CRCP-UPS Partnership Recognized at U.S. Department of Education Summit

Leighton Clemons, CRCP student and UPS part-time supervisor, shared his personal journey at the U.S. Department of Education Regional Community College Summit.

On March 23, the Chicagoland Regional College Program (CRCP) joined a contention of UPS executives at a U.S. Department of Education Regional Community Summit. The summit was one of four across the country that brought together leaders from community colleges, businesses, nonprofits and government to share strategies on how best to meet President Barack Obama’s 2020 goal of America having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

Leighton Clemons, CRCP student, moved the crowd to a standing ovation at the conclusion of his personal account of the CRCP experience. Leighton recounted his father’s influence in his journey to college, his success as a UPS part-time supervisor, his success at Moraine Valley Community college and intent to enroll at Chicago State University and eventually become an elementary school teacher.

U.S. Dept of Education Regional Community Summit

A panel of corporate executives explored the theme, "Partnerships Between Community Colleges and Employers."

"(CRCP) is needed to give a chance to students that may not be able to afford college but are willing to work their way through," Leighton told the attendees. "Without this program, (and I know of no other like it,) some students will give up on their education goals. A college education is part of the American dream. Hard workers deserve a chance."

Clemons also shared with the attendees his career goals and the personal impact CRCP has had on his life. "I am now in my final semester at Moraine Valley Community College. I will earn an Associate in Arts degree in Elementary Education in May 2011 and I will graduate without any debt because of my hard work through the CRCP opportunity. I plan to continue my education and earn my bachelor's degree at Chicago State University and become a teacher."

Download the full text of Leighton Clemons' Speech

Tom Volta, vice president of UPS Air Group Human Resources discusses the recruitment and retention benefits of corporate-college partnership programs such as the CRCP at the Summit.

The event was held at Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis as one of four regional summits convened by President Obama’s administration under the leadership of Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, and was an extension of the first national White House Summit on Community Colleges convened in October 2010.

CRCP Partner UPS was selected from among the 150 invited guests to deliver the keynote address and participate on a panel to discuss successful corporate-college partnership programs, including the CRCP and their Metro College Program, in Louisville, Kentucky. UPS Senior Vice President Teri McClure gave the keynote while Tom Volta, vice president of UPS Air Group Human Resources, provided insight into UPS' two educational programs.

The Ivy Tech summit theme was “Partnerships Between Community Colleges and Employers.” In a statement announcing the summits, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said, “These regional summits are an opportunity to build partnerships that strengthen our community colleges, turn challenges into actions, and produce the best-educated and most-competitive workforce in the world.”

This was the CRCP’s first exposure to a regional audience which included U.S. government officials, White House staffers, and community college administrators and corporate executives from Midwestern states.