Over the holiday break, I was reflecting on 2024 and realized I didn’t release as many Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts as I wanted. I had a busy year, with many accomplishments (more on that later), serving the Compton College community, advocating for better policy both on the state and federal level for our community college students, and working on my memoir, to name just a few.
I am proud to say that 2024 was the year I rededicated myself to my health/fitness again. Not only have I really enjoyed this, but this health and fitness journey has opened my eyes to reflect more deeply on how I use my time and what I prioritize. In 2025, I will continue to prioritize my health and fitness journey, and anyone who follows me knows I often post about it on social media. I do this both as a reminder to myself that I must continue and also as an inspiration to others to find time for themselves to stay focused on their health and fitness.
A couple of days ago, I read a post on social media from another camper from Camp Transformation – La Mirada, my gym, that stated:
“There are 168 hours in a week: 56 for sleeping, 40 for working, and 72 left over. If you can’t find 3-5 hours to work on your health, the problem isn’t your schedule; it’s your priorities.”
For starters, most community college practitioners and leaders, including myself, work more than 40 hours per week. But I really like the way this quote frames time as a resource that we can choose to spend how we want to—that, in and of itself, is a decision that highlights our goals, priorities, and values. We must use our time wisely, as we are not getting that time back.
In 2025, we must set our goals and priorities and then commit to achieving them. Prior to setting goals and priorities, we all must reflect on 2024 – the successes and failures. Most importantly, I like to focus on lessons learned. That last part is critical because that’s what I use to set my goals and advance for the year ahead of me.
Reflecting on 2024
2024 was a year of many accomplishments. In February, we brought our Level-Up & Get REAL work to Capitol Hill, holding a legislative summit in partnership with ACCT and Achieving The Dream. That same month, I was humbled to be recognized by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine for its 2024 Diverse Champion Award. In April, we marked our fifth year celebrating Black Student Success Week across the California Community Colleges and now nationally, an initiative that I’m proud to have been a part of since the beginning (mark your calendars for this year’s Black Student Success Week from April 21-25, 2025). At the June 5-6, 2024 meeting, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges acted to Reaffirm Compton College’s accreditation for seven years. This is historic, as many of our critics wondered if we could achieve accreditation without a partnering institution and as a stand-alone college and community college district. My response to the critics: “We proved you wrong again and will continue to prove you wrong.” Also, in June, Compton’s-own Kendrick Lamar dropped by our commencement for a surprise visit, delivering a memorable and inspirational speech to our graduates.
Then, in September, Governor Gavin Newsom signed our bill, which was sponsored by then-State Senator Steven Bradford, creating a new designation for Black-Serving Institutions in California and delivering a tremendous victory for equity and student success. Then, on November 5, 2024, voters overwhelmingly passed our $200 million facilities bond Measure CC with a 68.47% approval rating. Then, what I call ‘the trifecta’ happened in December; at Compton College, we have begun construction on the Student Housing Project, which is an $80.3 million project that will be a 251-bed facility and the first on-campus student housing project at a California Community College within Los Angeles County; we were awarded a $1.9 million grant from the Ballmer Group to support student transfer at Compton College; and finally, Compton College was awarded $1 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation to support the Compton Community Health Professions Partnership. To conclude the year, we finished Compton College’s 2035 Comprehensive Master Plan. The Compton College 2035 plan serves as a critical roadmap for our institutional future, with a singular goal: accelerate student completion while advancing equity and success.
However, I also had some failures. I was overbooked for many meetings and occasionally missed deadlines that I had set for myself. I didn’t always have enough time in the day to complete what I had set out to do for that particular day. I even missed a flight, which rarely ever happens (I blame the airlines for that, though). I wasn’t at enough family/friends events or gatherings, and I have a long list of home-fixing assignments that were never started or completed. I wasn’t able to see many of my friends because I was just too busy. I felt that many of the people who were near and dear to me did not get enough of my time because I was so focused on the important work at Compton College and around Black Learner Excellence. As stated, I wasn’t able to release as many Unapologetic Leadership Thoughts, and I am behind on my memoir.
Goals and Priorities Setting for 2025
Regardless of my successes and failures in 2024, as the music artist Chika says in the song Crown, “I am on the I’m On An Elevator, I’m On To Something Greater,” so in 2025, I know the work I am involved in is moving forward, and we are on to so much greater. I have four main goals and priorities for 2025:
– Continue to stay focused as we build a “Wakanda” at Compton College, where we feed our people. Soon, we will provide safe, stable housing for them, too. Our next big freedom dream is healthcare, and we realize it right before our eyes with our 24/7 urgent care, which is included in the recent Measure CC facilities bond.
– Continue to focus on Black Learner Excellence through Black Student Success Week, my work with Level-Up & Get REAL, and our partnership with Achieving the Dream. Most importantly, work with other states to expand the Black Serving Institution Designation in other partners of the United States and began the groundwork for a federal Black Serving Institution Designation.
– Remain committed to my health and fitness journey.
– Utilized my time wisely and set priorities. One of my main priorities will be to reconnect with many of my colleagues and attend more family events and gatherings. I may even plan a vacation for sometime in 2025 (Let’s see if that really happens).
I will be working on so many other projects during 2025 that fit within these goals and priorities. This year, I will do more self-reflection on the goals and priorities to assess where I am at, so the reflection will keep me focused. The key to all of my goals and priorities is deciding how much will be achieved and how many will be pushed to 2026. Finally, I will also spend time sharing my gratitude and appreciation with my colleagues, friends, and family members. So, if you get a random or daily message, telephone call, or email from me expressing my gratitude and appreciation, please know it is truly heartfelt.
To those reading this piece, I invite you to do the same. Reflect on your 2024. What did you do to serve students? How did that work turn out? If you could go back in time, how could you do it better? Because in 2025, we are on to so much greater. Our students and the communities we serve need us more now than ever before. They deserve “greater.”