College Unbound Hosts In-Person, Socially Distanced Graduation One Student at a Time

Starting at 9AM, each student will deliver a speech to family and faculty reflecting on their work at CU and in the world. In this rolling ceremony, 12 students will be presented with their diploma and an award for their mastery of one of CU’s Big Ten leadership and change competencies. Each student will graduate CU with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a major in Organizational Leadership and Change.
 
CU is led by co-founders President Dennis Littky and Provost Adam Bush. “With more than 114,000 adults in Rhode Island who started college and didn’t finish, we are thrilled that more than 82% of the first independent class that started in 2016 have graduated within 4 years – many while working full-time and raising families,” said President Littky, who also co-founded The Met School and Big Picture Learning, now with 150 schools world-wide. “Just as our ceremony will focus on each student and their family individually, at CU we focus on success, one student at a time to make sure each student leads their own path to graduation,” added Provost Bush.

College Unbound’s mission is to reinvent the higher education experience for underserved adult learners, using a student-driven model of rigorous and engaged scholarship. At the center of each student’s learning at CU is a student-driven leadership and change project of their design. Each project directly relates to their passion, their work and their lives.
 
Graduate Lynn Corwin, who earned her CU degree thanks to an employer partnership with The United Way of Rhode Island, looks back on her journey with CU and reflects, “After quitting high school in my senior year, I thought my life would be a failure…I never thought I’d go back to school for my bachelor’s degree, but I’ve wanted to for more than 15 years. My mother, grandmother and grandfather always said I could do whatever I set my mind to, but I never believed it. It’s only because College Unbound came to my employer and asked us to give them an opportunity to bring their program to our organization. I had to get in to set an example for others. I never thought I’d stick with it. I thought about quitting several times but couldn’t let myself or my co-workers down. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family and friends, especially my mom and John Corwin. They supported me every step of the way the past 3 years. I’m now proud to say I have my bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership and Change. If you’ve ever wanted to get your degree but didn’t feel regular college was for you, check out College Unbound!”
 
The 8-hour rolling graduation ceremony will be live-streamed on Facebook.