NC Community College Students Discuss Economic Impact of College Completion
Contact:
Femi Kirby
Femi@mobilize.org
(202) 573-8753
CHARLOTTE, NC – This Friday through Sunday, 150 students from North Carolina’s community colleges will gather at Central Piedmont Community College to discuss barriers they face when completing their education and develop ways to work with state and local government, school administrations and private institutions to overcome them.
Participants will discuss the future of education with local and state civic leaders including Mayor Anthony Foxx, Alberto Retana, of the U.S. Department of Education, Dr. Scott Ralls, President of the North Carolina Community College System and Claire Tate, executive director of POST Carolinas, among other invited guests and will compete for a share of $25,000 and expert support to implement their ideas on their campuses, in their communities or online.
Target 2020 is titled after the national goal set by President Obama to help an additional 8 million students earn postsecondary degrees or certificates by the year 2020.
“If students don’t understand the importance of completing their education and the impact it will have on their communities, North Carolina will experience negative consequences for decades,” said Maya Enista, CEO of Mobilize.org “Target 2020 is an opportunity for students to take responsibility for their own education and therefore the future of the state and our country.”
According to a recent study by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, within the next eight years, North Carolina jobs requiring a postsecondary education or training will grow by 332,000, while jobs for high school graduates and dropouts will only increase by 157,000. During this time, 833,000 out of 1.4 million job vacancies will be for citizens with postsecondary credentials, while only 413,000 will be for high school graduates and 172,000 for high school dropouts.
With expert sessions exploring N.C. employment outlooks in industries such as healthcare and STEM, Target 2020 will also equip students with the tools they need to prepare for employment while in school and after completing their postsecondary education or training.
Target 2020 sponsors include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and OrthoCarolina. Local partners include the North Carolina Community College System, Central Piedmont Community College and WTVI.
For more information and a complete schedule of events, please visit www.Mobilize.org/Target2020NC.
About Mobilize.org
Mobilize.org is an all-partisan organization that improves the way democracy works by investing in Millennial-led solutions. Through a series of national convenings, called Democracy 2.0 Summits, Millennials from around the country gather to discuss challenges facing our society and work collaboratively on solutions to address them.
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