May 12, 2022 • 26 mins
Graduation season is here, and soon a new generation of leaders will take their energy, their ideas, and their desire to take action out into the world to help solve the challenges we all face. The more opportunities we provide for more people to pursue higher education, the better off we all are.
This special episode of “Why Am I Telling You This” features a conversation between the sitting First Lady of the United States and community college educator, Dr. Jill Biden and Secretary Hillary Clinton from the 2022 Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) meeting about why community colleges are one of the great cornerstones of America’s education system, and the important role they play in shaping the leaders of tomorrow.
Started in 2007, CGI U has brought together more than 11,000 college and university students together to create change in the U.S. and around the world. The 2022 CGI U meeting, hosted in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges, included more than 400 student leaders, representing 70 countries and more than 200 schools, all with ideas to tackle the innumerable challenges students have faced throughout the COVID 19 pandemic, and to make the world a safer, healthier, and more equitable place for all.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
In two thousand seven, my foundations started the Cluton Global
Initiative University Program or c g IU, to bring college
and university students together to create change in the US
and around the world. Our annual meeting was a special
one as we joined with our virtual host campus, the
American Association of Community Colleges, to bring together more than
(00:24):
four hundred student leaders from around the world, representing seventy
countries and more than two hundred schools. So why am
I telling you this? Because graduation season is here and
soon a new generation of leaders will take their energy,
their ideas, and their action out into the world to
help solve the challenges we all face. And the more
(00:45):
opportunities we provide for more people to pursue higher education,
the better off we all are. On today's episode of
Why Am I telling You This, you will hear a
conversation between Hillary and Dr Joe Biden, who continues to
teach at a community college is first Lady, about why
community colleges are one of the great quarterstones of America's
(01:07):
education system and the important role they play in shaping
the leaders of tomorrow. I hope you will come away
from this episode like I always come away from c
g I U and from every trip I take to
a community college, feeling much more optimistic about our future. Hello,
(01:34):
and thanks to all of you for joining us. I'd
also like to thank each and every one of you
from the c g I YOU class of for coming
together to take action on some of today's most urgent challenge.
I thank you for more than three commitments to action
you've made, and I'm grateful that, in addition to fulfilling
(01:54):
these projects, you're still looking to do even more. We
need your energy, your action, your creative cooperation. We need
them urgently. While we made significant progress in fighting the
COVID nineteen pandemic, deep inequities still exists around the world,
and access to vaccine and care here in the US.
(02:18):
The pandemic also has ripped off the cover of long
standing disparities and injustices and virtually every aspect of American life. Meanwhile,
the existential threat of climate change continues to grow, and
democracy is under assault all around the world, of course,
(02:38):
most painfully and glaringly in Ukraine. The number of displaced
people and refugees worldwide is higher than it's ever been
and rising, and it seems that all across the globe.
People are pulling away from those who are different, putting
our future at greater risk and making it harder and
(02:59):
harder to solve the challenges and seize the opportunities right
in front of us. In the face of this growing
wave of divisive tribalism, you offer one of the best
examples how I think our world ought to work rooted
in what I would call inclusive tribalism. You come from
(03:21):
all around the world. You represent different schools and just
about every demographic distinction you can think of. You're proud
of the specific schools you attend and the parts of
your identity that make you the unique person you are.
But the fact that we're proud of who we are
doesn't mean we can't come together as a larger community
(03:45):
focused on turning ideas and the action for the greater good.
That's inclusive tribalism. We all have unique perspectives, we all
have something different we bring to the table. What we
have in common is that each of us can make
a difference in the lives of people in our community
and around the world. And because of that ability to
(04:07):
make a difference, we each have a responsibility to act
to make good things happen, and to do it together.
While the challenges our world faces today are quite steep,
c g IU has always been about what we can do,
not what we can't do. By bringing diverse partners together
(04:28):
to take action and achieve results, we can create a
culture of possibility in the world hungry for hope. In
this moment of both peril and promise. Your generation can
be the engine of profound transformation. But it will take
hard work, termination, cooperation, and innovation. I believe you'll rise
(04:54):
to the challenge and I'm looking forward to an inspiring meeting.
Hello everyone, and thank you for tuning in for this
really important conversation. Community colleges are close to my heart
and at c g I you, we have seen their
power in preparing the leaders of tomorrow to tackle our
(05:16):
biggest challenges. And there is a leader who knows a
lot about the importance of community colleges, and that is
Dr Jill Biden. Dr Biden, or as her students like
to call her. Dr b has spent her entire career
in the classroom, teaching high school and then community college students.
