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From YouTube: From City Hall - Ward 3
Description
Oklahoma City Ward 3 Councilman Larry McAtee talks with Jerry Steward, the new president of Oklahoma City Community College.
A
A
B
I
was
born,
I
was
raised
out
in
eastern
Oklahoma
County
out
in
the
country.
Then
it's
grown
up
now
I
was
raised
in
poverty,
came
from
a
very,
very
poor
background
and
family
of
eight
children,
and
we
were
had
very
very
difficult.
Circumstances
went
to
the
public
schools
in
Oklahoma,
City
went
to
the
University
of
Central
Oklahoma
graduated
there
and
graduated
from
the
oh,
you
law
school
in
1973,
so.
A
A
B
Had
been
associated
with
Oklahoma
City,
Community
College
in
one
capacity
or
another
for
over
40
years,
the
previous
president,
my
predecessor,
was
retiring
and
I
was
executive.
Vice
president
had
been
for
about
eight
years,
and
I
believe
that
I
knew
the
college
knew
the
people
knew
the
processes.
I
think
I
understood
some
of
the
challenges
that
we
were
going
to
face
and
while
they
are
very
difficult,
I
believe
that
I
could
successfully
lead
to
college
through
those
challenges.
A
B
Everybody
knows
about
the
funding
chat.
Ons
is
it's
not
just
here,
but
elsewhere
we
have,
we
have
more
students
to
educate
and
many
fewer
dollars
to
do
it,
and
that
is
a
challenge,
but
we
also
have
challenges
we
have.
We
have
students
who
live
in
poverty,
we
have
students
who
are
first-generation
larry.
Fifty-Seven
percent
of
our
students
are
first-generation
students.
That
means
that
no
one
in
their
family
has
gone
to
college.
Before
and
that's
a
that's
a
big
challenge.
B
B
A
When
you
say
student,
my
background
is
a
little
bit
different.
I.
Think
of
a
student
is
somebody
who's.
Just
graduated
from
high
school
is
17
or
18
years
in
age
is
going
to
go
to
college
for
four
years,
get
a
degree
and
go
out
into
the
world,
but
today's
student
are
not
like
that,
are
they?
They
are
not.
B
Gonna,
I'm
going
to
talk
to
you
about
our
typical
student,
she's
she's,
a
young
woman
in
her
late
20s
or
early
30s.
She
has
a
couple
of
children,
she's,
a
single
parent
she
gets
up
in
the
morning
and
she
takes.
She
gets
the
kids
ready
for
school
or
daycare,
and
she
and
she
gets
in
her
old
car.
That's
not
very
good,
a
reliable
and
she
takes
them
to
daycare
or
school.
She
goes
to
a
job,
that's
not
meeting
her
needs
and
is
usually
pretty
menial.
B
That's
why
she
wants
an
education
and
then
she
she
works
all
day.
She
picks
the
kids
up
and
gets
him
to
some
kind
of
daycare
in
the
evening,
and
then
she
comes
to
class
at
Oklahoma
City,
Community
College.
She
finishes
her
class
work,
she
goes
home
and
she
helps
the
children
bathe
and
gets
them
to
bed.
And
then
she
is.
B
She
is
extremely
tired,
but
she
has
homework
to
do
and
she
does
her
homework
in
her
school
work
until
she
drops
into
bed
at
night
and
then
she
gets
up
the
next
morning
and
does
it
all
over
teach
the
process,
and
some
version
of
that
is
our
student
body.
Now
not
all
of
them
are
female,
not
all
of
them
have
two
children,
but
some
version
of
that
story.
Larry
are
the
students
at
Oklahoma
City,
Community
College.
They
are.
B
A
B
Western
Heights
School
District
is
is
very
similar
demographically
to
the
Oklahoma,
see
schools,
and
for
years
we've
had
a
program
we
call
OKC
go
which
provides
that
any
graduate
from
the
Oklahoma
City
school
system
can
come
to
Oklahoma
City,
Community
College,
two
years
tuition
free
a
great
advantage
to
students
who
don't
have
a
lot
of
money
about
five
years
ago.
Now
we
expanded
that
program
to
the
Western
High
School
District,
with
superintendent,
Joe
kitchens,
and
and
now
we
provide
that
same
benefit
to
graduates
of
Western,
Heights
and
they're,
taking
advantage
of
it.
