As a first-generation student from Bangladesh, Hurum Tohfa wants her professors to understand that students don’t all come to science and math classes equally well prepared. Some may have graduated from high-performing high schools or completed internships. Those students are well equipped to handle the expectations of a college classroom. Others, like her, spend their first semester in college just playing catch-up.

For many professors, the pandemic shined a light on how much their students have to deal with outside of class. In this interview, students offer insight on professors who adapted to the moment—and what they hope to see when things go back to normal times.

When educators discuss transfer pathways from two-year to four-year colleges, they tend to discuss broad, important topics such as aligning credits and mapping curricula. Something often is missing: the stories of the diverse life experiences of individual students.

A collaboration between John Tyler Community College and J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College aims to change that scenario.

When Mikayla Terry applied to college last fall, the 18-year-old made Clark Atlanta University—considered one of the top historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUS) in the country—her top pick. Despite receiving a full scholarship at Saint Leo, a well-regarded Catholic school in Florida, Terry chose Clark Atlanta where she says she felt safe and that her experiences as a Black student mattered.

Terry is among a record number of students applying to HBCUs this year, with many institutions reporting both a spike in applications and enrollments.