(05:39):
She continued teaching even as she became second Lady and
then First Lady of the United States, and today she
teaches English at the Alexandria, Virginia campus of Northern Virginia
Community College just outside Washington, d C. When we were
thinking about who we would dream of have ing at
(06:00):
this c g I, you, we could think of no
one better, uh to talk about the role community colleges
play and equipping students from all walks of life with
the skills and opportunities they need. So I'm going to
start by asking Dr Biden. You've been a community college
professor for almost thirty years now more probably even more,
(06:25):
and you said that when you moved from teaching at
a high school to Dell Tech, something clicked for you,
and you've continued teaching the whole time that your husband,
President Biden has been in public service. So what is
it about this job, Dr Biden that is so special
to you. Well, first of all, you know, thank you
(06:48):
so much for inviting me to join you today. Hillary,
and you and Bill and Chelsea are doing such great
work here at c g I. But I was especially
excited to learn that this year you were partnering with
an organization that I really worked with for so many years,
the American Association of Community Colleges. And I used to
(07:10):
call community colleges America's best kept secret. But with organizations
like yours and a a c U shining a light
on all the incredible ways they serve students, the secret
is now out. But to your question, you know, I
have been teaching high school English, I guess for I
don't know, maybe thirteen years. And one of my colleagues,
(07:34):
uh said to left to go teach you to community
college and called me up and said, Jill, this is
the best thing ever. You got to come teach a
community college. So I waited until there was a job opening,
and then I applied and got the job. And then, uh,
I have to tell you, Hillary, I mean I went
and Dell Tech, where I started, was different than anything
(07:59):
I had done before or because it was the first
time that I had taught adults. So many of my students,
as you well know, we're working, Some had children, some
were taking care of their parents. So when we talked
about literature, they had, you know, so many life experiences.
They talked about their travel, their jobs, their families, and
(08:22):
you know, my life was a little different than theirs,
but I saw so much of myself in them, and
that I really connected with my students because here I
was teaching full time at three children, and I was
going to grad school, so I knew what some of
these struggles were and how hard it was to try
(08:43):
and sort of juggle it all. And I think that's
what makes community colleges so unique. You know, they serve
students from every walk of life, and they meet students
where they are and I have students, and this is
one of the really great things about teaching at the
community college, especially here in Northern Virginia, is that the diversity,
(09:08):
I mean, and the different cultures. I have students this
semester from all over the globe, like Ukraine and Honduras
and Ethiopia, and you know, I think I learned more
from them than they probably learned from me, because they
write about their lives and their stories, and uh, they
just add so much more richness to to the classroom.
(09:32):
So you know. Uh. But when I started teaching at
the community college, I realized that a lot of my students,
especially women who were returning back to school, didn't have
a lot of the support I had, And so I thought, geez,
we have to have a women's mentoring group on campus,
(09:53):
and I found that, UM, many of the women who
came back maybe didn't have some of the skills and technology.
Uh so many of them had matth anxiety, UM, and
they were, you know, just trying to juggle it all.
So when I mentored the students, I felt like I
was really making a difference. And Hilary, I don't know
(10:16):
whether you know this, but some of these uh you know,
I especially talked this one woman, UM who left her husband.
She was abused, She was living in her car with
her children. She got into a shelter. They saw how
smart she was. They got her into the community college,
(10:37):
and uh it changed her whole life. So UM, I
mentored her and I helped her write an essay, and
then she got into a four year college and now
she's an accountant and she has this great life. And
there's so many stories like that. I mean, there's just
hundreds of them out there. They're just a place for
(10:57):
people to get a second chance, or to advance the
skills that they already have, or change careers. I mean,
they really do so much, and UM, I just can't
say enough about them, as you probably can tell. So anyway, uh,
that's why I love teaching at community college and I
(11:17):
love hearing you talk about it, jil It really it
warms my heart so much because it just is conveyed
so clearly, and at the end when you said it's
really a second chance for so many people and how
they need a little bit of help and a little
bit of support to be able to find themselves, I
(11:38):
just I just love hearing you talk about it and
your experience I think goes right to the heart of
why we are partnering with the community colleges in our country. Well,
you know, like you said, we all need a little
help sometimes, and you've seen that for yourself. I mean,
you put eighteen million cracks in the ultimate glass ceiling.
