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Uh yeah well you know there's a famous quote that Malcolm X said that uh education is our passport to the future and tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today. Uh so I think formal education is a a gateway to not only you know higher earnings in a career but also expanding one's mind. Hello Blue Jays and welcome to the nest stories about life after Manor College. I am your host Kelly Peiffer, vice president of marketing communications and this is the best part of my day. My hope is that this podcast will

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encourage, inform, and inspire you, making you feel like at Manor College you belong here always. Before we get to today's guest, it is time for a f a favorite segment of the show I like to call Blue Jay Spotlight where we will get the chance to introduce to you one of our awesome Manor College students. Many students go to college to find a career. But student Vanessa Cauldron went to Manor College to answer a calling. In 2021, Vanessa's son Roman was born premature and later diagnosed with

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cerebral palsy. While many would have been overwhelmed, Vanessa defined resilience. Watching the medical teams care for her son, she realized she didn't just want to be a mom on the sidelines. She wanted to be the nurse in the room. Vanessa joined Manor's very first practical nursing cohort. As a single mother, balancing intense clinical's and her son's therapies, her joining her journey was a masterclass in perseverance. There were nights where she doubted her path, but her community

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wouldn't let her. From encouraging words from Professor Mike Landis to writing, "Believe," in a sign hung over her desk by the school librarian, the message was clear, "You belong here." This past December, Vanessa crossed the stage to graduate. Today, she just isn't navigating the medical system for her son. She is now a vital part of it. Her story proves that no matter the obstacles, with enough heart and the right support, you can turn your greatest challenge into your greatest

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contribution. Vanessa, thank you for showing all of us what it truly looks like to believe in yourself. You are an inspiration. Today's episode is sponsored by the Manor College Bachelor Degree in Public Policy. Don't just study the law, learn how to change it. At Manor, we transform your passion into a professional career. From crisis management to nonprofit leadership, our program delivers the expertise you need to lead in the public and private sectors. Small classes, hands-on internships, you will build the

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experience to launch into politics, law, or community service. Step into your power and find your voice. Earn your bachelor's in public policy at Manor College. Visit manor.edu to learn more. You belong here. Our guest today is a proud product of Philadelphia and a graduate of Dobbins Technical High School. His journey through higher education is a testament to the power of finding your footing and using it as a springboard for something even greater. As a first generation college student, he arrived at Manor College in the fall

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of 2008 to study psychology. While he only spent one year on campus, those two semesters proved to be a pivotal foundation for a lot more education to come. Today, he has taken that passion for understanding people and systems into the professional world. He currently serves as the director of content for the progress and poverty institute where he works at the intersection of complex social issues and public discourse. Please join me in welcoming Vernon Walker. Hi Vernon. Hello, Kelly. Thank you for the kind

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introduction and glad to be here. >> Great. We're so so happy to have you with us today. So, so Vernon, take us back to 2008. How, first of all, how did you hear about Manor College and why did you choose to attend? >> Yes, thank you for that question. Uh at the time I lived in northeast Philadelphia and I was uh considering options of going back to college because prior to starting at Manor uh I had uh took I had did like half a semester at community at uh community college in Philadelphia. And so two years later,

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you know, still was working in the intern, you know, deciding to uh figure out which college I wanted to go to. And then I received something in the mail. Uh my high school GPA was not the best because I was mostly uh focused on being a class clown in high school. Uh it wasn't really until my last year uh that I began to start to straighten up academically. Uh and with that context in mind, I thought it would be good to start off at a college with a smaller class size uh before going to a 4-year

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university. Uh obviously now Manor offers four-year degrees which are great but at at the time it was just associate degrees. So in the process of thinking about options I received that piece of literature in the mail as previously mentioned about Manor. So I went to go visit the campus. I didn't it wasn't too far from where I lived and I was thoroughly impressed uh with the campus setting uh and the admissions officer uh that I met. She was so friendly and made it really seem like a wonderful place

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and uh that's essentially how I arrived at Manor and then those two semesters that I spent that manner was really refreshing uh and really uh helped me uh unpack my love for learning if you will. uh and it was a fascinating fascinating time uh during that period and then also in the world what was happening it was you know uh Barack Obama was being sworn in >> uh a president and he had won the election and then was going to be sworn in. So that 2008 2009 year was very interesting. We had a global market

