Delgado Community College (Jefferson Campus): Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Awards $1.9 Million To Delgado For Opportunity Youth

Press release from the Delgado Community College Jefferson Campus:

October 28, 2021

Delgado Community College has been awarded $1.9 million from the Conrad N. Hilton
Foundation to support job-related education for opportunity youth in the college’s
Allied Health and Hospitality programs.

Opportunity youth are young people 16 to 24 years old who are out of work and out
of school.

Funding from the grant will be received over three years, beginning October 1, 2021.
With a direct focus on students and their needs, the grant will focus on four key
objectives:

--Reduce the number of opportunity youth who are unemployed in the New Orleans region.

--Decrease attrition and increase academic success in the opportunity youth student
demographic.

--Improve math and English skills of opportunity youth students in Allied Health academic
programs.

--Strengthen opportunity youth community partnerships with healthcare organizations.

“At Delgado we prepare students to meet the challenges of tomorrow’s workplace with
an educational experience that is grounded in the best professional practices and
standards of every industry in the New Orleans region, including healthcare and hospitality,”
said Dr. Larissa Littleton-Steib, chancellor of Delgado Community College.

Through a team approach leveraging adult education, contextualized coursework and
differential instruction, Delgado educators can meet every participating student academically
and begin the education process.

Delgado offers more than 30 associate degree and certificate programs that meet a
wide range of healthcare career education needs, including radiologic technology,
respiratory therapy, surgical technology and pharmacy technicians. The healthcare
field provides excellent job opportunities for those with the right skills.

Delgado Allied Health programs graduate approximately 400 students per year, making
the division the largest in Louisiana and among the most successful nationwide.

The hospitality and tourism industry has lost over 45,000 jobs in New Orleans since
the coronavirus pandemic began. Delgado educators will work with local partners in
hospitality training to identify candidates aspiring to apply for employment and promotion,
enhancing their skills and knowledge through credentials and a college degree.

Earlier this year, the Delgado Hospitality program received the Number One ranking
among all schools nationwide including four-year universities from the information
resource Intelligent.com.

Delgado Community College celebrates 100 years of service to the New Orleans region in 2021-22. The oldest
and largest community college in Louisiana, Delgado provides instruction online and
at seven locations. Delgado offers students the most comprehensive array of education
and training services available in the New Orleans region. Additionally, Delgado has
articulation agreements with most of the state’s four-year colleges and universities
that allow students to transfer their Delgado credits to bachelor’s degree programs.
Workforce development is a priority at Delgado, hence the college’s well-known motto:
“Education that works!” www.dcc.edu

About the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation International hotelier Conrad N. Hilton established the grantmaking foundation that
bears his name in 1944 to help people living in poverty and experiencing disadvantage
worldwide. Today, the work continues, concentrating on efforts to ensure healthy early
childhood development and sustainable livelihoods for youth, support young people
transitioning out of foster care, improve access to housing and support services for
people experiencing homelessness, identify solutions to safe water access, and lift
the work of Catholic sisters. Additionally, following selection by an independent,
international jury, the Foundation annually awards the $2.5 million Conrad N. Hilton
Humanitarian Prize to an organization doing extraordinary work to reduce human suffering.
The Foundation is one of the world’s largest, with $7.5 billion in assets. It has
awarded grants to date totaling more than $2 billion, $207 million worldwide in 2020.
Please visit www.hiltonfoundation.org for more information.

This press release was produced by the Delgado Community College Jefferson Campus. The views expressed here are the author’s own.