For more than 10 years, a unique community college in New York City has been known for its high graduation rates with full-time, mostly traditional-age college students. 

Now, Guttman Community College is preparing for its next phase: adding more workforce development programs that will serve older learners and help them quickly prepare for new workplace demands. 

Top officials at the U.S. Department of Education remained mum last week about whether broad-based student debt cancellation is on the horizon.

In their keynote addresses during a conference for financial aid professionals, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Under Secretary James Kvaal condemned the rising costs of college and focused on actions the department is taking to ease borrowers’ loan burden.

Stephanie Rivera-Beltre is a Brooklyn-native Afro-Latina with a Dominican and Puerto Rican background. She often tells her students about her own experience applying to colleges when in high school. Her guidance counselor’s discouraging feedback nearly crushed her dreams of pursuing higher education.

That experience led her to the role she has today—and to inspiring students to keep pushing forward.