Santa Fe College was announced one of the top 10 finalists of a national community college competition Wednesday morning.
The Aspen Prize for Community Excellence is awarded to one college from a pool of about 1,000 community colleges nationwide. The colleges are assessed based on learning outcome, degree completion, labor market success and minority student success, said Rachel Roth, program manager of the Aspen College Excellence Program.
The program will announce the No. 1 community college in March. The $1 million prize is split between the winner and four additional finalists, Roth said.
The news, along with the fact the school was even in the running, was kept a secret from many Santa Fe students until the official announcement.
“Although there were hints being dropped, I was not expecting to hear that announcement this morning,” said SFC Student Body Vice President Amin Ahmadzadeh, 19.
He said he is not surprised that Santa Fe College made the list. He attributes the college’s success to the faculty and administration, who he says put amazing effort into their work every day.
Roth said 120 schools were invited to apply. The 96 schools that submitted applications were assessed by a selection committee, which chose the top 10 finalists based on performance, improvement and equity, she said.
SFC sophomore Lisa Walker, 19, said the announcement made her proud to be part of the Santa Fe community.
“It gave me more motivation to improve the school even more than what it has already,” said Walker, who is also SFC student government director of community events.
“It’s definitely a good day to be part of Santa Fe College,” Ahmadzadeh said.
