Sep. 23, 2022

NACAC OR NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGE ADMISSION COUNSELING EMPOWERS MEMBERS IN ADDRESSING EQUITY

One of the 17 sustainable development goals of the United Nations is Education which is related to the goal on Poverty alleviation and health & wellness as a social determinant of health .
At a time when many are questioning the importance of college education , the cost of tuition , room and boarding and how to succeed in chosen career paths , college admission counselors and counseling is very important so that students make strategic decisions , stay in school and finish their chosen fields of study .
NACAC has put together a great annual conference 2022 , and through it , empowering college admission professionals through education sessions , advocacy and networking communities and or opportunities .
Minority communities are still grappling with inadequate college graduates and or much drop outs partly because of lack of college admission counsellors who are culturally competent to address the specific problems related to those communities .
Covid- 19 pandemic also revealed that health inequities were related to the preexisting conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes that contributed to many Covid-19 deaths in the minority communities including African American . The preexisting conditions alluded can easily be addressed through health education besides the fact that students in college are better informed and could easily understand health information and communication material and resources made available to them .
College admission counselors are therefore more needed from among the minority communities to address the Equity issues .
Mrs. Qwame Nelloms , a college admission counselor in University of Houston Clear lake campus spoke to the Editor of HealthnDevelopment magazine about her work , how as a mother of six children and married , she faces many challenges but through hard work and perseverance carries on .
She is calling on more students in the African American communities to go to college and become college admission counselors .
She has advised her fellow African American college admission counselors to be persistent notwithstanding their every day challenges in the career .
As a member of NACAC , she benefits from the the conference education , community networking and the advocacy her organization does for the good of all members .
by
Dr . Ntuba AKwo Thompson