Your questions answered on how to enroll to HCC for $20

Do you have $20? If you do, Houston Community College can change your life by putting you on the road to a fulfilling career. Through HCC's Adult Education Program, a $20 application fee can turn someone's life around in less than 12 weeks by earning a workforce certificate. Get your questions answered and learn about ways to get a degree and upskill your life.

We were live with Houston Community College experts to answer your questions about how students can go right to work in careers within the five Career4U Academy programs - business, construction, healthcare, IT and its newest and most high-demand field, manufacturing.

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MODERATOR:

Dr. Christina Robinson, Ed.D., CPP - Executive Director - Adult Education and Literacy Programs

Dr. Christina Robinson currently serves as the Executive Director of Adult Education and Literacy Programs for the Houston Community College System, where she oversees one of the largest grant-funded adult education and integrated workforce programs in the state of Texas with over $5 million in grant funding. Dr. Robinson spearheaded the creation of the "Change Your Life for $20" program and Career4U Academy. An accomplished leader and champion of higher learning, she has been recognized for her leadership both locally and nationally. Dr. Robinson has been honored as the top 30 Most Influential Women in Houston and Top Ten Most Influential Women by Houston Woman magazine. Robinson serves on the City of Houston Advisory Board for (MOAL) The Mayor's Office of Adult Literacy. Having earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Texas A&M University and a Master of Arts in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix, Dr. Robinson received her doctorate in Community College Leadership from The Roueche Graduate Center at National American University with a dissertation on, "What Can Higher Education Learn from Healthcare Innovation?"

SPEAKERS:

Speaker: Alberto Urbina - Dean - Material Science/Smart Manufacturing Center of Excellence

Alberto Urbina is a former welder, HCC graduate, and the Dean of HCC's Material Science & Smart Manufacturing Center of Excellence. He started his professional career as a welder and pipefitter in Southeast Texas's industrial construction sector. He graduated from HCC and transferred to the University of Houston-Downtown where he graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering. Urbina completed graduate studies at The Ohio State University in Welding Engineering and holds a master's degree from The University of Texas at Arlington in Educational Leadership. He holds several professional certifications including, Certified Welding Inspector - American Welding Society, Level II Inspector - American Society of Non-Destructive Testing, Registered Engineer - Texas Board of Professional Engineers, Industrial Pipefitter - National Center for Construction Education & Research, and Certified Educator - Texas State Board of Educator Certification.

Speaker: Nakia Edwards - Program Director - Workforce and Career Training - Adult Education and Literacy Programs

Nakia W. Edwards earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Texas Southern University and a Master of Arts in Counseling from Prairie View A& M University. He has worked for and consulted with several local agencies and institutions of faith, facilitating education programs focused on self-sufficiency, workforce development, healthy marriages and relationships, effective parenting, and fatherhood. Edwards also fulfilled a federal contract as a Focus Group Coordinator of a national research evaluation study of Building Strong Families, where he conducted focus groups across the country. Since 2006, Edwards has been in leadership roles in AVANCE Houston, Inc., where he combined a focus of self-sustainability and workforce for grants totaling $3.1 million dollars, prior to his promotion to Assistant Director. As Assistant Director, he oversaw a local grant serving youth, totaling in $10 million dollars.

Edwards now serves in Houston Community College under the Adult Education and Literacy program as the Program Director of Workforce and Career Training, where he oversees the operations of the Career4U Academy, offering scholarships to students in five major industries. He assisted in the creation of Career 4U Academy, a fully grant-funded program that is part of the "Change Your Life for $20" marketing campaign.

Speaker: Ronald E. Anderson, J.D. - Teacher Supervisor - Adult Education and Literacy Program

Ronald E. Anderson, J.D., is a Teacher Supervisor at Houston Community College, Adult Education & Literacy Program, Northwest College. Originally from Los Angeles, California, he comes from a family of educators-his mother and aunt were teachers, and his sister was a school physiologist, all for more than 30 years. He says education is in his "DNA" because after 15 years of practicing law, he started his journey in education with a local Charter School in Houston as a teacher and administrator. Anderson quickly saw the challenge confronting Charter Schools when he had a limited budget to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers, and they were having a yearly turnover of 60 percent. So, in 2001, he launched a recruiting program at his school to find those highly qualified TEA-licensed teachers that would work within the Charter School budget. He merged his legal experience, business experience and knowledge of the TEA licensing process to find internationally licensed teachers who qualified for licenses in Texas & New Mexico. In 2009 he extended his newfound mission to join Houston Community College's Adult Education & Literacy program, assisting internationally licensed and trained professional in Houston.

Speaker: Elizabeth Guerrero-Lopez - Teacher Supervisor - Adult Education and Literacy Program

Elizabeth Guerrero-Lopez is a native Houstonian, who moved with her parents' to their native country to study Spanish and learn the culture of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. During her summer vacations, along with her father and older sister, she participated as an ESL student in the Adult Education Program at the Magnolia Center Neighborhood Clinic. Guerrero-Lopez later returned to Houston to complete high school and then attended Houston Community College (HCC) where she earned her Associate of Arts and later earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Houston.

She became an instructor for Adult Education where she taught ESL, EL Civics and GED. In 2015, she became a Teacher Supervisor in the AEL Program at HCC. In addition to her educational profession, Guerrero-Lopez has recently added the title of a "momager", managing her sons' band called "Los Cerritenses de la H".