On March 6th, 2025, the second cohort of students from the Community Learning Partnership (CLP) program celebrated the final day of their Community Development class. This special occasion brought together students, family members, colleagues, and alumni from the first CLP cohort. Students stood before their supporters and reflected on their transformative experiences in the CLP program.
During the gathering, students from the second cohort shared heartfelt reflections about the valuable lessons they had learned and the skills they had developed throughout the program. They credited much of their growth to the dedicated guidance of their instructors: Joel Rodriguez, an organizer from the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP), who led the Community Organizing portion of the class; and James Rudyk, a professor and former organizer who facilitated the Community Development portion of the course. Students highlighted how these instructors' insights helped them strengthen their skills as emerging changemakers, better equipping them to address challenges in their communities.
The Community Learning Partnership program is designed to train the next generation of community leaders by offering hands-on learning and real-world experience.CLP is in partnership with the City Colleges of Chicago to expand these classes to community colleges in the fall of 2025. This will provide students interested in community leadership with the tools and knowledge, and a certificate proving it, to pursue it as a profession. This collaboration aims to make community organizing education more accessible and equip students with the practical skills needed to create meaningful change.
Reflecting on her experience with the program, Briana Washington, a Digital Equity Organizer at SWOP, shared, "The CLP program has really allowed me to refine my idea of what organizing is and what it takes to make real change happen at the community level. The lessons I've learned here have helped me approach my work with greater focus and purpose."
Though this cohort has come to an end, conversations ensued among the alumni and developers of this program to continue to work together to foster stronger relationships between them as well as those who may come after them.
“There’s still so much work to be done in our communities and the relationships we made throughout this program isn’t something that’s just going to fade away. We were taught about how much more powerful we are when we can come together and I’m already
scheduling follow up one to one relational meetings with some of my classmates that I hadn’t been able to connect with as intentionally as I would have liked.” Carlos Pittman, a participant of CLP and Communications Organizer for SWOP shared. “I can’t wait to put to use the skills I’ve learned and see how others are using theirs.”
