The transition to college is challenging, especially for BPS graduates who are first generation college students and are unfamiliar with the academic, administrative, and financial requirements. Working at Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) and UMass Boston (UMB), PIC postsecondary coaches help students navigate the transition from high school to college and make progress toward a degree and a career. Coaches connect students with college and community resources while providing them with guidance and support to successfully navigate the years ahead.
What PIC Coaches Do
PIC postsecondary coaches work with BPS graduates who are attending BHCC and UMB to help them navigate college and prepare for their careers. With pathways into meaningful employment as a goal, coaches help students explore careers, choose a major, transfer credits to other colleges, access financial aid, and land an internship. Coaches also assist students with personal challenges related to work, transportation, health, finances and family responsibilities. A key objective of the process is to empower young people to navigate systems and decisions on their own as they reach adulthood.
HOPE Forward Initiative
PIC HOPE Forward coaches focus on Black and Latino young men. These coaches work in collaboration with BHCC’s HOPE program (Halting Oppressive Pathways in Education), an asset-based, student-centered initiative that works to examine and eliminate the social, institutional, and academic barriers that often prevent males of color from achieving their full potential at BHCC and beyond. In addition to coaching, HOPE Forward students have access to community gatherings and seminars on history, culture, race, healing, and empowerment.
Career Coaching
As PIC students at BHCC or UMB approach graduation, PIC career coaches provide next-step, specialized support. They help students access internships, career planning, job training, and continuing education to help them build their networks and transition into a fulfilling and life-sustaining career.
For more information on PIC’s college coaching, contact Annabelle Cataloni, Assistant Director for Postsecondary Education
Shavonne Schofield knows personally that the PIC postsecondary team is quick to provide a helping hand. She secured an internship through the PIC during high school, worked with the postsecondary team while studying at Bunker Hill Community College, and went on to receive her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Bridgewater State University (BSU) before landing a job at Mass General Hospital. She hasn’t been on this journey alone—the postsecondary team has been in her corner the whole time.