduate medical education program to help expand health care availability for veterans in rural, tribal and other underserved communities. And the VA will spend $5 million on an advertising campaign aimed at having more veterans sign up for services.https://michiganadvance.com/2023/11/16/dan-kildee-dean-of-michigans-u-s-house-delegation-wont-run-for-reelection-in-2024/Dan Kildee, dean of Michigan's U.S. House delegation, won't run for reelection in 2024Retirement leaves open a key seat made more competitive with redistrictingBY: KEN COLEMAN - NOVEMBER 16, 2023 1:53 PM     Kildee, who is 65, said a cancer diagnosis this year caused him to reassess his career plans. Kildee's retirement from the 8th Congressional District including Genesee, Bay and Saginaw counties and portions of Midland County, leaves open a seat made more competitive during the last redistricting process. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter has moved the seat from “leans Democratic” to a “tossup.”A number of candidates could line up to run in 2024 from both parties. Republican Martin Blank, a surgeon, has already declared. Other Republicans who could run are last year's nominee Paul Junge, former House Speaker Tom Leonard and state Rep. Bill G. Schuette (R-Midland).On the Democratic side, potential candidates could include former Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich (D-Flint), Flint Mayor Sheldon Neely, state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City), former state Rep. Pam Farris (D-Clio) and state Sen. John Cherry (D-Flint).In a 2020 interview with the Michigan Advance, Kildee recalled having only been in Congress for a few years when news of the Flint water crisis broke.“That was one of those moments where I knew why I was there. I knew exactly why I was in Congress. I had to go to bat for my hometown because they only had one member of Congress, and I had to persuade a whole bunch of people to help me out with Flint.”Kildee has served as a leader in the House Democratic caucus and has been a close ally of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). He is the co-chair of the House Democratic Steering Committee. Pelosi told the Advance in 2020 that Kildee “has proudly carried on his family's long legacy of service, becoming a tremendous champion for the people of Flint and all Michiganders” as part of leadership.“As a powerful member of the Ways and Means Committee, his persistent, dissatisfied leadership has delivered critical resources to strengthen and develop his community and ensure that our budget remains a reflection of our nation's values. Congressman Kildee's bold vision and expert guidance as chief deputy whip has been invaluable to House Democrats as we work to advance progress that make a difference in the lives of hard-working families in Michigan and across the country.”Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said through a statement that “no one fights harder for his constituents than Dan Kildee.“Congressman Kildee knows the Bay region like the back of his Michigan mitten, and I am so grateful for our productive partnership,” Whitmer said. “I am grateful for our collaboration to bring progress to areas of Michigan that too many left behind. We brought good-paying, middle-class manufacturing jobs back to Flint, worked to lower the cost of prescription drugs with President Biden, and delivered on the issues that make a real difference in people's lives.”   U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) called Kildee's retirement “a huge loss for Congress, for Michigan, and for me personally. The center of his work is and always has been his hometown of Flint, for which he has fiercely advocated especially in the darkest hour of the Flint water crisis,” Slotkin said. “While I'm thankful I have another year to work with him, and thrilled that he is moving on to his next chapter, this departure stings.”U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor) said that Kildee “will be missed. His deep knowledge of many issues and his concern for others has made a difference in countless lives, and his years of service have benefited our country in many ways,”Advance Editor Susan J. Demas contributed to this story.We will definitely have more on the developing primary picture for this open seat in Michigan, as well as the new open seat in Virginia as Abby Spanberger runs for Governor, and everything else that happens as we are now just a couple of short months from the 2024 primary season.Well that's it for me. From Denver I'm Sean Diller. Stories featured in today's show appeared first in the Kansas Reflector, Michigan Advance, Ohio Capitol Journal, Missouri Independent and Capital News Illinois. Thanks for listening, see you next time. 