(12:00):
But that comes with a lot of uncertainty and questions. So, Hilary,
did you have mentors and you know what were some
of the lessons that you learned from your mentors? Oh?
I did, and and honestly, I don't know how anybody
gets through life, let alone education, without having people that
can guide them offer constructive criticism. One of my great mentors,
(12:25):
um was one of my first bosses. When I went
to work for Marion Wright Edelman at the Children's Defense
fund and you know she, Um, she really not only
showed me the good that lawyers can do in trying
to defend people, particularly children who often need um some
extra help to protect them against all kinds of challenges,
(12:50):
but also how to do it um as a wife
and mother, you know someone who was, as you said,
raising children while while working while tying to make a difference.
And I can go all the way back to my
sixth grade teacher, someone Mrs Mrs King, who was so
encouraging to me. And and it's those memories of people who, yeah,
(13:13):
they did their job, I mean, obviously that's part of it,
but more than that, they took an interest in the
people they taught or that they worked with, and they
went the extra bit to try to find out what
could help that individual. And and I think that kind
of mentoring is so important, and it's important all stages
(13:34):
of our life. But you know, for me, obviously, UM,
I know that your education is never finished. I'm always
learning new things and in the world today, we have
to keep learning or we'll fall behind. And as you
rightly pointed out, some of the people that you were
teaching needed some additional help with technology and a lot
(13:57):
of the jobs our economy needs most. And I'm going
to put in a shameless plug and say, what a
great job your husband's administration is doing unemployment. And I'm
so so proud of that. But some of the jobs
that um, we're going to need u haven't even been invented.
And some of the jobs people are doing now weren't
(14:20):
around fifteen or twenty years ago. So, as someone who's
been involved with community colleges, how do we keep giving
students the education so that they can get the skills
they need as the workforce changes. And really there's no
better institution in our economy to do that than community colleges. Now,
(14:40):
I agree with you, and I think one of the things,
um you know, community colleges really have a major role
to play in that. And I've traveled to so many
community colleges and seen so many different programs, whether they're
in clean energy or technology. And I was just at
Intel and um at actually the president of Intel went
(15:02):
to community college and we connected right away, and here's
his company. They're making computer chips and he's hiring community
college students, and um, you know, really they it's all
about jobs. And so most of my students know that
they will have jobs when they get out because there's
(15:23):
all these partnerships and um, especially in the healthcare field.
I mean, we communities desperately need nurses and e m
t s especially during this pandemic, radiologists, ultrasound technicians, and
so they all know that they will have jobs when
they graduate. That's what community colleges do best to help
(15:48):
communities all all across the country. No matter what field
it's in, We'll be right back. You know. I've often
thought that community colleges could be one of our best
(16:09):
exports because it makes such a difference in our education system.
Now I agree with that, and you know, I traveled
to several UH Latin and Southern American countries and a
lot of them are starting UH community colleges because a
lot of their communities have some of the same needs
that we have. And I love, um, you know, I
(16:32):
love how Joe just gets all this and is putting
so much money into workforce development. I have to give
him my own plug, but nobody, you know, here's it
every night at the dinner table when I tell him
what's going on, and uh, you know, the kind of
programs that we have so anyway, but it's clearly something
that you understand as well. And you know, I was
(16:55):
so excited to know that c g I You is
partnering with community colleges this year and is working further
to diversify its global community of student and alumni leaders.
So I would love to know what excites you the
most about the student leaders coming out of colleges throughout
(17:16):
the world. Oh, it's so wonderful to look back on
the c g I use that we've held. We used
to of course hold them in person, which was really
thrilling to actually meet students from all over the world,
and then because the pandemic, you know, we had to
move to virtual, but we've kept it going and I
have to say several things really stand out. I mean,
(17:38):
it's a it's a self selected group people here about
c G I You, or maybe somebody recommends that they
look at it, and so they say, I'd like to
do that because I have an idea or I want
to meet people from everywhere across the globe. And so
the students come often with some specific ideas. I mean
we always have um some competitions around ideas for uh
(18:04):
new businesses or new job creation we have a a
coding contest that we give students a problem and how
do they come up with some kind of technical way
to address that problem. So I've just been so impressed
at the level of curiosity and passion and interest and determination. UM.
