Opening higher education to more students

I believe the college admissions process can be a powerful force for opening educational opportunities to people that have typically been left out: students of color, first-generation students, low-income students, LGBTQ students, and politically different students.

But to create meaningful opportunities, admissions offices need to change past practices, which effectively filled classes but might not have emphasized a need for diversity. Penn GSE gave me the analytical tools to understand the newest research on college access and help craft practical ways to recruit and support a wide range of students at Swarthmore College.

I knew a doctoral degree would open many doors for me, but Penn GSE introduced me to the leading experts in the field of higher education. Professor Laura Perna’s papers were regularly assigned in my master’s program. At Penn GSE, Dr. Perna was teaching me about access and college choice, and she sat on my dissertation committee.

Professor Joni Finney’s finance course exposed me to new ways of thinking about higher education. Because of what I learned there, I can feel confident presenting to our Board of Trustees about the biggest challenges in college access and admissions across the country.

Throughout my coursework, my professors pushed me to develop as a researcher. For my dissertation, I studied the college opportunities for gay and bisexual undergraduate men. I found cases where students had been rejected by their families for coming out but were still able to access higher education. My research provided an example of how institutions could change their policies and practice to support students.

Learning those research skills was critical because our field continues to evolve. I convene regular strategy meetings on college access with stakeholders from across the Philadelphia area. As we pore through data and new findings, I’m always trying to assess what we know empirically and what questions we need to explore further.

My work is personal. I grew up in a trailer park. I’m the first person in my family to go to college. Not many people with my background have the chance to attend an Ivy League school. At Penn GSE, I was surrounded by diverse faculty and colleagues who embraced me and thought my worldview was valuable. That support put me on a path to become a leader not just of a department, but in the profession.