California State University-Bakersfield issued the following announcement on Jan. 20.
Alexis Brown didn’t know where to go or what to do when she showed up at Bakersfield College in July 2019 to register for classes at freshman orientation and somehow missed the sessions.
So her mother told her to call a woman whose information she saw on a flyer advertising the campus’ Umoja program: Dr. Paula Parks.
Parks answered her phone and not only told Brown where to go but stayed on the line with her as she signed up for her first college courses.
“It was like an hour, hour-and-a-half phone call,“ said Brown, now a sophomore double majoring in nursing and psychology. “I don’t know if she was busy or not but for her to sit there on the phone with me? It told me a lot about her character.”
Parks has been going way above and beyond for students at Bakersfield College since joining it as a journalist interested in a part-time teaching career 25 years ago.
When very few students were getting through remedial English courses and into degree-applicable ones, Parks led a rewriting of the curriculum to get them on a faster path to graduation. When she saw Black students faring worst in almost all success categories, she launched a program for them integrating academics, support services and cultural enrichment that is narrowing achievement gaps.
If students struggle with transportation, Parks finds them bus passes, Brown said. If they can’t afford food or school supplies, she offers them Walmart or Target gift cards. And if they hit rock bottom at home or school, she consoles them.
“She has always been a listening ear to all of her students,” Brown said. “No matter how horrible it is, how concerning, she will sit there and listen to you and she will let you cry and she will make sure that you get back up and on your feet.”
Original source can be found here.
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