Giving Mt. Hood Women a Boost

Throughout history, women have faced many unique and specific barriers when it comes to education. Actual, systemic oppression by a dominative, patriarchal society and broadening to an unspoken societal pressure like a constant weight on our shoulders of what we “should” be, what we “should” do, have impacted generations of women’s individual educations and in the worst cases, blocked them from accessing any education beyond domestic abilities.

While our perception and understanding of women’s roles in society in the current day and age have improved leaps and bounds compared to, let’s say, the 1940s and ’50s, there is still a lot of work to be done. And I believe Mount Hood Community College’s Transitions/Transiciones program is an invaluable resource to women in our community, and sets a strong example for generations to come, too.

One daunting problem I have faced in my own education and career journey as a woman is the lack of support for new mothers.

As a mother with a very young child, I found myself in a perplexing and difficult-to-navigate situation: I felt immense guilt returning to work and school instead of staying home with my child, and I simultaneously felt overwhelming anxiety with all the extreme, inflated costs of living that required me to earn some form of income to help provide for our family of three.

I noticed my male partner had never expressed the same feelings of guilt over returning to work or education like I did, while I noticed that other women were expressing sentiments similar to mine.

I am fortunate to have a support system in my life that enables me to pursue my education and career dreams and goals. I am also generally a very self-motivated person, so I don’t find myself relying on my social support too much. Nor do I allow outdated societal pressures and archaic ideas of conformity to dictate how I am going to live my own life.

I know this is not the case for many women in my situation, though. That is why I believe the work Transitions/Transiciones is doing to be so incredibly important!

Transitions/Transiciones is an MHCC program that aims to aid women who may be struggling to return to or continue their higher education and career goals. It offers education and career development planning, scholarship applications, social support through peers and professionals, and overall ease of accessing education and resources on campus. In addition, training with life skills, such as study habits and time management, are just some of the things that the program aims to help women develop proficiency in.

Transiciones offers seven credits, taught exclusively in Spanish, over the course of three terms: Transition to College in the fall, Life Transitions in the winter, and Career and Life Planning in the spring. Did I mention that it is FREE, as well?!

For its sister program, Transitions, students are offered three free credits over one term, College Success and Career Exploration.

In addition to their free classes, Transitions/Transiciones students who are accepted into the program are also able to access peer mentoring, support groups, counseling/advising, financial help for qualifying low-income students, and more.

If you are a woman seeking support in furthering your education and career goals but feel like you need a bit of extra help along the way, I highly recommend looking into this program at Mt. Hood!

More information, including application information and contact information for the program coordinators, is available online at mhcc.edu/Transitions, or you can stop by its office inside the Student Union building on the MHCC Gresham campus.