Community Scholars News
Happening
In the News
october 2021
Obstacle or Opportunity?
Life is constantly surprising us with obstacles – there’s not much we can do about that. What we can do, however, is optimize how we deal with those challenges when they do come along. Keep your energy positive. When things get tough, it’s important to stay as...
Meet Madlyne Santiago.
The hero of her own journey, Madlyne Santiago demonstrates the determination and commitment ACE students have to their own success. Madlyne first went to try college right after high school graduation and was accepted into the Harcum nursing program on main campus,...
Life Lessons from Football
It may sound silly at first, but there are insights to be gained from watching and playing football. It’s not just fun and games. For example, in football, you win and lose as a team; no one person carries or defeats the team by himself. Football helps you understand...
september 2021
Join Community Scholars Leadership Training!
We want to invite you to register for the Community Scholar Leadership Development Program beginning this Fall. It is offered by I-LEAD, founder of ACE and the Partnership Site program, which has been training grassroots community leaders for more than 20 years. The...
Meet Joan Majors.
Joan majors is a current student, enrolled in the business management program at the Delaware County Partnership Site. Like many students, Ms. Majors had a unique pathway into the program. She wasn’t looking for another career or an associate degree after retiring...
Don’t “Should” on Yourself
Ever heard the phrase, “Don’t should on yourself?” It refers to automatic negative thoughts like I should do that...I should have already done that...I should be more like them.. For those of us familiar with these phrases, recognize them as forms of subtle...
august 2021
In Case You Missed It…
The following remarks were shared by David Castro, Co-Founder and President of I-LEAD, Inc. and the ACE Program, welcoming new students for Fall 2021. We’re on a journey together… we are on a quest together. Right now I want you to visualize yourself completing our...
Meet Shantelle Thomas.
“College is for smart people, I didn't feel smart, college is not for me.” This was the internal dialog of Shantelle Thomas before she began her higher education journey with ACE. Although Shantelle grew up in a household where plans for the future weren’t discussed,...
Resources for Entrepreneurs!
There are many among our outstanding alumni and current student body who are current or aspiring entrepreneurs. Some of you have started businesses, some are making plans for a start-up, and others are looking to begin a nonprofit to serve the community. We at I-LEAD...
june 2021
Cheryl Lang Memorial Scholarship Fund
Announcing and inviting donations for: The Cheryl Lang Memorial I-LEAD Scholarship Fund to provide grants to adult working learners enrolled in the Partnership Site Program of Harcum College. Mrs. Cheryl Lang served as Director of Community Engagement with I-LEAD,...
Meet Barbara Hankinson.
Barbara Hankinson is a force in her family for education. Never allowing others to define her ability or her self, Ms. Hankinson forged her own path in life and blazed a trail for multiple generations. College was not a topic of conversation in her household growing...
Tips for Transitioning from COVID Restrictions
by Tori Partridge, PBS.org With vaccines widely available and case numbers dropping, cities around the U.S. are dropping restrictions and focusing on “getting back to normal” for the summer. But for many — after more than a year in isolation — “normal” feels scary....
may 2021
Memorial Day Family Activities
Philadelphia is a city in a park, which means there’s always green space, towering trees and stunning landscapes to be found just a heartbeat away from Center City. Check out all the ways to get outside this weekend without leaving the city: Look for impressive floral...
Meet Nazia Adeyemi.
We all have wake up moments. Sometimes they have to do with our current pattern of life and its contrast with our desired futures. Sometimes these moments generate a new outlook or perspective about ourselves and our relationship to others. Sometimes, it’s all of the...
Get Outside & Renew!
Want to get the kids (and yourself) offline to unwind this weekend? How about a scavenger hunt? Or hunting for treasure via geocaching? You don't have to travel far to reconnect with nature. Here are some easily accessible park and nature trail links for both the...
Congratulations Class of 2021!!!
You did it! Your hard work and dedication to invest in yourselves has (and will) paid off!!! Congratulations for persisting through the chaos covid-19 brought to your college and learning experience. And though it's continued presence prevents an in-person...
Meet Barbara Blunt.
A retired grandmother. An image of a woman sitting and knitting quietly on the porch comes to mind, right? Not this grandmother!!! Barbara Blunt is a self-described “mover-and-shaker.” After 25 years as a home health aide, a restful retirement may seem in order. But...
Happy Mother’s Day!
Shout out to all the Moms among our students and alumni! You are loved and appreciated. We know how hard you work and are always doing for others. Be encouraged to make some time for self-care amidst all the caring you do. Enjoy your day and soak in the love of your...
april 2021
FAFSA Renewal Time!
It’s FAFSA Renewal Time! For all who are in school or know someone who is, the due date for renewing the FAFSA is fast approaching: May 1st. Don’t let money for education slip through your fingers! It can be completed in much less time than binge watching the latest...
Meet Regla Baez.
The daughter of Cuban immigrants, Regla Baez watched her parents and those around her struggle just to get by. She wanted a different life for her future and knew she needed to surpass her parents’ ninth grade education and graduate high school. Proud to be the first...
Scholarships! Scholarships! Scholarships!