(18:29):
It's really been wonderful uh to see UH them. And
part of why we wanted to focus on UH community
colleges this year is because, as you said earlier, a
lot of people are going back to school people or
they're or they're coming into community colleges after taking time
off or or having a different set of experiences in
(18:53):
the work world or in their personal life. And you know,
we've got so many UM students who are hungry for
an education and frankly for the kind of mentoring that
you were talking about. UH. So when i see our
student body for c g IU, I'm so encouraged, and
I know that our world will be in good hands
(19:15):
if they get a chance to make their contributions. And
and we have hundreds and hundreds of students watching us
in this conversation, and I want to underscore something you
said because I know some of them really related to
the fact that you know they face challenges whether it's
finding childcare or supporting their parents while they're going to school,
(19:38):
or working a job full time while they're also trying
to get an education, but they have to pay the bills,
and those challenges got so much more complex during COVID.
And so the theme for this c g I You
meeting is about building resilience. And you know, that's something
(19:58):
that I think all of us have to learn in life, um,
over and over again, not just once. And you've been
such a role model in so many ways for so
many people. UM, and for the students who are watching.
Do you have any advice or any message for students
today coming out of a pandemic, coming into a lot
(20:20):
of uncertainty, trying to make sense of all of it,
about how they personally can find the resilience to keep
themselves going despite whatever setbacks they face. Well, this has been,
you know, such a tough year, and UM, you know,
my students honestly just inspire me every day. You know,
(20:41):
they had to deal with things that really no other
generation has had to deal with. And our world has
just changed in so many ways that I mean, heck,
we don't really fully understand yet, but but what we
do know is you know that you've made it this far,
and that says you know. That's what I say to
my students. You have such strength and grit, and I
(21:05):
hope that you know that you're proud of what you've accomplished,
because I feel so proud of them. And there was
a poet who once said, what matters most in life
is how well you walk through the fire. So my
message to the students is, sooner or later, we will
(21:26):
all have to walk through the fire, and some of
us stumble and fall, and maybe we'll feel alone, but
we're never alone. And sometimes people can't see that pain
that hides behind your smile, but if we give them
the chance, they can help us shoulder the weight of
(21:47):
our lives. And I think that, you know, we give
our hearts in little ways, like the words we use,
the conscious decisions we make to be present, the small
acts of iiness. And sometimes I think the most courageous
thing we can learn to do is lean on our communities.
(22:07):
And I think that's what we give to to each other.
You know, It's our our vulnerability, our brokenness, and the
chance to be someone else's strength in return. And I
think that that's what community colleges are they help students
find their confidence and build their skills and feel like
(22:30):
they're part of this big family that supports them and
they know that, um, they can go out into the
world and get great jobs and really and then in
turn build better communities. So UM, you know, I'll be
back there in the classroom tomorrow and uh, you know,
(22:51):
helping them move forward. And UH, like I said, Hillary,
I can't say enough good things about the power of
community colleges. So thanks for having me today. Oh, thank
you so very much. Honestly, that was such an incredible answer,
(23:11):
and your students are so lucky, uh to have you
in the classroom. And I just think every student watching
that answer, UM is going to take something away because
they they are going to feel that they have the
strength and and ability to continue to pursue their own dreams.
(23:32):
And I just can't thank you enough for joining us
and sharing your experience and sharing your heart, um with
all of the c g I students. Uh, you really
are making a difference. And I'm thrilled that more people
are going to be able to see and hear what
(23:53):
you say and take that to their own hearts. So
you make me more hopeful about our future. They make
me hopeful. My students make me hopeful. So thank you
Hillary for focusing on community colleges. It'll make a real difference.
Thank you, Thank you for everything you're doing. Our hearts
and our hearts and energy. Go with you, my friend,
(24:18):
take care of bye bye. Why am I telling you?
This is a production of Our Heart Radio, the Clinton
Foundation and at Will Medium. Our executive producers are Craigmanesssian
and Will Manadi. Our production team includes Jamison Katsufas, Tom Galton,
Sara Horowitz, and Jake Young, with production support from Liz
(24:38):
Rafferee and Josh Fornham. Original music by What White. Special
thanks to John Sykes, John Davidson on Hell, Orina, Corey Gansley,
Kevin thurm Oscar Flores, and all our dedicated staff and
partners at the Clinton Foundation. Hi, I'm a USh alexiad There.
(25:00):
I'm Senior Impact and Design Manager and a proud alumni
of the Clinton Global Initiative University c g i U.
President Clinton and Chelsea often say that you're never too
young to make a difference. That c g I you
were working to engage the next generation of leaders on
college campuses, across the country and around the world to
turn their big ideas for social change into meaningful action.
