When I received my letter from Temple University accepting me into the dual admissions program, I was ecstatic and slightly nervous. I entered the Community College of Philadelphia with the goal of transferring to Temple University to complete a degree in journalism. This has been my dream for some time. I have been writing and regarded…
For young black men in Philadelphia, sometimes just walking down the street is all it takes to earn a two-month stint in jail. On Dec. 8 2010, then-18-year-old Isaiah Smith was just returning from visiting his cousin, when he noticed two police officers who were patrolling the area peering out at him from their squad…
In this first edition of a Broke in Philly-adjacent reporting series about unsung community leaders, the Pomona Cherokee Civic Council’s president describes people as the neighborhood’s greatest resource.
The closest that I ever came to becoming a professional tap dancers was watching television in the late 1990s. On the “The Jamie Foxx Show” or “Saturday Night Live,” I would occasionally catch a dancer performing something fantastic. I was captivated by their fluid movement, as if their art were just second nature to them….
The Deputy Editors of the Mighty Post, a blogging site for Philadelphia’s youth that launched in early February, arrive at their headquarters in South Street, a Mecca of shops and eateries, for their weekly Monday meetings. They begin brainstorming ideas to write for future posts. Prom, politics, and education are only a few topics that…
Dysfunctional families, distrust of the system, the lack of affordable housing — there are so many situations that could influence why a person can become homeless that others might not consider as they walk past those experiencing it. “I think we tend to look for easy answers because homelessness is horrible and scary and you want that easy…
The Consular Corps Association of Philadelphia (CCAP) is the oldest association of foreign consuls in the United States, encompassing representatives from over 30 countries around the globe. Members of CCAP are responsible for enhancing and coordinating relations between their respective countries and the greater Philadelphia region. To Krista Bard, CCAP’s newly appointed president, that responsibility…
Roxanna Encarnación, a Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) came to the U.S. in her early teens and went straight to CCP to obtain her education. An alumni of the 2010 class, Encarnación now works as a loan servicer at Finanta in Philadelphia. “It was really eye opening,” Encarnación said of her time attending classes for the first time at…
There are a lot of things you learn very quickly as a college student. One is that there may be a few classes that you wish you never had to take. At Community College of Philadelphia, I certainly had a few – basic English and math, to be exact – but in the end it…
Students gathered at the School District’s headquarters late Thursday afternoon to participate in a “die-in” to protest the grand jury decisions not to indict police officers in the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. They also honored the death of Laporshia Massey, a Philadelphia student who died last year after suffering an asthma attack…