ALC Student Attends Spring 2025 Work Colleges Consortium Event
Each semester, ALC students travel with a staff representative to meet with the Work Colleges Consortium and participate in service projects. Eight colleges comprise the Work Colleges Consortium, which is a group of four-year degree-granting institutions that require all resident students to participate in a comprehensive work-learning service program for all four years of enrollment. Students are given responsibility, relied upon, and gain valuable work experience, all while reducing the cost of education. The work college model is student-centered and designed to enhance and enrich the educational experience. During the spring semester, ALC Marketing and Communications Student Worker Allison Hanlon participated in the event in Washington, D.C. Below is her story.
I was invited to attend the Washington D.C. 2025 Work Colleges Consortium (WCC) along with fellow students Kamryn Hoiska, Kolby Combs, and Zachary Willis. During this semester’s trip, we gathered in Washington, D.C., to learn about the work programs from other schools and the students’ experiences at their respective institutions. Work colleges are a unique concept, and discussing our experiences with other students that we related to and connected with by sharing our own stories, daily routines, and work positions created an awesome environment. There was an air of friendliness among the group, and no one acted like strangers; any social barriers fell, and by the time the trip was over, we all knew each other’s names.
Learning about everyone’s college and how it compares and differs from Alice Lloyd’s is so interesting! We were able to learn about what they do for their work study and how it helps pay for their education. One of the best parts of the consortium making new friends while you’re there. My friend and roommate for the trip, Kamryn Hoiska, said, “Stella (Assistant Director of the Work Colleges Consortium) had us go around the room and learn each other’s names, schools, and a fun fact about one another. We came to Washington as strangers, but we all left as friends.”
During our meetings, we even met members of the United States Department of Education (ED). We were able to ask them about their motivation and their jobs and listen to the stories they shared with us. It was an honor to get to personally thank them for their work for work colleges. Kamryn said that, as an education major at the College, she particularly enjoyed meeting and discussing important topics with the ED staff. Our ALC group also met with U.S. Congressman Hal Rogers. I shared my personal experience at Alice Lloyd and how it has made a debt-free education possible for me and so many others here in Kentucky. Another of my classmates on the trip, Kolby Combs, said, “My favorite part of the trip was getting to visit our state representatives and staffers on the Hill. It was a great experience to get to advocate for our school and the Consortium and show our thanks to the people who help support the great opportunity we get to go to a work-study college.”
In our free time, we were able to visit many of our nation’s historic landmarks and museums. This was a dream come true for me, because I am really invested in our nation’s history, and I enjoy any museum I get to go to. Jonathan Blair, Director of Foundations and Corporate Giving at ALC joined us this year as our staff representative and chaperone. He says, “One of the many benefits of WCC meetings is providing students with experiences they might not have any other way, especially in terms of seeing new places. The setting of our nation’s capital provided an amazing backdrop for discussions about the work-study model and higher education. The students were afforded the opportunity to visit many historic landmarks and learn a great deal about our nation’s government, founding, and history.”
At the end of the week, the entire consortium gathered in Oronoco Bay Park to participate in a service project. As we worked diligently to clean up the park, we had a wonderful time swapping stories and sharing laughs and smiles. We picked up trash from the water and the park itself, and the project was very successful. After arriving home to Pippa Passes, we received a message from Stella with wonderful news. She told us that, “after the service project, as a few were still standing in the park, a lady came up to ask who we were. She said she lived nearby and walked in the park every day and that earlier, she had seen us picking up trash. She said that as she was walking around, she could hear good conversation and laughter. She observed the way everyone was interacting and said that seeing so much respect for each other and the community had brought her joy. She also mentioned that several weeks ago, when the plane crashed into the river, there were Mourning walks along the river and that the energy in the parks had been somber and dark ever since. But that day, when we were there cleaning up, she felt like the positive energy was returning and said her ‘soul feels lighter’.”
It’s an incredible feeling to know that, even if we didn’t get every piece of trash in the park, we still made a positive impact on the community that day. I had the time of my life on the trip, and I learned so many things that I will carry with me. I am grateful to Alice Lloyd and the Work Colleges Consortium for the experience.
By Student Contributor Allison Hanlon
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