Title: Flyover Friday, November 10, 2023Intro: On this episode of The Heartland POD for Friday, November 17, 2023A flyover from this weeks top heartland stories including:GOP Senators can't stop Biden's student loan plansIllinois legislature approves plan for Small Nuclear ReactorsOhio Republicans can't take a hintOhio Secretary of State misses personal financial disclosure deadlineBiden Administration expands veterans' health careDemocrat Dan Kildee of Michigan is retiringWelcome to The Heartland POD for a Flyover Friday, this is Sean Diller in Denver, Colorado.We're glad to have you with us. If you're new to our shows make sure you subscribe and leave a 5 star rating wherever you listen. You can also find Heartland POD content on Youtube and on Twitter @ THE heartland pod. Alright! Let's get into the storieshttps://missouriindependent.com/briefs/attempt-to-kill-biden-student-debt-relief-plan-tied-to-income-fails-in-u-s-senate/Senate Republicans fail to kill President Joe Biden's income-based student debt relief planBY: ARIANA FIGUEROA - NOVEMBER 16, 2023 7:10 AM     WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia was the sole Democrat who joined Republicans in backing the resolution, which was 2 votes short of passing.Following the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said “There are millions of students, poor, working class … who will benefit from what the president has done. Republicans don't think twice about giving huge tax breaks to ultra-wealthy billionaires and large corporations, but when it comes to helping out working families with student debt relief, suddenly it's too much money, it will raise the deficit, we can't afford it. Give me a break.”The Department of Education unveiled the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan hours after the Supreme Court in June struck down the Biden administration's one-time student debt cancellation that would have forgiven up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt for anyone making less than $125,000 per year.Borrowers who received Pell Grants would have been eligible for an additional $10,000 in forgiveness of federal student loans.The new income-driven repayment plan calculates payments based on a borrower's income and family size and forgives balances after a set number of years. More than 5.5 million student loan borrowers have already enrolled in the SAVE plan, according to data released by the Department of Education.Repayments on federal student loans restarted last month after a nearly three-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic.With the SAVE plan, borrowers with undergraduate loans will pay 5% of their discretionary income, rather than the 10% required under previous income repayment plans. https://capitolnewsillinois.com/NEWS/illinois-lawmakers-approve-plan-to-allow-small-scale-nuclear-developmentIllinois lawmakers approve small-scale nuclear developmentThursday, November 9, 2023Governor, who vetoed previous bill, supports new effortBy ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinoisaadams@capitolnewsillinois.comSPRINGFIELD – Lawmakers on Thursday approved a proposal that would allow companies to develop new nuclear power generation in Illinois for the first time since 1987. House Bill 2473 does not entirely lift the 36-year-old moratorium on nuclear construction, but rather creates a regulatory structure for the construction of small modular nuclear reactors, or SMRs. The bill limits the nameplate capacity of such reactors to 300 megawatts, about one-third the size of the smallest of the six existing nuclear power plants in Illinois. It also requires the state to perform a study that will inform rules for regulating SMRs, which will be adopted by regulators at the Illinois Emergency Management Agency by January 2026.  Proponents of the measure say it is a step to make the ongoing transition away from fossil fuels more reliable for customers throughout the state, while opponents warn the unproven technology comes with safety risks and the potential for cost overruns. The bill passed with bipartisan support in the Senate, 44-7, and the House, 98-8. The opposition came exclusively from Democrats. Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement that he would sign the bill. He worked with lawmakers on the new bill after vetoing a broader measure this summer. Leadership of the Illinois AFL-CIO umbrella labor organization released a statement Thursday calling the policy “important for our state's economy and our clean energy future.” It echoed a release from the Illinois Manufacturers Association, an industry advocacy group that testified in support of the proposal several times, saying that it would allow the state to “continue leading in energy and manufacturing innovation.”The legislation's sponsors, Republican State Sen. Sue Rezin, and Democratic State Rep. Lance Yednock said the bill has the potential to bolster Illinois' electric reliability as intermittent sources like wind and solar begin to make up a larger portion of the state's energy output. Sen. Rezin said she is particularly interested in the potential for SMRs to be developed at the sites of former coal plants in Illinois, avoiding the need to build new transmission lines. Because permitting nuclear energy takes many years at the federal level, the earliest a nuclear project could be brought online in Illinois would be in the 2030s.  