Noel F. Khalil is founder and principal of Columbia Residential, a leading affordable housing developer based in Atlanta.
In this essay, Khalil explains why he supports President Obama's proposal to make community college free. He says a community college played a major role in his career success.
By Noel F. Khalil
Growing up in the Bronx, a borough of New York City, the son of two immigrants from the island of Jamaica, I attended Catholic schools. School was a struggle for me because I had difficulty staying focused.
Credit: Maureen Downey
Credit: Maureen Downey
By the time I entered Cardinal Hayes High School, my lack of concentration caught up with me, and in my junior year I received a “pink slip” in the mail telling my parents that I was dismissed for academic reasons.
My West Indian mother was crushed and promptly kicked me in the posterior – literally.
I then reported to my neighborhood public high school, where I met Ms. Thomas, an English teacher and a guidance counselor. Ms. Thomas encouraged me to express my creativity and made me feel unique, which ignited in me a renewed interest in school.
However, my grade point average was so low that it was doubtful a four-year college would accept me. So, I began my first year out of high school at Bronx Community College.
Bronx Community College was a very urban school and what it lacked in attractive facilities, it made up for in dedicated teachers. BCC, like other community colleges across the nation, prepares students to continue their education at four-year universities or colleges or alternately teaches them a technical skill that offers them a lifetime of meaningful employment or entrepreneurial opportunities. I chose to follow the university track. I was able to take remedial classes that were immensely helpful to me.
During my tenure at BCC, my mother received a call from my old guidance counselor, Ms. Thomas, informing her that the University of Rochester was looking for young inner-city students to apply to the school. So I applied as a transfer student and – to my surprise – was accepted.
The University of Rochester was a wonderful experience, and the curriculum at BCC had properly prepared me for the tough regimen at the University of Rochester. I eventually graduated with honors, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Education.
Armed with my preparation at BCC and my degree from the University of Rochester, I was presented with the opportunity in 1985 by Herman Russell to run his Real Estate Development Operation at H.J. Russell & Company.
In 1991, I started Columbia Residential, a multi-family development and property management company, which today employs 272 individuals and has an annual payroll of $13 million. Additionally, between our real estate development activities and property management operation, we have an annual economic impact of more than $100 million.
If I summarized why this lost boy built a successful business, it boils down to my parents, Ms. Thomas, my mentor Herman Russell and the education provided to me at BCC and the University of Rochester. To paraphrase former Sen. Phil Gramm, I “lived at a time that a mother’s dreams were not easily deferred.”
However, the catalyst that changed my life was the opportunity to attend Bronx Community College, where they created an environment that “turned the light on,” and eventually led me to pursue a degree from the University of Rochester.
I support President Obama’s proposed initiative to provide greater financial support to students who attend the nation’s community colleges. Without my community college experience, I would have missed out on higher education and would have lacked the resources to start my own company. I would only suggest to President Obama that it should not be a completely free education, but that each student should have some “skin in the game.”
Perhaps a nominal $250 per semester fee would be more appropriate. Through subsidized community college education, America will have more well equipped young people, who will have the opportunity to gain a higher education and enter the workforce with a degree or skills and a passion for success.
In Atlanta alone, we have spectacular community college options, which employers like me would readily welcome its graduates into our workplace.