(25:21):
Through our year round program of mentorship, skills training, and
partnership building, we're cultivating a community of more than ten
thousand students and alumni who are committed to taking real,
concrete steps towards working together and solving the pressing global
challenges that affect us all from responding to COVID nineteen
to expanding access to clean water, to supporting refugees and
(25:42):
so much more. The students of c g I you
demonstrate the future of impact. Learn more about this work
and see how you can get involved visit www dot
Clinton Foundation dot org. Slash podcast
In two thousand seven, my foundations started the Cluton Global
Initiative University Program or c g IU, to bring college
and university students together to create change in the US
and around the world. Our annual meeting was a special
one as we joined with our virtual host campus, the
American Association of Community Colleges, to bring together more than
(00:24):
four hundred student leaders from around the world, representing seventy
countries and more than two hundred schools. So why am
I telling you this? Because graduation season is here and
soon a new generation of leaders will take their energy,
their ideas, and their action out into the world to
help solve the challenges we all face. And the more
(00:45):
opportunities we provide for more people to pursue higher education,
the better off we all are. On today's episode of
Why Am I telling You This, you will hear a
conversation between Hillary and Dr Joe Biden, who continues to
teach at a community college is first Lady, about why
community colleges are one of the great quarterstones of America's
(01:07):
education system and the important role they play in shaping
the leaders of tomorrow. I hope you will come away
from this episode like I always come away from c
g I U and from every trip I take to
a community college, feeling much more optimistic about our future. Hello,
(01:34):
and thanks to all of you for joining us. I'd
also like to thank each and every one of you
from the c g I YOU class of for coming
together to take action on some of today's most urgent challenge.
I thank you for more than three commitments to action
you've made, and I'm grateful that, in addition to fulfilling
(01:54):
these projects, you're still looking to do even more. We
need your energy, your action, your creative cooperation. We need
them urgently. While we made significant progress in fighting the
COVID nineteen pandemic, deep inequities still exists around the world,
and access to vaccine and care here in the US.
(02:18):
The pandemic also has ripped off the cover of long
standing disparities and injustices and virtually every aspect of American life. Meanwhile,
the existential threat of climate change continues to grow, and
democracy is under assault all around the world, of course,
(02:38):
most painfully and glaringly in Ukraine. The number of displaced
people and refugees worldwide is higher than it's ever been
and rising, and it seems that all across the globe.
People are pulling away from those who are different, putting
our future at greater risk and making it harder and
(02:59):
harder to solve the challenges and seize the opportunities right
in front of us. In the face of this growing
wave of divisive tribalism, you offer one of the best
examples how I think our world ought to work rooted
in what I would call inclusive tribalism. You come from
(03:21):
all around the world. You represent different schools and just
about every demographic distinction you can think of. You're proud
of the specific schools you attend and the parts of
your identity that make you the unique person you are.
But the fact that we're proud of who we are
doesn't mean we can't come together as a larger community
(03:45):
focused on turning ideas and the action for the greater good.
That's inclusive tribalism. We all have unique perspectives, we all
have something different we bring to the table. What we
have in common is that each of us can make
a difference in the lives of people in our community
and around the world. And because of that ability to
(04:07):
make a difference, we each have a responsibility to act
to make good things happen, and to do it together.
While the challenges our world faces today are quite steep,
c g IU has always been about what we can do,
not what we can't do. By bringing diverse partners together
(04:28):
to take action and achieve results, we can create a
culture of possibility in the world hungry for hope. In
this moment of both peril and promise. Your generation can
be the engine of profound transformation. But it will take
hard work, termination, cooperation, and innovation. I believe you'll rise
(04:54):
to the challenge and I'm looking forward to an inspiring meeting.
Hello everyone, and thank you for tuning in for this
really important conversation. Community colleges are close to my heart
and at c g I you, we have seen their
power in preparing the leaders of tomorrow to tackle our
(05:16):
biggest challenges. And there is a leader who knows a
lot about the importance of community colleges, and that is
Dr Jill Biden. Dr Biden, or as her students like
to call her. Dr b has spent her entire career
in the classroom, teaching high school and then community college students.
