Jewel Bourne Interview

"Attending a community college changed my entire life."

Tell us a little about your background and your life growing up.

I was raised in Los Angeles and am the only daughter and very proud youngest child of Guyanese immigrants. My parents move to the United States was deeply motivated by a desire to provide opportunities for themselves and their children. Those motivations have carried me through my education and life pursuits. I am very privileged to be first generation in many ways — first generation in the United States, first-generation college student, and graduate. 

As a child of a pastor, I spent my weekends supporting my community, preparing meals, and providing child care, among other things. In combination with the importance of education being instilled in me at a young age, and being rooted in your community and showing up, I had a lot of questions about why things were and are the way they are. As a result, as a child and young adult, I had very strong interests in law.

What community college did you attend and why?

I attended Santa Monica College, in Santa Monica, California. Go Corsairs! I wish there was a more inspired response for my reasons for attending SMC, but truly it was the closest community college. It was easy to get to, just one bus ride away, and it was close to my job. Frankly, It was a matter of practicality.

Who were some individuals at your community college who helped shape your success and how did they do it?

It has been, and always will be, a network of folks. It is incredibly difficult for me to encapsulate my success in the space of my time at community college because my current success is a combination of all my experiences, and I firmly believe in honoring those who are in life, while they are here to receive. I hope you will indulge my response in acknowledging the plethora of folks who have contributed to my educational and professional accomplishments.

Without a doubt, my family has been the biggest supporters, cheerleaders, and champions. They have continually supported me in this long journey by providing rides, advice, and making sure there was food on the stove when I got home late from class, among a long list of other things. I do this with them and for them and never without them.

"Without a doubt, my family has been the biggest supporters, cheerleaders, and champions."

At my community college, it was the Black Collegians Center at Santa Monica College and the program director, Sherri Bradford. It was her investment in me and my academic goals that led me to the Center for Community College Partnerships (CCCP) at UCLA, as well as the intentional work of the center’s creators and longtime leaders and collaborators, Alfred Herrera, Santiago Bernal, and Lena Brown, creating a program and a network of individuals who celebrate transfer students, honor our experiences as racially minoritized communities, and provide space, deep care, and encouragement. It was CCCP and my work as a student peer advisor that led me to a career and into a master’s program, in which I was supported by Drs. Claudia Salcedo and Dr. Dimpal Jain.

The personal and professional connections made there led me to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where I have been uplifted by a village of individuals, including current and former research assistants. I have been encouraged, motivated, and held accountable by OCCRL’s previous director, Dr. Eboni Zamani-Gallaher, and our current director, Dr. Lorenzo Baber, as well as staff members.

My successes are rooted in a community of individuals, all of whom are not named here for the purposes of brevity; however, it is important for me to acknowledge that the support I have received has enabled me to be a part of larger communities of support that facilitated my educational, career, and life experiences and successes.

How has attending a community college influenced your outlook on education and life?

Attending a community college changed my entire life. As a first-generation college goer, my understanding of college was from TV and movies. I had no idea about how one applies to college, or anything about the application or admissions process. I just knew that I was supposed to go. Community college demystified the process for me, in a way that felt secure and safe and not as overwhelming.

Community college gave me an opportunity to explore my interests broadly and find myself, find what I wanted to do educationally and professionally. My professors and counselors saw me, acknowledged me, and encouraged me. They asked me and my classmates questions and worked with us and for us. These individuals in positions of esteem were transparent about their identities and intersections, came from similar experiences, spoke like me and many of classmates, used language that we understood, and included us in the process of education and learning.

For example, when something didn’t work for me, like a class at 1 p.m. in the afternoon, because I had to work, the counselor didn’t question it or make me explain. They simply found another class section and asked me if that would work better.

"When something didn’t work for me, like a class at 1 p.m. in the afternoon, because I had to work, the counselor didn’t question it or make me explain. They simply found another class section and asked me if that would work better."

I say all of this because in attending community college, I discovered how I want to be treated and how I aspire to treat and see others: as holistic, as people with intersections and nuances and complexities and similarities.

Attending a community college widened the world of possibilities and ideas. Working with my professors, counselors, fellow students, and peers underscored the necessity and beauty of a variety of paths and trajectories. Community college gave me a sense of liberation, agency, choice, and options.

How do you view community colleges as being institutions that provide equitable opportunities for students who are pursuing a postsecondary education?

If I am being honest, my view of community colleges as being institutions that provide equitable opportunities for students is twofold.

I have strong beliefs in the potential of community colleges to provide these opportunities; it can and does happen. My lived experience is one example of the many equitable possibilities; however, the width and depth of these opportunities are often individual rather than systemic.

Unfortunately, the reality is that success for racially minoritized students is one of luck or chance. It is about whom a student may have the chance to meet that provides the tools and information to be successful if they are in the right place at the right time.

Not everyone attending community colleges has access to the breadth of opportunities or information available at community colleges. This needs to change! We aren’t there yet, but we could be.

Community colleges continue to be viewed socially as a second choice, when in reality, for many of our students, for several reasons, community colleges are the first choice or only choice to begin postsecondary education, for either credentialing and/or transferring to a four-year institution.

In my experience as a student, practitioner, and researcher, there is a need for a change of the narrative regarding community colleges, community college attendees, what community colleges provide, and our success stories. There is also a need for an investment of time, money, and resources from our elected officials, lawmakers, and four-year institutions to commit to the promise and potential of community colleges. We have work to continue doing.

How did your learning and overall experiences at a community college lead to your further course of study and current career?

I feel incredibly blessed and fortunate to know that my community college experience is exactly what led to my career. It was certainly my experiences at community college, often being the only Black woman in my English courses, that prompted questions such as “Why am I the only one,” and further, "How do we work to change this?"

As I reflect on these experiences now, I am conscious that my career trajectory was deeply informed by a need for community.

In two ways, my community college experiences led to a career in “community college,” broadly.

I think about the Barbie movie meme in which Ken says “My job is ... .” And for me, my job is community college.

In my career as a practitioner, I met with students to provide resources and tools to ensure their well-being and success. In my career as a researcher, I ask questions and look for answers regarding community colleges and student experiences to provide best practices and recommendations to ensure success for these institutions and its students.

As an advocate, I have unique and privileged experiences to speak to policy makers and officials, as well as about my own experiences and the experiences of those that I work alongside, to ensure that there is a platform, an awareness and lasting commitments to the incredible institutions that changed my life and gave me the opportunity to pursue a career I love.

"As an advocate, I have unique and privileged experiences to speak to policy makers and officials, as well as about my own experiences and the experiences of those that I work alongside, to ensure that there is a platform."

Tell us something fun about yourself outside of work and education.

This is cheating a little bit, but my first major in college was fashion merchandising. My original career plan and dream job was to be a writer for Vogue, but very quickly and painfully I realized that I can’t sew and I’m not artistically inclined at all!

My experiences haven’t been easy. I’ve had many lessons I experienced without familial experiential knowledge. I have had to think through many of the questions I had that I didn’t know I should have or should be asking. However, I am grateful for these hard-won lessons because they have enabled my growth and opportunities to make them my own, for wisdom, and share them with the students and individuals I work with.