Student government vice president Chalisa Thompson freely shares her passion for Highline College. Her passion for one program in particular — Umoja Black Scholars — caught the attention of many attending the Black Education Strategy Roundtable conference, where she was a student panelist.

After her Nov. 2 talk, she spoke with Seattle Times reporter Neal Morton. Umoja’s success helping students like Thompson prompted Morton and photographer Ellen Banner to report on the program as part of the paper’s Education Lab project, which highlights promising approaches in education.

Liz Word was instrumental in bringing the Umoja program to Highline and serves as its coordinator.

The story also appeared in the Nov. 18 print edition of the Seattle Times with the headline, “Black Students at Highline College Excel, Thanks to ‘Unity’ Program.”

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In“Why I Do What I Do,” Liz Word shares how her background propels her work with underrepresented students in higher education. Word is a tenured faculty member in communication studies. The article ran in the Aug. 5, 2016, edition of the Federal Way Mirror.

Liz Word also shared a bit about Umoja’s benefits in the Jan. 13, 2016, Seattle Times article, “Full Time Beats Part Time in Study of Community-College Success.”

In “Annual Summit Supports Student Success,” students Christopher Robinson and Josephus Tolo, who were part of the first Umoja cohort on Highline’s campus, talk about the importance of a college education.