(05:39):
She continued teaching even as she became second Lady and
then First Lady of the United States, and today she
teaches English at the Alexandria, Virginia campus of Northern Virginia
Community College just outside Washington, d C. When we were
thinking about who we would dream of have ing at
(06:00):
this c g I, you, we could think of no
one better, uh to talk about the role community colleges
play and equipping students from all walks of life with
the skills and opportunities they need. So I'm going to
start by asking Dr Biden. You've been a community college
professor for almost thirty years now more probably even more,
(06:25):
and you said that when you moved from teaching at
a high school to Dell Tech, something clicked for you,
and you've continued teaching the whole time that your husband,
President Biden has been in public service. So what is
it about this job, Dr Biden that is so special
to you. Well, first of all, you know, thank you
(06:48):
so much for inviting me to join you today. Hillary,
and you and Bill and Chelsea are doing such great
work here at c g I. But I was especially
excited to learn that this year you were partnering with
an organization that I really worked with for so many years,
the American Association of Community Colleges. And I used to
(07:10):
call community colleges America's best kept secret. But with organizations
like yours and a a c U shining a light
on all the incredible ways they serve students, the secret
is now out. But to your question, you know, I
have been teaching high school English, I guess for I
don't know, maybe thirteen years. And one of my colleagues,
(07:34):
uh said to left to go teach you to community
college and called me up and said, Jill, this is
the best thing ever. You got to come teach a
community college. So I waited until there was a job opening,
and then I applied and got the job. And then, uh,
I have to tell you, Hillary, I mean I went
and Dell Tech, where I started, was different than anything
(07:59):
I had done before or because it was the first
time that I had taught adults. So many of my students,
as you well know, we're working, Some had children, some
were taking care of their parents. So when we talked
about literature, they had, you know, so many life experiences.
They talked about their travel, their jobs, their families, and
(08:22):
you know, my life was a little different than theirs,
but I saw so much of myself in them, and
that I really connected with my students because here I
was teaching full time at three children, and I was
going to grad school, so I knew what some of
these struggles were and how hard it was to try
(08:43):
and sort of juggle it all. And I think that's
what makes community colleges so unique. You know, they serve
students from every walk of life, and they meet students
where they are and I have students, and this is
one of the really great things about teaching at the
community college, especially here in Northern Virginia, is that the diversity,
(09:08):
I mean, and the different cultures. I have students this
semester from all over the globe, like Ukraine and Honduras
and Ethiopia, and you know, I think I learned more
from them than they probably learned from me, because they
write about their lives and their stories, and uh, they
just add so much more richness to to the classroom.
(09:32):
So you know. Uh. But when I started teaching at
the community college, I realized that a lot of my students,
especially women who were returning back to school, didn't have
a lot of the support I had, And so I thought, geez,
we have to have a women's mentoring group on campus,
(09:53):
and I found that, UM, many of the women who
came back maybe didn't have some of the skills and technology.
Uh so many of them had matth anxiety, UM, and
they were, you know, just trying to juggle it all.
So when I mentored the students, I felt like I
was really making a difference. And Hilary, I don't know
(10:16):
whether you know this, but some of these uh you know,
I especially talked this one woman, UM who left her husband.
She was abused, She was living in her car with
her children. She got into a shelter. They saw how
smart she was. They got her into the community college,
(10:37):
and uh it changed her whole life. So UM, I
mentored her and I helped her write an essay, and
then she got into a four year college and now
she's an accountant and she has this great life. And
there's so many stories like that. I mean, there's just
hundreds of them out there. They're just a place for
(10:57):
people to get a second chance, or to advance the
skills that they already have, or change careers. I mean,
they really do so much, and UM, I just can't
say enough about them, as you probably can tell. So anyway, uh,
that's why I love teaching at community college and I
(11:17):
love hearing you talk about it, jil It really it
warms my heart so much because it just is conveyed
so clearly, and at the end when you said it's
really a second chance for so many people and how
they need a little bit of help and a little
bit of support to be able to find themselves, I
(11:38):
just I just love hearing you talk about it and
your experience I think goes right to the heart of
why we are partnering with the community colleges in our country. Well,
you know, like you said, we all need a little
help sometimes, and you've seen that for yourself. I mean,
you put eighteen million cracks in the ultimate glass ceiling.
(12:00):
But that comes with a lot of uncertainty and questions. So, Hilary,
did you have mentors and you know what were some
of the lessons that you learned from your mentors? Oh?
I did, and and honestly, I don't know how anybody
gets through life, let alone education, without having people that
can guide them offer constructive criticism. One of my great mentors,
(12:25):
um was one of my first bosses. When I went
to work for Marion Wright Edelman at the Children's Defense
fund and you know she, Um, she really not only
showed me the good that lawyers can do in trying
to defend people, particularly children who often need um some
extra help to protect them against all kinds of challenges,
(12:50):
but also how to do it um as a wife
and mother, you know someone who was, as you said,
raising children while while working while tying to make a difference.