But critics of the bill and of nuclear power are worried.David Kraft, an outspoken critic of nuclear energy and head of the Chicago-based advocacy group Nuclear Energy Information Service, urged lawmakers at a Thursday committee meeting to reject the bill. Kraft said he was concerned about the lack of existing SMR installations and the unproven nature of the technology. While some nuclear reactors of this scale do exist in other countries, no commercial SMRs have ever been built in the United States. In a follow-up interview, Kraft said that SMRs bring with them security concerns, as the smaller installations have different staffing requirements than traditional reactors and use a more highly enriched type of uranium. This relative abundance of this uranium, according to Kraft, could incentivize the further proliferation of nuclear weapons. Sierra Club Illinois chapter director Jack Darin called nuclear energy “at best, a distraction.” Sierra Club was one of the main advocacy organizations that sought Pritzker's veto of the previous bill. Since 2016, five other state legislatures have either repealed or weakened their bans on nuclear construction. Counting Illinois, bans on nuclear construction remain on the books in 11 states. Several of the states that have lifted their bans in recent years have done so to pave the way for SMR technology. But the biggest player in that industry has seen several upsets in recent weeks. As lawmakers debated the bill on Wednesday, NuScale Power – the only company with a federally approved SMR design – announced that it was canceling its highly watched “Carbon Free Power Project” in Utah, which would have been the first commercial project with a NuScale reactor. The project's cancelation comes after months of falling stock prices and criticism from trading firms. Still, its leaders say the company will continue with its other projects, which are at various steps of regulation and planning. Bill sponsor Sen. Rezin noted that “there's a lot to learn” from NuScale's canceled project, but hopes Illinois' and other states' moves to reverse their construction bans will encourage nuclear energy development in the U.S. She said “If we do not build out this technology with companies that are in the United States, there's other companies and countries such as Russia that are looking to sell that technology. We don't want that.” Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of print and broadcast outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/11/16/ohio-senate-gop-floats-idea-of-15-week-abortion-ban-despite-voters-saying-no/Ohio Senate GOP floats 15-week abortion ban despite voters saying noBY: MORGAN TRAU - NOVEMBER 16, 2023 5:00 AMThe Ohio Senate president has floated the idea of a 15-week abortion ban following voters decisively choosing to keep lawmakers out of their reproductive care.The debate over Issue 1 continues at the Statehouse. Some fringe and alt-right Republican House representatives are infuriated with the voters who stood up to secure abortion rights in the state.Issue 1, the proposal to enshrine abortion access into the state constitution, passed 57-43% on election night. Despite this large victory, Statehouse Republicans have been mulling over ways to combat it.State Rep. Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester) is seemingly leading this fight with other far-right representatives Bill Dean (R-Xenia), Melanie Miller (R-Ashland) and Beth Lear (R-Galena). The quartet is described by other Ohio Republicans as being on the extreme end of their caucus due to anti-vaccine beliefs, peddling of conspiracy theories, and attacks on the LGBTQ+ community.Describing a potential 15-week abortion ban, GOP Senate President Matt Huffman said “clearly there is a majority of people in Ohio” who want the ban - however, that would of course be the opposite of what the voters just said a week ago. ere are no statistics to prove this, and based on the language of Issue 1, the voters chose not to have any restrictions before viability.Statehouse reporter Morgan Trau asked President Huffman “Would 15 weeks be going against the will of the people?” He said he didn't know.After the election where Ohioans stood up to demand abortion rights, the Senate President said this “wasn't the end” and there would be a “revolving door” of repeal efforts.  