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crash and uh and you know just the housing crash and it was just so so so many different variables happening in the world at the same time. Wow. I I am a sucker for a good direct mail enrollment story, Vernon. So, that just makes my heart so happy to hear that you got something in the mail and it was impactful enough that it made you want to learn more. We um we still do direct mail to students and households and that's always the goal to get them to come talk to admissions and then obviously enroll. That's really great to

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hear. And you know, frankly, um, I have a hard time picturing you as a class clown. I only know you as like professional and, you know, successful Vernon. So, it's kind of funny to think about that you were a class a class clown. Any any good class clown related stories that you could share? >> Oh, >> from the high school days. >> Oh, well, uh, >> that's appropriate to share. >> Yeah. Oh, sure. Sure. Yeah. I had always would just hang out in the hallway and

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just focus on uh socialization instead of learning. Um and it wasn't really until I became a Christian in my senior year that I began to really take things seriously, academics seriously I should say. Uh and uh so yeah, essentially that's you know for the majority of my high school career that's what I was focused on just being a uh a clown of the class if you will >> social butterfly. >> Yeah. Yeah. And bringing levity into the situation at the expense of focusing on academics. But uh so yeah so but it was

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uh you know all things happen for a reason. >> Exactly. No, that's interesting. That's really kind of kind of cool to hear. Um, and now look at you now. You you have received multiple degrees. You're always going to school it seems like for the next thing. So education is always with you. Um, so let's talk about that for a minute. So you went to Manor for a year. Um, and then you have, you know, you went on to, I think it was Penn State for a bachelor's, right? Um, and then since Penn State, you've

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received two master's degrees and you're currently working on your third master's degree. So, obviously higher education holds a special place in your in your heart. Um, so talk about that. Why do you feel that receiving furthering your education is so important to you? And kind of what is your relationship um with higher education? >> Uh, yeah. Well, you know, there's a famous quote that Malcolm X said that uh education is our passport to the future and tomorrow belongs to the people who

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prepare for it today. Uh so I think formal education is a uh gateway to not only you know higher earnings in a career but also expanding one's mind. Now obviously uh we have quite a few intelligent people that uh that have not sought in the world today who that not have that have not sought out any formalized education. Uh but for myself uh yeah I just you know when I once I realized that I just loved reading and just loved acquiring uh more knowledge uh that's that's I think what led to the

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continued pursuit in higher education. Uh, and you know, it's uh, when I when I transferred to Penn State, I didn't quite imagine that, you know, I would spend so much time in school. Uh, but the the the the the results have been meaningful and and and has really really helped expand my mind. And we also, you know, we live in the age of technology, right? We live in the age where Google and it's easy just to pull up things on your smartphones or your computers. So, uh it is certainly

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easy to get access to knowledge. Uh however, I just like the uh classroom setting where you know it's in a structured setting and you know certainly fellowships will do that as certain fellowships will do that as well. Uh so essentially that's um you know that's that's that's what my theory has been on education that it is certainly the the passport port towards the future. >> Yeah, I love that so much. That's great. Thank you for for sharing. It's a it's a

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great quote from Malcolm X. Um I haven't heard it in a little while, so it was good to be reminded of that. Can can you tell us a little bit about the work that you're doing as director of content for the Progress and Poverty Institute? what is the institute and kind of um kind of give us the the organizational picture for that. >> Uh yes, the progress and poverty institute started in 1925 as the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation. Uh in 2025, I'm sorry. Yes. And in 2025, the name changed to Progress and Poverty

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Institute. uh which is a a name of a book that uh a famous economist uh named uh Henry George uh he that's the name of his book and the the institute the the the the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation was founded to further the idea of Henry George uh and you know currently and one of the biggest ideas I should say is that uh he focused on land tax so he focused on the idea of taxing the land uh instead of property tax if you will. Uh so in my current capacity I serve as the director of content at the progress

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and poverty institute uh a nonprofit focused on land economics and public policy. In my role uh I lead our content and communication strategy making sure our research is translated into clear and accessible messaging for a wide range of audiences including policy makers, researchers and the public. Uh, a big part of what I do is helping connect complex ideas like land value taxation to real world issues such as uh, housing affordability and economic inequality. Uh, what I really value about this work is that it allows me to