And I can go all the way back to my
sixth grade teacher, someone Mrs Mrs King, who was so
encouraging to me. And and it's those memories of people who, yeah,
(13:13):
they did their job, I mean, obviously that's part of it,
but more than that, they took an interest in the
people they taught or that they worked with, and they
went the extra bit to try to find out what
could help that individual. And and I think that kind
of mentoring is so important, and it's important all stages
(13:34):
of our life. But you know, for me, obviously, UM,
I know that your education is never finished. I'm always
learning new things and in the world today, we have
to keep learning or we'll fall behind. And as you
rightly pointed out, some of the people that you were
teaching needed some additional help with technology and a lot
(13:57):
of the jobs our economy needs most. And I'm going
to put in a shameless plug and say, what a
great job your husband's administration is doing unemployment. And I'm
so so proud of that. But some of the jobs
that um, we're going to need u haven't even been invented.
And some of the jobs people are doing now weren't
(14:20):
around fifteen or twenty years ago. So, as someone who's
been involved with community colleges, how do we keep giving
students the education so that they can get the skills
they need as the workforce changes. And really there's no
better institution in our economy to do that than community colleges. Now,
(14:40):
I agree with you, and I think one of the things,
um you know, community colleges really have a major role
to play in that. And I've traveled to so many
community colleges and seen so many different programs, whether they're
in clean energy or technology. And I was just at
Intel and um at actually the president of Intel went
(15:02):
to community college and we connected right away, and here's
his company. They're making computer chips and he's hiring community
college students, and um, you know, really they it's all
about jobs. And so most of my students know that
they will have jobs when they get out because there's
(15:23):
all these partnerships and um, especially in the healthcare field.
I mean, we communities desperately need nurses and e m
t s especially during this pandemic, radiologists, ultrasound technicians, and
so they all know that they will have jobs when
they graduate. That's what community colleges do best to help
(15:48):
communities all all across the country. No matter what field
it's in, We'll be right back. You know. I've often
thought that community colleges could be one of our best
(16:09):
exports because it makes such a difference in our education system.
Now I agree with that, and you know, I traveled
to several UH Latin and Southern American countries and a
lot of them are starting UH community colleges because a
lot of their communities have some of the same needs
that we have. And I love, um, you know, I
(16:32):
love how Joe just gets all this and is putting
so much money into workforce development. I have to give
him my own plug, but nobody, you know, here's it
every night at the dinner table when I tell him
what's going on, and uh, you know, the kind of
programs that we have so anyway, but it's clearly something
that you understand as well. And you know, I was
(16:55):
so excited to know that c g I You is
partnering with community colleges this year and is working further
to diversify its global community of student and alumni leaders.
So I would love to know what excites you the
most about the student leaders coming out of colleges throughout
(17:16):
the world. Oh, it's so wonderful to look back on
the c g I use that we've held. We used
to of course hold them in person, which was really
thrilling to actually meet students from all over the world,
and then because the pandemic, you know, we had to
move to virtual, but we've kept it going and I
have to say several things really stand out. I mean,
(17:38):
it's a it's a self selected group people here about
c G I You, or maybe somebody recommends that they
look at it, and so they say, I'd like to
do that because I have an idea or I want
to meet people from everywhere across the globe. And so
the students come often with some specific ideas. I mean
we always have um some competitions around ideas for uh
(18:04):
new businesses or new job creation we have a a
coding contest that we give students a problem and how
do they come up with some kind of technical way
to address that problem. So I've just been so impressed
at the level of curiosity and passion and interest and determination. UM.
(18:29):
It's really been wonderful uh to see UH them. And
part of why we wanted to focus on UH community
colleges this year is because, as you said earlier, a
lot of people are going back to school people or
they're or they're coming into community colleges after taking time
off or or having a different set of experiences in
(18:53):
the work world or in their personal life. And you know,
we've got so many UM students who are hungry for
an education and frankly for the kind of mentoring that
you were talking about. UH. So when i see our
student body for c g IU, I'm so encouraged, and
I know that our world will be in good hands
(19:15):
if they get a chance to make their contributions. And
and we have hundreds and hundreds of students watching us
in this conversation, and I want to underscore something you
said because I know some of them really related to
the fact that you know they face challenges whether it's
finding childcare or supporting their parents while they're going to school,
(19:38):
or working a job full time while they're also trying
to get an education, but they have to pay the bills,
and those challenges got so much more complex during COVID.