This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/11/16/sec-frank-larose-misses-deadline-for-u-s-senate-financial-disclosures/Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose misses extended reporting deadline in U.S. Senate race. He's the only one who didn't file. BY: NICK EVANS - NOVEMBER 16, 2023 4:55 AM     The three Republican candidates hoping to topple U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-OH, go before voters in a few months, and by now should've disclosed information about their personal finances. Two of them, state Sen. Matt Dolan and entrepreneur Bernie Moreno, have done so. But after filing an extension through Nov. 14, though, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose still has not.In both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, candidates and members have to regularly file disclosures that describe their financial positions, assets and liabilities. But the reports stick to broad strokes. Filers name their mutual funds, for instance, but the amount of their holdings are bracketed — $1,001-$15,000, $15,001-$50,000, etc.Current U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown reported about $27,000 in retirement income from his time as a state official. His U.S. Senate income doesn't need to be disclosed, nor do his U.S. Senate retirement accounts.Brown also reports serving as a trustee at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. since 2008.Under U.S. Senate rules, candidates must file financial disclosure reports within 30 days of becoming a candidate. LaRose announced his candidacy July 17, and filed for a financial disclosure extension August 9. That extension gave him until November 14 to file his report.Despite that 90-day reprieve, LaRose still has yet to file. The Ohio Capital Journal reached out to his campaign to see if the report has been filed but not yet posted or if the campaign has requested a further extension. The campaign did not respond.Late filing carries a $200 penalty and failing to file or filing a false report carries a civil penalty of up to $50,000.LaRose's failure to file thus far is particularly notable given a $250,000 personal loan he made to his campaign in September. While his Republican opponents have loaned their campaigns significantly more money, LaRose's previous disclosures from his time as a state lawmaker don't suggest he'd have that much cash readily available.Chagrin Falls Republican Matt Dolan comes from a wealthy family that owns the Cleveland Guardians baseball team. In addition to serving in the legislature, Dolan has worked in the Geauga County prosecutor's office and as an Assistant Attorney General.The state senator's investment holdings are vast—including stocks from more than 250 companies, more than 50 mutual funds and bonds. He reports a Morgan Stanley money market account with more than $1 million alone as well as several mutual funds worth more than half a million dollars each.Dolan also reports a handful of retirement accounts, partial ownership of several LLCs and real estate. One residential building brought in more than $50,000 in rent.In addition to his income Dolan holds personal line of credit with Morgan Stanley worth at least $5 million. The interest rate for that credit line is just 5.96% according to Dolan's amended report — roughly 2.5 percentage points below the current prime rate.Dolan has loaned his campaign a total of $7 million.Next, there's Bernie MorenoIf anything, Moreno's disclosure is even more complex. The Westlake entrepreneur began his business career selling cars, and his report describes his role as director of 17 different automotive business entities, most of which are no longer operating. But from cars, Moreno has branched into several other lines of business including real estate and tech.Moreno's assets are held in a series of trusts, and the report includes several notes about partial ownership and recent sales. He owns 65% of Dryver, LLC, for instance, which the report values at between $5 million and $25 million. Moreno recently sold off his stake in a different company called Champ Titles, and reports making more than $5 million on the deal.He has investments worth at least half a million dollars in handful of Tel Aviv companies working technology, social media investing and healthcare AI. Moreno has also invested in Narya, the venture capital firm U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-OH, started before running for office. Vance has endorsed Moreno's senate bid.Moreno also reports owning millions in residential and commercial real estate. He owns 43% of a home in Ocean Reef, FL worth at least $5 million. It appears the property is a rental because it generated more than $50,000 in income. Moreno also owns a 1% stake condos located in Washington, D.C., and New York City, as well as a $1 million unimproved parcel in Zapotal, Costa Rica, and at least $1.5MM sitting in two checking accounts.Moreno has loaned his campaign $3 million.https://kansasreflector.com/briefs/veterans-health-care-coverage-expanded-by-biden-administration/Biden Administratoin expands Veterans' health care coverage BY: JACOB FISCHLER - NOVEMBER 10, 2023 4:01 AM     Officials said the Department of Veterans Affairs will expand health care coverage for certain groups of veterans and their families, and create new programs meant to make care more accessible.The VA will make coverage of certain toxic burn pit-related conditions available sooner than anticipated. Family members of veterans who served at North