Cambridge College Success Initiative Celebrates 10 Years

As college students across the country return to campus this September, Cambridge residents supported by the City’s College Success Initiative (CSI) are starting their fall semester at Bunker Hill Community College and UMass Boston. In addition to course schedules and textbooks, CSI students are beginning their semester with a critical resource: a College Success Coach dedicated to supporting their college journey. In honor of CSI’s 10th anniversary, we’re reflecting on the Initiative’s impact on more than 360 Cambridge residents’ college and career pathways over the past decade.

CSI was created in 2014 to advance the college completion rate of Cambridge residents who are historically underrepresented in higher education, including immigrants, first-generation students, and students from low-income households. The Initiative’s target populations include traditional high school graduates of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS), adult learners transitioning from the Community Learning Center’s Bridge to College Program, and young adults graduating from Just-A-Start's YouthBuild program. CSI is designed to support these students in completing a post-secondary degree (an Associate or Bachelor’s Degree) within 6 years of enrolling in higher education institutions.

“At the College Success Initiative, we are focused on persistence,” says Tawanya Garrett, Director of CSI. “Many CSI students are balancing jobs and family commitments in addition to their courseloads. Sometimes they need to drop a class or take a semester off to focus on other priorities. We are committed to supporting our students until they earn their degree.”

“Prior to CSI, many Cambridge students were enrolling in college but did not have the skills, knowledge, or continuing support they need to persist and succeed,” explains Sue Walsh, Assistant Director of Adult Services at the Department of Human Service Programs. “They were not always prepared for what to expect financially, socially, and academically or how to navigate an academic system. We needed to create an initiative to better prepare these Cambridge students for college and to provide support for students who have matriculated into college.”

In developing CSI, the City worked with the Cambridge Housing Authority, CRLS, and other community partners to identify common barriers to college access and persistence for low-income, underrepresented, immigrant, and first-generation college students. They also introduced the role of College Success Coaches.

“Our initiative’s model is unique in the level of individualized support that we provide to students,” explains Garrett. “We have three College Success Coaches who manage caseloads of students who attend Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) and UMass Boston. Coaches also keep in touch with many students who ‘stop out’ temporarily to help them re-enter their academic studies when they’re ready.”

College Success Coaches help students understand the academic system, refer them to community resources, and support them in advocating for what they need, inside and outside of the classroom. This relationship is critical to a student’s persistence to graduation.

“[My College Success Coach] helped me understand the procedures involved in registering, staying, and excelling in college,” says Mamadou Barry, a 2016 CRLS graduate and first-generation college student. “This included filling out FAFSA forms, learning how to register for classes, mapping out curriculum to best prepare for a course, and understanding how to talk to a professor to resolve an issue.”

At a recent CSI event, Barry reflected on how his College Success Coach even helped select classes that were in accessible locations when he was injured with a broken leg. With CSI’s support, Barry earned his associate’s degree at BHCC, transferred to Lesley University and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree. He is now pursuing a Master’s degree track.

Over the past 10 years, CSI has maintained and strengthened its relationships with City and community partners to create a coordinated network that supports CSI students in pursuing academic and career pathways. This includes referrals to programs offered through the City’s Office of Workforce Development (OWD).

After CSI student Christian Lessage graduated from BHCC in 2022 with a degree in Network Administration, his College Success Coach referred him to OWD’s Cambridge Employment Program (CEP). “I got free help on my resume from CEP,” he explains. His improved resume helped him secure a job as a Technology Support Specialist.

Originally from Ethiopia, Birtukan (“Birti”) emigrated to Cambridge with her mother in 2016 and graduated from CRLS in 2020. Her College Success Coach and tutor from CSI’s partner program Enroot helped her transition to online learning when she enrolled in computer programming courses at BHCC. She transferred to UMass Boston and continued pursuing her Bachelor’s degree while working in positions at the City’s Personnel Office and as a branch substitute at Cambridge Public Library. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology from UMass Boston in 2022, specializing in Systems Administration.

Barry, Lessage, and Birti are just three examples of how CSI supports students in persisting through work responsibilities, family commitments, institutional barriers – even injuries and pandemics – in order to attain their college degrees, begin fulfilling careers, and pursue their dreams.

“There is not a “right way” to achieve your academic goals, and the path to a college degree looks different for everyone,” says Garrett. “At CSI, we understand that, we tailor our support to our students’ needs, and above all: we stick with our students.”

For more information about the College Success Initaitive, visit www.cambridgema.gov/collegesuccess or contact collegesuccess@cambridgema.gov. 

Photo Descriptions:

Top Photo: 2024 College Success Initiative graduates pose with CSI staff, City staff, elected officials, and representatives from partner organizations at the CSI graduation in June.

2nd Photo: A College Success coach meets with a CSI student.

3rd Photo: CSI graduate Mamadou Barry and his College Success Coach at Bunker Hill Community College's graduation ceremony in 2021.

Bottom photo: CSI Director Tawanya Garrett (left), CSI graduate Birti, and City Councillor Sumbul Siddiqui pose at the CSI graduation ceremony in 2022.