The other way to get your hands on some money for school. Yes, they require research. Yes, they require a written application. And also yes, they are the equivalent of grants and can reduce or eliminate student loan debt. Even scholarships of smaller amounts add up...
march 2021
A Proud Chester Native & Community Scholar
You don't often get flowers while you are living, nor many awards for doing the right thing. If you knew my story you would cry tears of joy. Making my own executive decision for my life, exactly two years ago I came back to my forgotten city of Chester, Pennsylvania...
Meet Stephanie Hunt
Sometimes believing in yourself is the hardest part of the journey to success. This was the case for Stephanie Hunt who found the ACE program from a friend who was enrolled .She had decided that continuing her education was a way to get her life back on track after...
An Excellent Book List!
You may not think you have time to read a good book, but we think if you choose one of the 12 on this list that we found on www.blackmilkwomen.com, you’ll make the time to finish it! 1. Becoming : Michelle Obama by Michelle Obama In her memoir, a work of deep...
february 2021
Faith Bartley and The People’s Paper Co-Op
The close of 2020 was a glad event for many of us. It was even sweeter for Faith Bartley, who graduated in December from the ACE Partnership Site program of Harcum College at Deliverance with an Associate Degree in Human Services. Faith chose to begin her college...
Meet Novena Chanzu
Novena Chanzu was an early childhood teacher in Kenya. Her mother, already a long time resident of the United States, longed to reunite the family. In 2014, green card approvals finally came through and Novena, her daughter, and her brother joined their mother in...
Every Day, Creativity
“Creativity” is one of those buzzwords that gets tossed around a lot. How many times a week do you encounter messages in magazine articles, on websites, in books, that tell you to be creative, to think creatively? We are told to be creative at our jobs, in our...
january 2021
Graduation: It’s Closer Than You Think!
Have you figured out yet what you want to do after you graduate, especially those of you graduating in Spring 2021? You already have so much on your plate that you might think you can’t handle one more thing. You have help! The Career Office at Harcum has all kinds of...
Meet Jamoca Harkins
Jamoca Harkins Many adults seeking college education find that when the burden of finding and registering for programs is all on them, the dream falls into the background when you already have a career, and life is moving forward. For Jamoca Harkins, a mother and...
Harcum Community Scholars
Anybody who is receiving a Harcum Community Scholarship is eligible to take the HCS Leadership workshops which happen twice a month on Zoom. The workshops complement the academic work you’re doing — they help you to become the very best possible version of yourself...
december 2020
Finals. You can do it!
You’re in the final stretch of the fall semester! Congrats for making it through and imagine how good it will feel when you have taken the last exam, submitted the final paper. And if you need a little help getting to the finish line, there are tutoring and essay...
Meet Evelyn Rawls
Ms. Evelyn Rawls earned her GED as an older adult but was not content to stop her educational journey there. She always had the goal of going to college but didn’t know where to start. Then she saw an ad on television for the ACE program and learned there was a path...
Zoom & MOVE!
Suffering from Zoom meeting fatigue? Wondering how to get through these last hours of online learning for 2020? Engage your body. Movement stimulates circulation, and circulation carries necessary oxygen to your brain. So...movement = brain food! Repetitive movement...
november 2020
Thanksgiving…what 2 do?
There is no way to perfectly simulate an in-person Thanksgiving in covid-surge virtual space. There just isn’t. We all long for a semblance of normalcy and may want to claim Thanksgiving as a marker. But, the risk is real. Covid is surging in the Greater Philadelphia...
A New U.S.
It may already seem like a long time ago, but just last week at this time Pennsvylania and Philadelphia in particiular were in focus and on point as votes were tallied in the national election. It bears repeating that there hasn’t been a more important election during...
Meet Porsha Harris
Congratulations to Porsha Harris, a current student at Harcum College in Delaware County who is the recipient of a $1,000 scholarship awarded by the Riddle HealthCare Foundation. Porsha began her higher education journey in Fall 2019 as a Human Services major and has...
october 2020
Time Management Principles
Most of you are juggling multiple responsibilities every day. Work schedules, childcare, ZOOM learning for your kids, household chores, grocery shopping. Whew! And on top of it all, you decided to go back to school adding yet another layer of complexity to your...
Meet Jovani Soto
Meet Jovani. A single mother of two from the city of Chester, Jovani was anxious about returning to school as an adult, having so much time out of the classroom. She would ask herself “Am I too old? Will I remember anything? Will I look stupid?”. But she put those...
Stress Less
The pandemic. It’s literally...everywhere. It has become the filter through which all daily life activities and interactions must be sifted and adjusted. Necessary changes have caused upheaval in routines, patterns, relationships. “Normal” life was always a bit...
september 2020
Leadership Program
Take Advantage of a Life-Transforming Opportunity: I-LEAD’s Leadership Development Program A Program Specially Designed for Harcum’s Community Scholars One of life’s most important lessons is that success and happiness do not...
Meet Thomas Jarrett
Meet Thomas Jarrett, a graduate of Harcum College who is now pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work at West Chester University. Like many adult students, Thomas had tried attending college before he enrolled at Harcum. He dropped in and out of classes at the...
ACE for Foster Care
Since I-LEAD launched the Achieve College Education (ACE) program in 2005, more than 1000 of you have earned your associate degree and many of you have gone on to earn a bachelor’s degree. It took a lot of heart and courage and determination to get through school...
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