HBS Skydeck: Boosting Community College Outcomes

HBS Skydeck: Boosting Community College Outcomes

From HBS Managing the Future of Work by Harvard Business School

May 29, 2026 · 15 min

About this episode

Aarti Dhupelia discusses the value of community colleges and the support provided by One Million Degrees.

We present a recent episode of the HBS SkyDeck alumni podcast featuring Aarti Dhupelia (MBA 2005), CEO of One Million Degrees. The nonprofit supports community college students through career development, paid internships, and financial incentives tied to academic progress. Dhupelia discusses why community colleges are too often viewed as a fallback option despite offering an affordable, career-focused post-secondary path, and why employers should take a closer look at the talent and resilience community college graduates bring to the workforce.

People in this episode

Guest: Aarti Dhupelia

Topics covered

  • community colleges
  • career development
  • internships
  • education
  • workforce

Keywords

  • community college
  • career-focused education
  • paid internships
  • academic progress
  • workforce talent

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: One Million Degrees, Harvard Business School

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