Capital IDEA
College is Possible at Any Age
Words by Jess Hagemann Photos by Shelby Bella
Unable to picture himself succeeding in college, Henry Vines entered the workforce right after high school. He got a job at a call center, where he answered customers’ inquiries about their bills all day—work that he found tedious, but which (mostly) supported he and his wife.
One day a woman told him over the phone, “You sound so smart; why aren’t you in college?” According to Henry, “The question resonated with me. I’d thought about college every year around tax time, but never took it seriously until I found this group that made it so easy to get started.”
“This group” is Capital IDEA, a grant-funded nonprofit that helps low-income adults earn an associate’s degree from Austin Community College in a career-oriented field: usually healthcare or IT. Deputy Executive Director Eva Rios-Lleverino, who was on the organization’s original launch team in 1998, says that in addition to college application and tuition assistance, Capital IDEA offers career navigation and job placement services upon graduation.
Since the first group of students started in the spring of 1999, Capital IDEA has helped more than 1600 individuals enter new careers, most of whom find the program via word-of-mouth, online, Facebook, or one of the many other nonprofits that Eva and her team collaborate with—like Austin Interfaith, which she explains “first advocated for the public dollars to create this program.” In 2017, 18 to 24-year-olds and 25 to 34-year-olds were the two largest demographics served. The average student was in his or her late 20s (down from age 30 in prior years).
After being accepted into the program, Henry completed a two-year degree in Advanced Electronics, with a specialization in Renewable Energy. Before he even graduated, one of Henry’s professors at ACC recommended him to a local natural gas company, who called Henry and made him what he calls a “generous” offer to work in their energy efficiency division. He did that for a few years before joining a private investigator outfit, a job that Henry says, “I enjoy very much because I get to help people recover from identity theft.”
While Henry appreciates his present financial stability, the most valuable part of “those two very meaningful years” at ACC was a newfound sense of self-discovery. “Once I realized that I could make those grades, it drove me to continually improve myself and my station—which was a byproduct, because I was only doing this to take care of my family.” Henry’s wife has since entered Capital IDEA’s nursing program; together, the couple hopes to “set a good example” for their 12-year-old daughter.
That is, in the end, what Capital IDEA is all about. “To see the students [at their pinning ceremony],” says Eva, “and the faces of their kids, their significant others, their moms and dads, makes every minute of it, every headache, worth it.” For Eva, herself a first-generation college graduate, it’s heartwarming to know that “Their future is different; the story changes for their kids.” She adds, “Now, the conversation is not ‘Are you going to college?’ It’s ‘What college are you going to?’”
Contact:
(512) 457-8610
835 N. Pleasant Valley Road
info@capitalidea.org
capitalidea.org
