After graduating from Brown University with a degree in creative writing, Shana Tinkle worked as a bartender on a sightseeing train in Alaska, a teacher in Canada, and a crew member on a sailing ship before ending up at Southern Maine Community College to become a wildland firefighter. 

She's not alone. More people with bachelor’s degrees are going back to school to learn skilled trades. The trend also exposes how many high school graduates go to college without having a plan.

A new report calls for a "students-first" approach to higher education—and specifically for states to protect financial aid and prioritize the community college systems serving adult students, people of color, and those in need of fast and affordable reskilling.

Maggie Pidto is careful. The 21-year-old senior at the University of Wisconsin had seven COVID-19 tests this semester, all of them negative. She plans to be tested again before coming home this week. She wants to protect her parents.

Thanksgiving has become a pivotal moment for higher education as the pandemic intensifies. It casts a spotlight not only on the risk of student travel plans, but also on how a wildly unpredictable semester has unfolded and what might happen next.