And so the theme for this c g I You
meeting is about building resilience. And you know, that's something
(19:58):
that I think all of us have to learn in life, um,
over and over again, not just once. And you've been
such a role model in so many ways for so
many people. UM, and for the students who are watching.
Do you have any advice or any message for students
today coming out of a pandemic, coming into a lot
(20:20):
of uncertainty, trying to make sense of all of it,
about how they personally can find the resilience to keep
themselves going despite whatever setbacks they face. Well, this has been,
you know, such a tough year, and UM, you know,
my students honestly just inspire me every day. You know,
(20:41):
they had to deal with things that really no other
generation has had to deal with. And our world has
just changed in so many ways that I mean, heck,
we don't really fully understand yet, but but what we
do know is you know that you've made it this far,
and that says you know. That's what I say to
my students. You have such strength and grit, and I
(21:05):
hope that you know that you're proud of what you've accomplished,
because I feel so proud of them. And there was
a poet who once said, what matters most in life
is how well you walk through the fire. So my
message to the students is, sooner or later, we will
(21:26):
all have to walk through the fire, and some of
us stumble and fall, and maybe we'll feel alone, but
we're never alone. And sometimes people can't see that pain
that hides behind your smile, but if we give them
the chance, they can help us shoulder the weight of
(21:47):
our lives. And I think that, you know, we give
our hearts in little ways, like the words we use,
the conscious decisions we make to be present, the small
acts of iiness. And sometimes I think the most courageous
thing we can learn to do is lean on our communities.
(22:07):
And I think that's what we give to to each other.
You know, It's our our vulnerability, our brokenness, and the
chance to be someone else's strength in return. And I
think that that's what community colleges are they help students
find their confidence and build their skills and feel like
(22:30):
they're part of this big family that supports them and
they know that, um, they can go out into the
world and get great jobs and really and then in
turn build better communities. So UM, you know, I'll be
back there in the classroom tomorrow and uh, you know,
(22:51):
helping them move forward. And UH, like I said, Hillary,
I can't say enough good things about the power of
community colleges. So thanks for having me today. Oh, thank
you so very much. Honestly, that was such an incredible answer,
(23:11):
and your students are so lucky, uh to have you
in the classroom. And I just think every student watching
that answer, UM is going to take something away because
they they are going to feel that they have the
strength and and ability to continue to pursue their own dreams.
(23:32):
And I just can't thank you enough for joining us
and sharing your experience and sharing your heart, um with
all of the c g I students. Uh, you really
are making a difference. And I'm thrilled that more people
are going to be able to see and hear what
(23:53):
you say and take that to their own hearts. So
you make me more hopeful about our future. They make
me hopeful. My students make me hopeful. So thank you
Hillary for focusing on community colleges. It'll make a real difference.
Thank you, Thank you for everything you're doing. Our hearts
and our hearts and energy. Go with you, my friend,
(24:18):
take care of bye bye. Why am I telling you?
This is a production of Our Heart Radio, the Clinton
Foundation and at Will Medium. Our executive producers are Craigmanesssian
and Will Manadi. Our production team includes Jamison Katsufas, Tom Galton,
Sara Horowitz, and Jake Young, with production support from Liz
(24:38):
Rafferee and Josh Fornham. Original music by What White. Special
thanks to John Sykes, John Davidson on Hell, Orina, Corey Gansley,
Kevin thurm Oscar Flores, and all our dedicated staff and
partners at the Clinton Foundation. Hi, I'm a USh alexiad There.
(25:00):
I'm Senior Impact and Design Manager and a proud alumni
of the Clinton Global Initiative University c g i U.
President Clinton and Chelsea often say that you're never too
young to make a difference. That c g I you
were working to engage the next generation of leaders on
college campuses, across the country and around the world to
turn their big ideas for social change into meaningful action.
(25:21):
Through our year round program of mentorship, skills training, and
partnership building, we're cultivating a community of more than ten
thousand students and alumni who are committed to taking real,
concrete steps towards working together and solving the pressing global
challenges that affect us all from responding to COVID nineteen
to expanding access to clean water, to supporting refugees and
(25:42):
so much more. The students of c g I you
demonstrate the future of impact. Learn more about this work
and see how you can get involved visit www dot
Clinton Foundation dot org. Slash podcast
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