Students, alumni gather at Alabama State House
Students march in a parade at Higher Education Day.
Hundreds of students from 14 public universities throughout the state gathered in front of the Alabama State House last Thursday to address the importance of higher education funding.
The Higher Education Partnership holds this gathering every year at the state house.
The day began with a parade featuring the Alabama State University band, followed by students gathering on the steps to witness SGA leaders signing a pledge of support for higher education that was handed off to Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth.
“One of the best things about Higher Education Day is people get to make sure you’re not a number on a spreadsheet,” said Gordon Stone, director of the Higher Education Partnership. “You’re a person, you’re somebody who is investing your time, your energy and your resources. “You are a person who believes you can make a difference, and that is why you’re doing what you’re doing through one of Alabama’s fourteen great public universities.”
The message is a reminder to state leaders that Alabama universities offer students more than just an education. Universities prepare future state leaders, improve quality of life and boost the state’s economy.
Students weren’t the only ones who attended the rally. Many Troy University alumni joined students on the steps of the state house.
“Higher education is an extension of learning from kindergarten to twelfth grade,” said Faith West Byrd, director of alumni affairs. “If we’re not learning, we’re not living.
“You get the best education from colleges like Troy University.
We have to be better at seeking out the people who need higher education and explaining to them how their lives would be enriched by pursing higher education.”
Byrd has been with Higher Education Day since its inception and was there when it became an institution. She has worked alongside Stone since the first day.
“We might not all agree with each other on the football field or the basketball court, but Higher Education is one thing we can agree on,” Byrd said. “We’re all in it together”.
Also in attendance was Liz Craig, another Troy alumna who graduated in 2008 and is now the director of community and civic engagement for the partnership.
“We all know that Higher Education changes lives,” Craig said. “Over the course of a lifetime, a person has the ability to earn significantly more with a four-year degree.
“The opportunities that it provides for the livelihood of people is critical and affects your overall access to opportunity.”
Craig said working with career counselors and advisors can help students find the best opportunities for them.
Randy Scott, another Troy alumnus who currently works for Alabama Public Television, attended the rally as well.
“Higher Education Day is important because it gives Students and Universities the opportunity to talk to the lawmakers here at the State House and even at the capitol,” Scott said. “Sometimes the governor will come talk to them, and it allows them to talk one on one with the lawmakers and the ones who craft the Trust Fund budget where schools get their money from.”
Scott said that the best way to make higher education more accessible is to show lawmakers how much current students care, since they will one day become leaders themselves.
For more information and how to get involved with Higher Education Day visit Higheredpartners.org.
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