But.
B
The
challenges
are
funding.
We
have
since
two
thousand
eight
or
nine.
We
have
substantially
less
money.
We
have
more
students
to
educate.
Just
yesterday
the
state
announced
there's
another
substantial
funding
cut
coming
for
this
year
and
next
year,
so
that
that's
always
going
to
be
a
challenge
and
I.
Don't
see
it
as
a
short-term
issue.
I,
don't
think
when
the
the
oil
prices
recover,
some
I
don't
think
that's
going
to
solve
all
of
our
funding
challenges.
B
The
other
challenge
is
a
a
community
where
there's
lots
of
poverty,
a
community
where
there
are
lots
of
hungry
children
and-
and
we
need
to
help
those
individuals,
get
an
education
lack
of
lack
of
proper
readiness
for
colleges
and
other
challenge.
But
you
know
Larry
some
people
say
well.
If
students,
if
students
aren't
ready
for
college,
they
just
shouldn't
go
to
college.
We
can't
throw
another
generation
of
students
away
just
because
they
need
a
little
extra
help
in
English
or
math
or
reading.
B
We
we
have
to
find
a
way
to
help
them
and
make
sure
that
they
can
succeed
in
school
and
we're
committed
to
do
that.
So
I'd
say
the
major
challenges
are
funding
and
then
readiness
of
our
students
and
then
third,
just
the
life
circumstances
of
our
students,
the
poverty
and
the
large
number
of
first-generation
students.
But
while
that's
a
challenge,
it's
it
all
also
means
that
we're
needed
so
much
more
than
we
have
been
in
the
past.
So.
A
B
But
if
you
look
at
our
data,
you'll
see
that
the
lowest
performing
group
of
students
we
have
in
terms
of
the
ethnic
backgrounds
are
african-american
males,
and
so
we
have
created
a
mentoring
program
so
that
in
the
spring
semester
of
2016,
every
first-time
full-time,
degree-seeking,
african-american
male
student,
who
will
accept
a
mentor,
will
be
assigned
a
successful
adult
mentor
and
that
mentor
is
not
just
about
helping
them
with
their
grades,
but
helping
them
become
better
men,
better
citizens.
Now
the
program
is
not
limited
to
african-american
my,
but
we
we
have
to
start
somewhere
and.
A
B
Because
that's
the
lowest
performing
group
that
we
have,
we
have
focused
our
efforts.
First
semester
on
that
group
and
and
I
have
to
say
that,
except
for
the
color
of
my
skin,
I
was
them
I.
I
think
I
know
what
they
need
and
I
and
I
think
that
having
a
successful
male
mentor,
who
can
congratulate
them
when
they've
done
well
in
who
maybe
can
kick
them
on
the
tail
a
little
bit
when
they're
not
doing
the
right
thing,
but
but
will
let
them
know
they
care
about
them
and
they
care
about
what
happens
to
them.
A
B
A
A
B
A
B
I
I
have.
I
have
volunteered
as
a
mentor
and
just
a
few
days
ago
I
submitted
my
information
for
a
background
check,
even
though
I've
had
a
background
check
recently
I'm
having
another
one
now
for
this
mentorship
program,
the
results
back
yet
they're,
not
back
yet,
but
I
think
I'm
going
to
be
able.
Let's.
A
Hope
you
pass
I
hope
so
Jerry,
thanks
for
coming
down,
thanks
for
sharing
your
passion,
thanks
for
being
willing
to
share
your
your
background
and
how
you
can
identify
with
these
people
that
are
facing
the
challenges
today,
we're
coming
up
on
a
new
year,
2016
a
person
out
there
who
is
challenged
like
we
were
talking
about,
who
wants
to
improve
the
quality
of
their
life
and
their
families,
life
there
are
first-generation,
may
be
going
thinking
about
going
to
some
kind
of
higher
education.
What
kind
of
advice
would
you
give
them
for
this
new
year?
Well,.
B
First
of
all,
thank
you
for
having
me
it's
been
a
pleasure.
I
would
say
to
those
students
coming
out
of
high
school.
You
cannot
succeed
in
today's
world
with
beyond
just
a
menial
job.
Unless
you
have
some
kind
of
training
after
high
school,
it
can
be
career-tech,
it
can
be
college.
We
have
a
place
for
you
at
Oklahoma,
City,
Community
College.