Growing up in foster care, Jessica de Laguna felt helpless when it came to achieving her goal of becoming a doctor. “I just learned to survive,” says de Laguna, who identifies as a Native American of the Yaqui Tribe.

After 15 years away from the classroom, de Laguna decided to go all-in on her dream and enrolled in community college. Thanks to a new medical school program that recruits community college students, she is getting the support she needs to fulfill her goals.

Leaders at the Rhode Island School of Design announced this week of plans to withdraw from U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges undergraduate rankings, saying the controversial lists rely on exclusion and inequity and do not reflect the value of RISD's students or its academic programs.

The private nonprofit college appears to be the first to reject U.S. News’ undergraduate listing since a contingent of law and medical schools began stepping away from the rankings covering them late last year. 

Job training for young people in Indianapolis is taking on a very European look—one that focuses on the idea that companies must take some responsibility for training and supporting youth, both as a social responsibility and to develop a talent pool from which to hire.

Two growing apprenticeship programs pay high school and community college students to work and train for jobs in the medical, business, IT and manufacturing fields, all while still in school. The programs also cover all or part of students' college tuition.