Carolina's Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune from between 1953 and 1987 will be eligible to have the costs of treating Parkinson's disease covered. And all living World War II veterans will be eligible for no-cost health care, including at nursing homes, the department said in a series of news releases.The administration will also create a new graduate medical education program to help expand health care availability for veterans in rural, tribal and other underserved communities. And the VA will spend $5 million on an advertising campaign aimed at having more veterans sign up for services.https://michiganadvance.com/2023/11/16/dan-kildee-dean-of-michigans-u-s-house-delegation-wont-run-for-reelection-in-2024/Dan Kildee, dean of Michigan's U.S. House delegation, won't run for reelection in 2024Retirement leaves open a key seat made more competitive with redistrictingBY: KEN COLEMAN - NOVEMBER 16, 2023 1:53 PM     Kildee, who is 65, said a cancer diagnosis this year caused him to reassess his career plans. Kildee's retirement from the 8th Congressional District including Genesee, Bay and Saginaw counties and portions of Midland County, leaves open a seat made more competitive during the last redistricting process. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter has moved the seat from “leans Democratic” to a “tossup.”A number of candidates could line up to run in 2024 from both parties. Republican Martin Blank, a surgeon, has already declared. Other Republicans who could run are last year's nominee Paul Junge, former House Speaker Tom Leonard and state Rep. Bill G. Schuette (R-Midland).On the Democratic side, potential candidates could include former Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich (D-Flint), Flint Mayor Sheldon Neely, state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City), former state Rep. Pam Farris (D-Clio) and state Sen. John Cherry (D-Flint).In a 2020 interview with the Michigan Advance, Kildee recalled having only been in Congress for a few years when news of the Flint water crisis broke.“That was one of those moments where I knew why I was there. I knew exactly why I was in Congress. I had to go to bat for my hometown because they only had one member of Congress, and I had to persuade a whole bunch of people to help me out with Flint.”Kildee has served as a leader in the House Democratic caucus and has been a close ally of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). He is the co-chair of the House Democratic Steering Committee. Pelosi told the Advance in 2020 that Kildee “has proudly carried on his family's long legacy of service, becoming a tremendous champion for the people of Flint and all Michiganders” as part of leadership.“As a powerful member of the Ways and Means Committee, his persistent, dissatisfied leadership has delivered critical resources to strengthen and develop his community and ensure that our budget remains a reflection of our nation's values. Congressman Kildee's bold vision and expert guidance as chief deputy whip has been invaluable to House Democrats as we work to advance progress that make a difference in the lives of hard-working families in Michigan and across the country.”Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said through a statement that “no one fights harder for his constituents than Dan Kildee.“Congressman Kildee knows the Bay region like the back of his Michigan mitten, and I am so grateful for our productive partnership,” Whitmer said. “I am grateful for our collaboration to bring progress to areas of Michigan that too many left behind. We brought good-paying, middle-class manufacturing jobs back to Flint, worked to lower the cost of prescription drugs with President Biden, and delivered on the issues that make a real difference in people's lives.”   U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) called Kildee's retirement “a huge loss for Congress, for Michigan, and for me personally. The center of his work is and always has been his hometown of Flint, for which he has fiercely advocated especially in the darkest hour of the Flint water crisis,” Slotkin said. “While I'm thankful I have another year to work with him, and thrilled that he is moving on to his next chapter, this departure stings.”U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor) said that Kildee “will be missed. His deep knowledge of many issues and his concern for others has made a difference in countless lives, and his years of service have benefited our country in many ways,”Advance Editor Susan J. Demas contributed to this story.We will definitely have more on the developing primary picture for this open seat in Michigan, as well as the new open seat in Virginia as Abby Spanberger runs for Governor, and everything else that happens as we are now just a couple of short months from the 2024 primary season.Well that's it for me. From Denver I'm Sean Diller. Stories featured in today's show appeared first in the Kansas Reflector, Michigan Advance, Ohio Capitol Journal, Missouri Independent and Capital News Illinois. Thanks for listening, see you next time. 

