college community - Mt. Hood Community College

e open to opportunitiesMaking College WorkStudent Resource Specialists helpdemystify college for students in MHCC’sAdult Basic Skills programs.the kellysKelley Keith (left) with Student ResourceSpecialists Kelly Love and Kellie PiersonFact number one: In East MultnomahCounty, census data shows that thereare more than 30,000 adults 45 yearsof age and older who do not have ahigh school diploma.Fact number two: When you don’tgraduate from high school, don’t havea lot of financial resources, don’t havea family tradition of higher educationand/or don’t speak English as yournative language, the idea of going tocollege and lifting yourself up can beintimidating. That is, unless you knowthe ropes.Fact number three: At MHCC, “theKellys” are ready, eager and expertlyprepared to help.Kelley Keith, Kelly Love and KelliePierson offer resources, information,encouragement and support. Loveand Pierson are Student Resource Specialists.Keith is Dean of Adult BasicSkills, a division at MHCC that servesapproximately 3,000 students annuallywho are motivated to pursue theireducational and career goals, but maynot be ready to jump into college-levelcredit courses.“Student Resource Specialists focuson improving student persistence andsuccess,” says Keith. “For example, weinitiate student contact through proactiveadvising and communicate directlywith students to engage them in practicesthat ensure their success.”Keith also says, “We provide careerand vocational advising, academicplanning, personal and academicgoal-setting and help students identifyThe Student ResourceSpecialists helpstudents toadvance into collegelevelcoursework andearn college certificatesand degreespersonal and academic barriers thatprevent them from staying in school.We connect students with resources inthe community that help to removethese barriers.”In short, the Student Resource Specialistshelp students to advance intocollege-level coursework and earncollege certificates and degrees so theycan qualify for good jobs.The Student Resource Specialists servestudents who are enrolled in MHCC’sEnglish-as-a-Second-Language (ESL)and Adult Basic Education (ABE)General Educational Development(GED) programs.Those students span a wide range. Theycould be 18 years old or in their 50s.They may be individuals who haven’tcompleted high school or recent immigrantswith doctorate degrees whodon’t yet speak English well. They maybe working toward a welding certificateor an eventual advanced degree. Theyshare a need for help with the processof attending, learning self-advocacystrategies and succeeding at and completingtheir education at MHCC.“Best practices and research suggestthat the tipping point is 15 collegecredits,” Keith says. “If a student canget that far, they have a greater chanceof completing college. Our job is toshow them their potential and to helpthem reach for it. From a professionalstandpoint, it’s very rewarding to seeour students achieve their goals!”MHCC uses Student Resource Specialists(SRS) to help achieve CASE outcomes andcollege completions. For more informationon the CASE grant, please see page 1.For more information about StudentResource Specialists, please call Kelly Love(503-491-7329) or Kellie Pierson(503-491-7004).2 mhcc.edu