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For our sixth and final conversation, we are joined by two CPS alumni, Carmen and LaShawndra, who recently graduated from Johnson College Prep, a Noble Charter Network high school in Englewood. Both students left Chicago in August to embark on their college journeys: Carmen at the University of Illinois, a large public institution, and LaShawndra at Albion, a small liberal arts college in rural Michigan. During the conversation, they offer us a look into the widely varying rules and policies that colleges have imposed to keep students and surrounding communities safe. They also speak to the impact of these rules and policies on their mental health and their ability to build a support system on campus. Visit the episode page: https://toandthrough.uchicago.edu/story/experts-experience-episode-6

For our fifth conversation, we are joined by Sherelin and Yessenia, two CPS alumni who are currently enrolled in Roosevelt University and Dominican University. We focus on how they navigate their campuses as DACA students and their ideas about how colleges can better act as allies for DACA recipients and undocumented students. Check out the episode to learn more about what DACA is and how the Supreme Court's recent decision regarding DACA has impacted students' college persistence journeys. To donate to Dominican University's emergency fund for DACA students or Undocumented and Immigrant Allyance, visit the university's Student Relief Fund webpage. In the "Comments" section, please write where you would like your donation to go: "for SFIRE/DACA renewals" or "for the Undocumented and Immigrant Allyance." Funds which go to the former are directly given to students who apply for emergency grants, and funds which go to the latter are used for Undocumented and Immigrant Allyance's campus fundraising events.

For our fourth conversation, we are joined again by two CPS alumni, Guillermo and Jameelah, who graduated this spring from Stanford University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As in Episode 3, the topic of this conversation with Guillermo and Jameelah is different from our past topics. While Experts by Experience is primarily focused on how CPS alumni are navigating college during the COVID-19 pandemic, to truly recognize their experiences, we must also seek to understand how the pandemic has exacerbated existing structures that perpetuate inequalities and racism. Accordingly, this episode is dedicated to Guillermo and Jameelah's reflections on the Class of 2020's college journey, beginning with the 2016 presidential election and ending with nationwide protests against racial violence and injustice, as well as the need for universities to design and implement actively anti-racist policies.

Experts by Experience is a series of discussions with college students from Chicago who are navigating the current rupture in their educational journeys. For our third conversation, we are joined by two CPS alumni, Guillermo and Jameelah, who graduated this spring from Stanford University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The topic of our conversation with Guillermo and Jameelah is different from our past topics: we focus on how they navigated through predominantly white institutions as students of color and the support systems that helped them make it through. This information is increasingly valuable as recent research from the National Student Clearinghouse shows that Black and Latinx students’ college persistence journeys have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 public health crisis.  Tune in again soon for the second installment of our conversation with Guillermo and Jameelah in which they reflect upon their college journeys, beginning with the 2016 presidential election and ending with nationwide protests against racial violence and injustice, as well as how universities can design and implement actively anti-racist policies.

Experts by Experience is a series of discussions with college students from Chicago who are navigating the current rupture in their educational journeys. For our second conversation, we are joined by two CPS graduates, Kiara and Yoselin, who are currently enrolled in City Colleges of Chicago. We focus on how they have been navigating the shift to online instruction and the impact of the exclusion of undocumented students in coronavirus college relief.

Experts by Experience is a series of discussions with college students from Chicago who are navigating the current rupture in their educational journeys. Through our monthly discussions with students, we aim to shed light on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on young Chicagoans who are pursuing higher education. These discussions provide opportunities for students to share their insights on how educators, policymakers, and college success practitioners can best support them through this new normal. These discussions also highlight the innovative ways that students themselves are adjusting in real time to rapidly evolving conditions. For our first conversation, we are joined by 2 CPS graduates, Yessica and Yahriel, currently enrolled in 4-year institutions. We focus on how they have been navigating their transitions away from their physical campuses and the college communities many students have left behind in the last few weeks. We accept that these discussions do not provide solutions—they highlight dilemmas, and you may be left with more questions than answers. To be clear, while we are elevating the voices of currently enrolled students through these discussions, these are not the only young people in need of support right now. If one of the questions you have after listening to this conversation is “What can I do?”, we suggest you start by reach out to the young people in your life—those who are enrolled and not—to ask them what they need, how you can be of help, or even just to simply check in. If you are a student who is interested in participating in a future discussion, please reach out to us at toandthrough@uchicago.edu.