When Rodney Braziel heard his name called Saturday and walked across the stage to accept his University of Toledo diploma at Savage Arena, the ceremony marked an accomplishment that was roughly 20 years in the making. 

Having played football for West Virginia State and Urbana universities before transferring to the University of Toledo, Mr. Braziel said he dropped out of school just a semester shy of graduating to focus on supporting his wife and children. But he returned to UT after Ottawa Hills native Pete Kadens announced two years ago he would cover all post-secondary education costs for 2020 Scott High School graduates and one of their parents. 

Mr. Kadens’ “HOPE Toledo promise” was a chance too good to pass up. And although the road was difficult, as Mr. Braziel still works full-time at Libbey Glass and runs a sports media company — Urban Dialexx, LLC — he said the hard work was all worth it.

Now on the eve of Mr. Braziel’s 45th birthday, his University Studies degree not only marks a long held-off accomplishment, he also now carries the distinction of being the first of the HOPE Toledo parents to earn a bachelor’s degree.

“It feels great to, you know, finish what I had previously started 20 some odd years ago,” he said. “It was a long journey but having this opportunity was great. When it comes down to it, you only have a certain amount of time in life to try to get some things done and so now with a degree and with my business, it just it gives me an avenue to have a better quality of life.”

All told, 1,852 UT degrees were handed out Saturday, including 1,323 bachelor’s, 365 master’s and 82 doctorates.

Mr. Kadens made his pledge in January of 2020 — a promise which he extended to the 2021 Scott graduating class the following year. Locally, there are some caveats with the promise, as it only applies to any accredited Ohio public college, university, or trade school, as well as Eastern Michigan University and Lourdes University. The program has set academic guidelines, such as maintaining a minimum 2.0-grade point average and attending monthly meetings with HOPE Toledo advisors to ensure that students are taking advantage of the opportunity.

John Jones, CEO and executive director of HOPE Toledo, said he’s proud of Mr. Braziel’s accomplishment and is pleased to see HOPE Toledo reach the milestone of having its first parent graduate. 

“It’s pretty significant because it really speaks to what we're trying to do, and that's really trying to build these generational pipelines and making sure that families have opportunities that they wouldn't have,” Mr. Jones said. “And Rodney [Braziel’s] story is sort of perfectly aligns with this because he couldn't finish before and now he was able to get back in and do what he needs to do.”

In November, Mr. Jones traveled to Washington D.C. to attend the third annual College Promise Careers Institute where he shared the results of a Northwestern University and Hope Chicago study that showed HOPE Toledo’s combination of dollars, coaching support, and direct involvement of parents so far appears to have contributed to improving educational success of its participants.

The study shows Scott High School has seen a roughly 70 percent increase in high school graduates enrolling in postsecondary education programs. The 2020 graduates so far have a 43 percent persistence rate of returning to postsecondary school after two years while 2021 high school graduates have a 69 percent rate of returning to school. 

Mr. Jones said the coronavirus pandemic likely has played a role in challenging some of the students’ success in the program and further study is needed to see the student and parent impacts of HOPE Toledo. But in the coming years, he said HOPE Toledo will begin seeing larger swaths of both Scott students and their parents graduating with degrees.

Meanwhile, Mr. Braziel said if he can offer any advice to young students or older parents involved in the HOPE Toledo program, it’s to stick with college and do whatever they could to walk out with a degree. 

“I don't care whether or not, they feel like, you know, college isn't for them, take advantage of it,” he said, “because you know, whether or not to use your degree or whatever else, it's better to have the opportunity, and to use it, and not have to accrue the debt than to try to go back later on.”

https://www.toledoblade.com/local/education/2022/12/17/ut-graduate-marks-a-first-for-hope-toledo/stories/20221217132