What if community college could serve as a launchpad to the nation’s top universities?
In this episode, we sit down with Nolvia Delgado, Executive Director of the Kaplan Educational Foundation (KEF), a former KEF scholar herself, to explore how the foundation’s Kaplan Leadership Program helps first-generation and low-income students transfer from community colleges to some of the most prestigious four-year institutions in the country.
Delgado shares her own journey from Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) to Smith College, and the life-changing mentorship and financial support that made it possible. In conversation with The EDU Ledger host David Pluviose, she unpacks KEF’s innovative programs: from the Community College Bridge Program to the digital Transfer Hub, which are closing knowledge gaps, reshaping perceptions of community colleges, and proving that access and excellence can coexist.
Don’t miss this episode as it offers a masterclass in what real transformation looks like.
Key Points:
- Delgado’s Journey: From Dominican-born first-gen student at BMCC to Smith College alumna
- How KEF is reframing community college as the first two years of a four-year degree, not a lesser path.
- While only 14% of community college students nationwide earn a bachelor’s, over 90% of KEF scholars do.
- Secret to success: intensive mentorship, transfer guidance, and ongoing support through bachelor’s completion.
- A forthcoming digital platform giving nationwide access to transfer resources and partner school connections.
- The myth? Elite schools often meet full financial need; KEF scholars graduate with little to no debt.
- Delgado aims to scale KEF’s model so every community college student has a clear, supported path to a bachelor’s degree.
Quotes:
“For us, I think part of our magic sauce is closing that knowledge gap and really working with the scholars so that they understand all the different steps that are required for them to transfer and continuing to support them beyond graduation…we stay with them until they graduate [with] a bachelor's degree.”
“We teach our scholars that they need to advocate for themselves and make sure that they have everything that they need from their institutions when they get there. That's also part of it.”
“The goal is really to reach as many students as possible who are entering Community College, and to equip them with the tools, the resources, and the knowledge that they need to close that gap. So, of the 80% of students who are aspiring to earn a bachelor's, we don't have just 30% who are transferring.”
Resources:
Kaplan Educational Foundation Taps KEF Alum Nolvia Delgado as its Next Leader
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Closed captioning and live show transcription are available in the video for this episode.
In The Margins is produced by The EDU Ledger and edited by EPYC Media Network (visit at https://www.epyc.co/).
