Jason Birdsong’s Post

Malcolm X said it best! 🫡 While there are certainly valid life paths that don't require traditional schooling, there's nothing quite like an education to guarantee your access to the best things life has to offer. 📚 To name just a few: 👉🏾Our relationships with our teachers, particularly in high school and college, often alter the course of our lives. They can expose us to fields of study we never knew were possible and illuminate talents we never knew we had! 👉🏾Education opens the door to career paths such as law, higher education, and medicine. 👉🏾Positive relationships with our educators often serve as valuable professional connections down the road, particularly for those who weren't born into professional connections and generational wealth. 👉🏾College education massively expands our perceptions of what's possible and exposes us to a variety of life paths we may not have had the chance to witness otherwise. Here at Charter Collaborative, we love to champion Historically Black Colleges and Universities both for their academic excellence and how they provide tailored post-grad support to students of color. ❤️ Who helped you learn the value of a good education? Share your story below! 

Doesn’t it feel like all we talk about these days is AI? It tops every agenda now – from Davos to Dayton. Yes, we need to take it seriously and prepare: jobs will go away and many more will change – but how? As technology does more of the work on our behalf – for better or worse – distinctly human capabilities like creativity, critical thinking, clarity of expression, and caring for human experience will increasingly become the “hard” skills. Are we ready? Thanks to Michael Elliott and Emily Cameron Griffen for having me back to Amherst College (seriously, twist my arm…) to share a perspective on how a Liberal Arts education will prepare today's students for leadership in the future – in careers, yes – and also in life and as citizens of an increasingly complex society.

For the fifth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report magazine has named Linfield University the No. 1 liberal arts college in Oregon and one of the best in the nation when it comes to social mobility. In the publication’s 2024 rankings, Linfield was named No. 52 in the nation on the “Top Performers in Social Mobility” list, up five spots from 2023’s No. 57.  Linfield moved up in the overall rankings as well. The university rose 12 spots this year, tying at No. 107 in the nation’s top liberal arts colleges list.   In its 39th year, U.S. News & World Report evaluated nearly 1,500 U.S. four-year bachelor’s degree-granting institutions on 19 measures. The annual ranking added increased emphasis on how often schools’ students from all socioeconomic backgrounds earned degrees and added new data on graduate outcomes.   Linfield scored high in the social mobility category, which measures how well universities graduate students who received federal Pell Grants. Students receiving these grants typically come from households whose family incomes are less than $50,000 annually, with most money going to students with total family incomes below $20,000. Of Linfield’s 1,754 students last year, 28% were Pell Grant eligible.  Linfield was also recognized for the third consecutive year among the publication’s list of “Best Undergraduate Nursing Programs.”  U.S. News & World Report isn’t the only national publication recognizing Linfield’s commitment to improving the lives of students. Forbes listed Linfield University among “America’s Top Colleges” and one of the top 100 liberal arts universities in the nation earlier in September, and Washington Monthly ranked Linfield No. 9 nationally for earning performance and the No. 1 liberal arts college in Oregon. In addition, College Raptor included Linfield on its 2024 Hidden Gem rankings, recognizing Linfield’s commitment to retention, graduation and student-to-faculty ratio. 

Smith is on the search for a Term Adjunct (instructor) to teach the Business Law II course in our Commerce program. If you have a JD or PhD and expertise in business law, check out the details of this opportunity below! #Smithbusiness #business #law

#26Days. Over FIVE consecutive years, Santa Rosa Junior College conferred upon me #TenDegrees. Although in 2020 and 2021, #COVID19 caused the commencement ceremonies to be online, being a part of FIVE consecutive commencement ceremonies meant a lot to me. In those five years, Ten Degrees in varying subjects were conferred, and all but one class (being Public Speaking) was completely done online. Five degrees prior to #COVID19, Five since. In a little under 4 weeks now, my SIXTH consecutive commencement ceremony will occur. My sole degree, my Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from Sonoma State University (thru their Sonoma State University School of Extended and International Education at Sonoma State's Saturday Degree Completion Program), is my #EleventhDegree overall. Eleven degrees in six straight years means a lot to me. Twelve Degrees in seven-eight years means something to me (and will at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte), while Thirteen Degrees in eleven years will mean the most. #ComeWhatMay, it will happen again, and again, and again.

In a recent article, #CulenCollege graduate Ashley Duncan shares her journey as a first-generation graduate, highlighting the crucial role played by her family, friends, and professors in her success. 🙌👨🎓 Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/gSGYVXCu

The US Supreme Court's decision this summer effectively ended race-conscious admissions in higher education, removing a way for US colleges and universities to advance education equity and promote more diverse student bodies. In the wake of that decision, the first high school seniors to apply to college are grappling with conflicting guidance, college admission teams are looking at alternative ways to work toward fair admissions, and college guidance counselors are working through uncertainty. In a powerful guest article for Girl Rising, Occidental College Student, Obama Scholar and Education Rights Advocate Raja Bella Hicks shares her story on how affirmative action has positively impacted her family and highlights vital actions that colleges and universities can take for education equity. "This ruling perpetuates the preexisting inequalities that minorities already face within the educational system," she says. "The idea that today, everyone has an equal and merit-based shot at higher education is a false narrative and fails to examine the barriers that race plays in both the historic and modern contexts of the US. Affirmative action set education equity as a national priority, but with the Supreme Court’s decision we must find ways to systematically reimagine what education for all looks like." Read more about her story and her recommendations on tangible steps individuals and institutions can take to navigate this critical juncture education policy: https://bit.ly/3PjtibG

If you ever feel like you're down and out, you're not. You just have to find the things that make you want to push to be better. Read my blog to learn more about my academic story:

🚨Get more tips at our admissions roundtable and campus tour this 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟐𝟏! #PersonalStatement #UniversityApplication #Admissions #StudentLife #DreamSchool #MiamiLaw #LawSchool #TopUniversity #UMinternational #StudyAbroad

Education serves as a fundamental driver for personal development and societal advancement. In this article, two of our alumni chat about why they pursued their respective Master's degrees with us and how Yorkville U allowed them to study while balancing all of life’s responsibilities. Learn more: https://okt.to/ciHlQx