OPINION: A college degree opens doors, but only when we remove obstacles for young people
America’s future depends on more first-generation students from underestimated communities earning an affordable bachelor’s degree
This story by Shirley M. Collado, Ph.D. was original published July 7, 2025 in The Hechinger Report. The Hechinger Report is a national nonprofit newsroom that reports on one topic: education.
“I recently stood before hundreds of young people in California’s Central Valley; more than 60 percent were on that day becoming the first in their family to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Their very presence at University of California, Merced’s spring commencement ceremony disrupted a major narrative in our nation about who college is for — and the value of a degree.
Many of these young people arrived already balancing jobs, caregiving responsibilities and family obligations. Many were Pell Grant-eligible and came from communities that are constantly underestimated and where a higher education experience is a rarity.”
These students graduated college at a critical moment in American history: a time when the value of a bachelor’s degree is being called into question, when public trust in higher education is vulnerable and when supports for first-generation college students are eroding. Yet an affordable bachelor’s degree remains the No. 1 lever for financial, professional and social mobility in this country.