Student loans don't have to be scary, you can make them work for you! This week, “Financially Inclined” host Yanely Espinal sits down with content creator Carmen Perez to dig into all the details of understanding the lingo, reading the fine print and making a budget so you can stay on top of your loans. Here are some additional helpful resources: Go to the Federal Student Aid site to find resources, calculators, definitions and everything else you need to get started on your student loan journey. Find more information on Pell Grants here. Get your FAFSA questions answered with this NerdWallet guide. Are you in an educational setting? Here's a handy listening guide. This podcast is presented in partnership with Greenlight: The money app for teens — with investing. For a limited time, our listeners can earn $10 when they sign up today for a Greenlight account at http://ww.greenlight.com/inclined.

In this episode, our special guest, Dr. Stanley Andrisse, takes us on an incredible journey of resilience, transformation, and advocacy.Dr. Stanley Andrisse, an endocrinologist scientist and assistant professor at Howard University College of Medicine, opens up about his past as a formerly incarcerated individual with three felony convictions. Despite facing significant challenges, Dr. Andrisse defied expectations and is now making a remarkable impact in the medical field.During our conversation, Dr. Andrisse sheds light on the partnerships between community organizations, formerly incarcerated leaders, and corrections that have been highly successful in bringing about positive change. We delve into the effects of the war on drugs, which contributed to the alarming increase in incarceration rates in our country. Did you know that between 1970 and the next 40 years, there was a staggering 400% increase in incarceration?One of the key topics discussed is the Clinton crime bill, enacted in 1994, which not only escalated the incarceration rates but also removed Pell Grants for incarcerated individuals who wished to pursue education. Through his experiences, Dr. Andrisse emphasizes the need for a more holistic approach to the justice system, one that involves the community and takes into account the transformative power of education and support.Dr. Andrisse's organization, From Prison Cells to PhD, is at the forefront of providing opportunities to incarcerated individuals through their innovative program called Prison to Professional Scholars. We explore the challenges faced during the transition period from prison to civilian life and the importance of community organizations like this in providing guidance and support.We also touch upon the power of mentorship and its significant impact on an individual's transformation. Dr. Andrisse shares personal anecdotes about his mentor, who believed in him even during his darkest moments. Tragically, he lost this mentor before fully comprehending the depth of his message - "It is never too late to do good." This powerful phrase became the subtitle of Dr. Andrisse's book, "From Prison Cells to PhD," which he dedicated to his late father.In this episode, we also explore the need to address mental health and healing in prison programs and the importance of community-based transition programs to help individuals successfully reintegrate into society. Dr. Andrisse draws comparisons to the challenges faced by veterans and professional athletes during their transition periods and highlights the vulnerability in these crucial moments.We urge you to listen to this thought-provoking episode where Dr. Stanley Andrisse's inspiring journey will leave you with a renewed understanding of the power of education, community, and second chances.  

College-bound students (and their parents) know how complicated it is to complete the FAFSA. But with college costs rising, students need Pell Grants and financial aid now more than ever. Good news for them: A more streamlined FAFSA will be available in December. Plus, why startups are pivoting to a new  fundraising avenue.

College-bound students (and their parents) know how complicated it is to complete the FAFSA. But with college costs rising, students need Pell Grants and financial aid now more than ever. Good news for them: A more streamlined FAFSA will be available in December. Plus, why startups are pivoting to a new  fundraising avenue.