Students Deserve a Say: Campaign Fellows Gain Hands-On Advocacy Experience 

In the lingo of higher education, Paul Medina is considered a “nontraditional student,” meaning he did not earn a bachelor’s degree immediately after graduating high school. Instead, he trained as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), working for an ambulance company for 10 years. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he worried for the safety of an immuno-compromised family member in his household. He left his job and embraced the opportunity for a career shift.  

Today, he is pursuing dual Associate Degrees for Transfer (ADTs): in Public Policy, Law, and Society at East Los Angeles College (ELAC) , and in African American Studies and Sociology at Compton College. He hopes to transfer to Georgetown and work in the cyber-security field. 

But Paul’s story, while specific, is not unusual. Forty-two percent of students enrolled at California Community Colleges (CCC) are 25 or older, suggesting that “nontraditional” may be the new “traditional.” As a Public Affairs Fellow at the Campaign for College Opportunity, and in his other higher ed advocacy work, Paul hopes to speak up on behalf of students like him.  

“Representation matters. Being a fellow here at my age, and getting the tools to address systemic barriers, is a huge benefit,” Paul says. “You don’t see a lot of adult learners in student government.” 

He hopes to change that. Judging by the number of applications the Campaign received for our most recent paid fellowship positions—140 for 3 openings on our Policy Team—students of all stripes are eager to make an impact on systems that present them with both opportunities and barriers. 

The Campaign hosts 7 to 10 fellows annually across our Policy, Research, Public Affairs, and Communications teams, thanks in part to grants from the ECMC Foundation and the Latino Community Foundation. While the duties differ from one department to another, all are designed to give hands-on experience to students who want to impact the field of higher education while gaining skills that will help them in their studies and careers. 

Research Fellow Yehuda Potash says, “I want to be a policy data analyst or researcher in the future, so [this fellowship] has been a really helpful experience…. I’ve enjoyed the work so far, which has validated that I want to do this data-focused work for an advocacy organization.” 

The Campaign hosted 2 Policy Fellows last year. In addition to participating in meetings with policymakers and learning more about the state legislative process, both fellows completed capstone projects on topics of their choosing.  

Policy Fellow Soha Mansoor presented “Transfer Beyond California: A Summary of Innovating for Higher Education Across the Country.” Policy Fellow Karla Rodriguez Beltran reported on “Undocumented Student Support in California’s Community Colleges: Findings and Policy Recommendations.” 

Former Campaign Fellows have gone on to work in academia, government, and philanthropy, among other fields. Many have become full-time staff at the Campaign, too: Director of Strategic Communications Amber Roman, Director of Policy Impact Marisa Johnson, Public Affairs Manager Ashley Tejada, and Policy Analyst Jewel Bourne all started as fellows. 

Jewel, a Ph.D. student in Educational Policy, Organization, and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, joined the Campaign as a Policy Fellow in March 2023. Focusing on transfer policy, she worked with our Policy Team on both state and federal legislation. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling against the consideration of race in college admissions, the Campaign responded to the need for education and conversation around additional paths to equity in higher education. Jewel reviewed reports from the Public Policy Institute of California and other resources and summarized them for policymakers. One of her goals was to paint a picture of the national transfer landscape. 

“There’s no national data about transfer,” Jewel notes. “So I went state by state, gathering and comparing data and preparing it in a way that policymakers could digest. I learned a lot about writing for policy, which is very different from academic writing.” 

Paul sees his Campaign fellowship as part of a larger effort to take a leadership role and promote diversity—of both identity and experience—in the spaces he inhabits. He served as Student Trustee on the Compton College Board of Trustees and Student Body President at Compton College. In 2021-2022 he served on the Board of Directors for  the statewide Student Senate for California Community Colleges, advocating for student-centered legislation and governance, and from 2022-2024 he served on the California Community Colleges Board of Governors.  Simultaneously, Paul served on Board of Governors for Calbright College, an online college dedicated to serving working students ages 25 to 34. 

In 2022, he was appointed to serve on the AB 928 Associate Degree for Transfer Intersegmental Committee Implementation Committee Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR). As the only CCC student on the Committee, he caught the attention of Campaign President Jessie Ryan, who encouraged his growth and advocacy. 

“I still have imposter syndrome,” Paul admits. “But I want to take on the world. On the Board of Governors, I took every opportunity to mention adult learners. I started a conversation about credit for prior learning, short-term classes, and other things that benefit adult learners,” a group that includes military veterans, parents, and previously incarcerated students.  

Looking ahead, he is brimming with ideas for how his work in higher education policy and advocacy will intersect with his career in cyber-security.  

“I encourage STEM students to advocate,” Paul says, “because they’re affected by national and state policy too. A lot of the jobs that got slashed [during the recent purge of federal jobs] were things that the STEM community is impacted by. It’s crucial for everyone to be in contact with their legislative officials. Thinking we are voiceless is what messes with us. Go out and march. Don’t let people shut you down.” 

Meet our new fellows

Paul Medina

Public Affairs Manager

Nancy Ohia

Policy Fellow

Sukai Kato-Hopkins

Research Fellow

Robby Born

Research Fellow

Yehuda Potash

Research Fellow

Carlos Rodriguez

Legislative Affairs Fellow

To learn more about the Campaign’s fellowship program, go here. To make more fellowships possible and to help more students achieve their college dreams, please consider donating to the Campaign.