For those in primarily two-year colleges like Bellevue College, an organization exists called the American Association of Community Colleges, which aims, among other things, to provide support for both students and faculty in public colleges. A particular branch of the AACC called the Council on Black American Affairs focuses specifically on black students at these colleges and addressing problems specific to the black college community.
In the coming weeks, the Western Division of the NCBAA will be hosting a local conference at BC on Oct. 25-26, 2013, to provide resources to students that will attend. “It’s really going to be a great conference,” said Beabe Akpojovwo, Administrative Assistant at the Bellevue College Office of Equity and Pluralism. Workshop topics include professional development, how to be a good student and financial literacy. Aside from workshops, there will also be motivational speakers.
There is a fee to attend the conference, but this year, BC will be funding 40 students (of any ethnicity or race) to attend. 10 of these positions are taken by Student Programs officials, including officers from the Black Student Union and Associated Student Government. The ASG members will be responsible for ushering attendees at the conference and providing guidance.
Funding will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. While the emphasis of the conference is on the black community, any student can attend, and many of the workshops will prove beneficial to all students, regardless of their racial background.
“I’m hoping that they’re expecting to come in and learn and glean from it, to help them find out how to be better students,” said Akpojovwo, on what to expect at the conference.
Seating at the conference will be very limitted. Students wishing to attend are encouraged to do so as soon as possible by contacting Nora Lance or Brandon Lueken in Student Programs C212 for more information concerning the application process.