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bridge research and real impact making sure that the work we do actually uh, reaches people and contribute to meaningful conversation uh, and change. And alongside my work, I'm currently pursuing a masters in organizational leadership uh at Brown University. Uh really continuing to build on that love of education foundation that I started at Manor College. >> That's great. It it sounds like so much of the work that you do is rooted in social justice. Um which which is great. We absolutely need more people working

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in in that realm. Um what is your perception or or or opinion of where the state stands right now for social justice? Um are we making progress? Um what still has to be done and kind of how can how can college students be educating themselves in in this because it is a a wide field, lots of different things to consider and it can get um overwhelming and daunting. Uh that is absolutely true. Uh prior to uh getting prior to starting at uh the Progress and Poverty Institute, I worked for several different environmental

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nonprofits in Boston. Uh I lived in Boston for the Boston area for 12 years and I really focused uh the last five or six years focused on environmental justice and climate change uh which is a part of the broad social justice movement. Uh so where we are now is certainly in a time of parallel and crisis in terms of a lot of federal policies have been rolled back. Uh a lot of that policies that were designed to help us make progress such as fighting climate like climate change and preparing communities for extreme

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weather. So under this new administration uh the Trump administration it had a lot of the policies have been rolled back. A lot of the voting acts rights uh policies have been rolled back. A lot of racial justice uh issues uh and policies have been rolled back for instance. So it's certainly a time where we are seeing challenging uh policies uh and efforts uh to undermine common sense policies rolling out of the White House. Uh however, I think that just as previous generations of social justice warriors,

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the civil rights uh fighters, the the the women suffrage uh advocates and the abolitionist advocates uh and so forth and so on. Uh we've hard to find the courage of our conviction to still stand up against tyranny and to still stand up against injustice. Uh and what's given me a little bit of hope is that states are looking to imp implement uh policies that are designed to address climate change, that are designed to address racial injustice, that are designed to address uh the immigration

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crisis. And while there is no really no big help coming from the federal government in those areas, uh there are state level policies and city and municipal policies across our country uh that is rooted in common sense and rooted in human decency uh and rooted in the idea that we're all tied in the inescapable government of mutuality and what affects one directly affects us all indirectly as Dr. King said. So uh I think that's that's what's given me hope in terms of students uh I

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think what students can be doing uh particularly undergraduate students I mean we know that graduate students are mostly focused in whatever professional degree program that they're enrolled in and they want to go in that profession but also graduate students is for people to find what makes them come alive and then whatever makes them come alive they should go do it and that's a that's a paraphrase quote from Howard Thurman who was the dean of Marsh Chapel at Boston University which is uh one of my alma

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maters. Uh and essentially I think people should find what they're called to do and go do it. Uh because really we need the world to come alive with people who are activated by a particular social justice cause or if people aren't thinking about taking on a career in social justice uh perhaps supporting organizations uh nonprofits etc that are doing social justice work whether it's immigration work whether it's human rights work whether it's climate right work uh whether it's

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racial justice work whatever form of justice fighting that, you know, organizations are doing, they certainly do need dollars to support them. They certainly do need finances to support them. So, uh, for folks who might be thinking about, you know, careers in finance or careers in law, etc., uh, that might not exactly be on making an on the ground impact. Uh certainly you know volunteering or supporting financially organizations that are doing the work uh you know for instance organization such as clean water action uh for for

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instance which is a national uh nonprofit that's fighting on uh the implementation of clean air policies and clean water policies for instance. >> Yeah, that's that's great. I think what you said was um what you said that really sticks out to me when you talk about like find what activates you, find what passion you have and and lean into that, you know, not um not everyone's going to fight everything all at once, right? Or or you know, but there's certain things that might specifically

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talk to you because of something that maybe is from your childhood or from your past or um whatever that might be. But I I really think it's important work that you're doing and I think it's so impressive and and really motivating to see that you're someone who continually is hungry to learn more um is going to these great institutions to to do that while also um having a career, having you know a life and doing that as well. Talk about that a little bit. talk about how has it been

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balancing um being a grad student for for quite a long time and also having a career and and like going to school and managing you know a little work life balance. How do you how do you find what works best for you in that kind of area? >> Uh yeah, thank you for that question. Well, uh I think you know time management is very important. uh and I think one of the things that I found to be helpful is to set a certain amount of time to devote to academics to personal life to uh to uh faith-based work etc. Uh so I found

