The Case for Two-Year College and Career Certificate Programs

The road to higher education is paved with decisions that guide — and sometimes reroute — students to their destination. Finding the right path might seem overwhelming, but breaking the miles into smaller steps can help, and for many students, starting at a two-year school is a solid beginning. 

Benefits of community college 

Tips for being more effective at sharing news, proposing ideas, and asking questions

You spend a lot of time communicating —maybe more than you realize. And how you communicate matters. Ultimately, it’s how you connect with other people. Whether you’re composing a message, speaking up in class, or having a one-on-one conversation, you’ll be more effective if you feel comfortable in your approach. There is no single “right” way to do it. Instead, the goal is to develop a style that works for you with the people in your life. As with any skill, it takes practice.

The First Nations Launch (FNL) program is not just about building rockets — it’s about building futures. In fact, FNL is transforming the aerospace landscape for Indigenous students. What began with a few tribal colleges has evolved into a dynamic program that fosters talent across 96 tribes, 44 institutions, and 19 states, with participants from Canada testing their skills as well. Blending technical challenges, professional networking, and cultural integration, FNL has become a powerful force for Indigenous representation in STEM.

Aaron Yazzie shares many of the questions a lot of us have about the planet Mars. “Mars was once similar to Earth,” he says. “It once had water and was warmer as an early planet. It developed over billions of years in similar ways to Earth, but the question is, why did Earth develop life and Mars didn’t? Or maybe it did?”

When Tobin Beal was living in China and working as the CIO for General Motors (GM), he had an extraordinarily long to-do list. Among many other tasks, Beal was charged with developing information technology strategies and sales and marketing solutions to support the automaker’s success in a vital market and with its many joint venture partnerships with Chinese companies.

When Leona Anderson was a young girl in Los Angeles, she knew she was part Native American, as her father always told her this. Her father was born and raised in Broken Arrow, Okla., and he would visit his hometown for a month each summer and visit the Cherokee Nation in Bixby, Okla., to spend time with his sister. Her father’s visit was about reconnecting with his sister, but it was also about providing her with much needed assistance. “My dad would help her with projects around her house and garden,” says Anderson, this year’s winner of the Blazing Flame Award.

Long before Dr. Josiah Hester became a tenure track professor in Northwestern University’s Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science, his parents taught him to understand the connection between computing and a secure life. “My parents saw that computing generally is your ticket,” says Dr. Hester, Native Hawaiian (Kānaka maoli), who remembers how his mom and dad started him learning the Java programing language.

These days, any discussion of electricity inevitably turns to energy generated by the sun. In fact, according to a recent report by the Solar Energy Industries Association, nearly 60 percent of all new electric generation added in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2021 was solar — and forecasts are that the mainstreaming of solar energy will only accelerate.

In some of Dr. Crystal Tulley-Cordova’s earliest memories, water is a prominent feature. She vividly recalls the silver basin — which looked to her like an oversized teapot — that her grandmother used to heat bathwater on the stove. It’s a pleasant memory, but one also laced with recollections of what a struggle it was to obtain clean water for bathing and drinking. “I have memories of how my family traveled over dirt roads to get water for our daily needs,” she says.