Moved By Degrees
Season One: The Comebacker’s Odyssey
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Welcome to Moved By Degrees, a podcast from The Graduate! Network hosted by co-founder Sallie Glickman.
Season 1: The Comebacker’s Odyssey. This three-part series, a companion to our recently published report of the same name, is inspired by the lived experience three adults who navigated a path fraught with obstacles to earn their degrees. Join us as Eva Gamez (Wayland Baptist University, BAS, Human Services, 2020), San Antonio, Texas; Kimberly Lowe Sawyer (Chestnut Hill College, BS, Human Services, 2011, MS, Human Services, 2012; Doctoral Candidate, Holy Family University), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Craig Toombs (University of Missouri Kansas City, BA in Political Science, 2019) Kansas City, Missouri guide us to a better understanding of what must be dismantled and rebuilt on the road to educational equity. We hope you will join us on this extraordinary journey.
Also featuring:
Dr. Matthew Bergman, University of Louisville • Dr. Anthony P. Carnevale, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce • Cedric Deadmon, KC Degrees • Dr. Paul Harrington, Drexel University Center for Labor Markets & Policy • Dr. Su Jin Gatlin Jez, California Competes • Maryann Rainey, Ascendium Education Group • Micaela Rios, The Graduate! Network • Jen Schramm, AARP Public Policy Institute • B. Stille, Author, Actor and Musician in the Grammy-nominated band, Nappy Roots • Dr. Aaron Thompson, Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
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The Banner Lady stars Kimberly Lowe Sawyer (Chestnut Hill College, BS, Human Services, 2011, MS, Human Services, 2012; Doctoral Candidate, Holy Family University). This episode focuses on how supporting completion for vulnerable adults can transform families and communities.
The title is an homage to how she is known in her community – in this economically distressed and violence-plagued neighborhood, for the last decade she has been hanging banners on the front porch of her family home celebrating various educational milestones.
Kim earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Chestnut Hill College in 2011 with navigation support from Graduate! Philadelphia. She went on to earn her Master of Science in Human Services in 2012, and she is currently a Doctoral Candidate at Holy Family University. For a full list of programs that provide navigation services visit our website.
Guests:
- Dr. Paul Harrington, Drexel University Center for Labor Markets & Policy
- Dr. Su Jin Gatlin Jez, California Competes
- Maryann Rainey, Ascendium Education Group
- Jen Schramm, AARP Public Policy Institute
- Dr. Aaron Thompson, Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education

Credits:
Sallie Glickman is the host of this podcast. This podcast is produced by Sallie Glickman and Bridgett Strickler at The Graduate! Network and Pat Ganley and Michael Swchweisheimer of PWPvideo. Our closing theme song is by fellow Comebacker B. Stille of the Nappy Roots. You can learn more about the Kentucky Work Ready Scholarship campaign featuring spokesperson B. Stille here and listen to the full cut of the original theme music here. For more information about our report The Comebacker’s Odyssey visit the Data That Move Us website.
The Angel on My Shoulder stars Eva Gamez (Wayland Baptist University, BAS, Human Services, 2020). This episode focuses on the importance of a network and the profound influence advocates, employers, faculty, and others have on assisting adults to realize their aspirations for a degree.
The title is an homage to Eva’s description of a navigator who was there for her through her university experience. Eva earned her BAS in Human Services from Wayland Baptist University in 2020 with navigational support from Upgrade in San Antonio, Texas. For a full list of programs that provide navigation services visit our website.
Guests:
- Dr. Matthew Bergman, University of Louisville. Dr. Matt Bergman is the author of Unfinished Business: Compelling Stories of Adult Student Persistence. You can read more about University of Louisville’s adult degree completion program, Organizational Leadership and Learning, here. Dr. Bergman describes four reasons institutions should offer Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) in this article, and he recommends this resource for anyone interested in knowing more about the importance of PLA as an adult degree completion accelerator.
- Micaela Rios, The Graduate! Network
- B. Stille, Author, Actor and Musician in the Grammy-nominated band, Nappy Roots.
- Dr. Aaron Thompson, Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
Credits:
Sallie Glickman is the host of this podcast. This podcast is produced by Sallie Glickman and Bridgett Strickler at The Graduate! Network and Pat Ganley and Michael Swchweisheimer of PWPvideo. Our closing theme song is by fellow Comebacker B. Stille of the Nappy Roots. You can learn more about the Kentucky Work Ready Scholarship campaign featuring spokesperson B. Stille here and listen to the full cut of the original theme music here. For more information about our report The Comebacker’s Odyssey visit the Data That Move Us website.
The Invisible Barrier stars Craig Tombs (University of Missouri Kansas City, BA in Political Science, 2019). This episode focuses on transforming higher education into a more equitably welcoming environment for all who aspire to a degree, irrespective of their circumstances or background.
The episode title is an homage to Craig’s experience growing up in sight of a university with no expectation of ever attending. Craig earned his Bachelor’s degree from University of Missouri Kansas City in 2019 with navigational support from KC Degrees in Kansas City, Missouri. For a full list of programs that provide navigation services visit our website.
Guests:
- Dr. Anthony P. Carnevale, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Dr. Carnevale is coauthor of The Merit Myth. You can read more from Georgetown University CEW’s blog — including White Flight to the Bachelor’s Degree — here.
- Cedric Deadmon, KC Degrees
- Dr. Aaron Thompson, Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
Credits:
Sallie Glickman is the host of this podcast. This podcast is produced by Sallie Glickman and Bridgett Strickler at The Graduate! Network and Pat Ganley and Michael Swchweisheimer of PWPvideo. Our closing theme song is by fellow Comebacker B. Stille of the Nappy Roots. You can learn more about the Kentucky Work Ready Scholarship campaign featuring spokesperson B. Stille here and listen to the full cut of the original theme music here. For more information about our report The Comebacker’s Odyssey visit the Data That Move Us website.