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it to be that time management is important and also just you know after having been in school for you know a couple couple couple after have being in a couple different programs you kind of get the sense of how to develop what works and uh because certainly you know these are trying times and uh self-care is important uh and so I also build in time for self-care and just just also making sure are prioritizing, you know, having self-care because it's easy to get stressed out between school and work and

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the state of affairs and our world, etc. So, uh yeah, it's it that's that's I think one of the ways that has helped me find that balance is through prayer and meditation. Uh and uh that has really helped being been my uh north star to kind of help find the equilibrium and balancing everything. Yeah, that that's absolutely great. Um, so Vernon, what advice would you give to Manor College students who are just starting out? They're just, you know, they're they're you in 2009. They're

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early in their journey. They don't quite know what the future holds. Um, they might be filled with excitement. They might be filled with a little bit of senioritis where they're kind of wanting, you know, college to be done. Um, they don't want to write any more papers or take any more tests. But what advice would you give them as someone who's been there, lived it, and now you know on the other side? >> Yes, thank you so much for that question. One piece of advice that I would give man students starting out is

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to really focus on building a strong foundation uh both academically and professionally, academically, professionally and personally I should say. uh because really the habits you develop early like discipline, time management and how you approach challenges will carry long after graduation. Uh and I would also say don't feel like you have to have everything figured out right away. Uh because life is a journey and it's okay to explore different paths because each experience helps you learn more about

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what you're interested in and where you want to grow. Uh another important thing is to take advantage of relationships whether they're professors or mentors or peers. Uh because those connections can open doors and provide guidance in ways you may not expect. Uh and finally be intentional about your growth. Uh look for opportunities to develop skills, take on responsibilities, and challenge yourself because those experiences really shape your confidence and direction over time. >> Yeah, that's that's great. I think um

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the part that like don't be too hard on yourself. You know, it's okay. You're not going to have it all figured out is really important. A lot of students sometimes, particularly our students who are in our career paths, you know, their dental hygiene, their vette, they they do have a career kind of focused trajectory, but oftentimes they get into that career and they they want to maybe tweak things or go in a different direction. And it can be really stressful to think that, oh, I've done

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all this studying and all this work. Um, but that it's okay. It's okay. And that's kind of what college is for also. It's that you're here to help you figure out like what you don't like as well, just as much as what you do like. You know, I like to tell the story when I was a college student myself, I was studying I studied communications. Um, and I in my college career had four different internships. >> And I'm really grateful that I had those four internships because they taught me

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what I didn't what I didn't like. Um, I really thought I was going to go into the world of magazines and luckily I didn't because magazines died out pretty quickly. But at the time it was actually around 2008 and um, I really I just loved magazines. But I had two internships at different magazines and that taught me very quickly I do not want to work in magazines. So >> it's just as much about learning what you don't like as what you do. >> Um, Vernon, thank you so much for being

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with us today. You are truly an inspiration. I wish you nothing but the best with your your current degree that you're pursuing at Brown. How cool to go from Manor to Penn State to um I think TUS and then Boston and now and now Brown University and Ivy League school. That's that's really remarkable. We're we're so proud of you. Um we wish you nothing but the best and definitely keep us in touch with what's going on with you and and we'll do the same. >> Oh, that sounds good. and thank you so

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much for the incredible work that you're doing and and leading over at Manor and you know I'm really proud that Manor is continuing to excel in many ways and you know having more degree options to offer students and also uh for students that love it so much they can now earn their bachelor's degree at Manor. So that's really fantastic. >> Yeah, it is. It's really great and we we have some talks about some master degree program offering soon. So if you want if you want that fourth masters, you know,

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you can always come back. >> Oh, yeah. I gotta keep that in mind. But yeah, I think I'll be I think I'm done after this third this last >> I think you're done. >> Oh, I'm done. >> As you as you should be. >> All right. Well, thank you, Vernon, so much. >> Thank you for tuning in today. If you like what you heard, listen and subscribe on Spotify or YouTube. Stay up to date with all new episodes by following Manor College on Instagram, Manor College. And that's a wrap on

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another episode of The Nest. Stories about life after Manor College. Remember, Blue Jays, you belong here always.