Colorado Community College System Chancellor Joe Garcia is trying to break the stigma of two-year schools. But more importantly, at least to him, he’s trying to build a pathway to bachelor’s degrees for those that make it through CCCS programs. 

While the nationwide average of two-year students that go onto four-year institutions is around 16%, that number lags in Colorado. 

Western Governors University, a private nonprofit four-year university, has partnered with CCCS on what is called the Bridge to Bachelors program for every community college in the state. 

Jade Jacobson isn’t a guaranteed scholarship recipient but is the type of student that WGU and CCCS think embodies what this program could be. She has an associate’s degree and is a student at WGU pursuing a bachelor’s in advanced education. 

“The passion in the phone call made me realize I can make this change,” she said about being selected as a student who could be a model for the initiative. 

Western Governors University Director of Regional Operations Ismar Vallecillos believes it’s making good on the promises of providing education to those who need it. 

“We want to literally put our money where our mouth is,” he said. 

“Students like her can really demonstrate that you can begin at a community college and you can go anywhere,” echoed Garcia. 

The Bridge to Bachelors program pairs a student with a potential in-state four year university and guarantees admission should they complete their Associates and enroll in the school itself. 

WGU upped the ante by adding a guaranteed scholarship to the program for those who select it as the school they want to go to when their time in community college is up. 

“They can make it and that’s what we want to encourage them to do,” explained Garcia. “[WGU] stepped up and said we want to be a part of that too and we’ll sweeten the pot for your students by giving them a guaranteed scholarship if they complete their associates degree before they enroll.”

Vallecillos believes that it’s a long term investment in the state, of which one of its’ founders was a former Colorado Governor in Ray Romer, and that it’s meant to help bridge education opportunities and provide social mobility. 

They see first generation college students, those from marginalized communities or financial backgrounds and those changing careers in middle age as those that would benefit the most from these scholarships, the Bridge to Bachelors program and WGU education as a whole. 

“We are investing in Colorado through this scholarship program to ensure that we are removing the financial barrier,” Vallecillos said. 

“It definitely took the weight off being able to focus more on my studies and get to my future in the profession,” added Jacobson.

So, there can be more students like Jade Jacobson and more individuals that can find ways to continue to excel. 

House Republican Lauren Boebert is polling 14 points behind potential Democratic rival Ike McCorkle in a hypothetic matchup for Colorado’s 4th congressional district according to a survey conducted on behalf of his campaign.

The poll found McCorkle, a former Marine, would get 43 percent of the vote against 27 percent for Boebert—with another 33 percent of voters undecided.

In December 2023 Boebert, a Donald Trump-supporting hardliner who represents Colorado’s 3rd congressional district in the House, announced she wanted to stand for the state’s traditionally more conservative 4th district in a surprise move. Boebert said she made the move seeking a “fresh start” after a “pretty difficult year for me and my family,” but critics argued she was worried about losing to Democrat Adam Frisch—who she narrowly beat by around 500 votes in November 2022.

The survey McCorkle commissioned was of 423 likely voters in Colorado’s 4th congressional district, conducted by Gravis Marketing between May 22 and May 24 both online and by text. The poll had a margin of error of 4.7 percent.

McCorkle’s survey also found Donald Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential contender, had a healthy lead over President Biden in a presidential contest between the two rivals.

Trump led Biden by 45 percent to 35 percent, with another six percent of voters backing independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and 14 percent undecided.

Speaking to Colorado Politics, McCorkle said the poll showed he could defeat Boebert later this year.

He said: “All across District 4, we hear the same message from voters across party lines: extremism in Washington is the No. 1 threat to our democracy, and our campaign is the one to fight it and win.

“Our team’s hard work across this district has already doubled our lead over Lauren Boebert, while other Democrats in this race are still 10 points behind her. The math is clear; we are the only Democratic campaign that will be successful in November.”

Newsweek contacted Rep. Lauren Boebert and Ike McCorkle for comment on Thursday outside of usual office hours.

Boebert announced her intention to switch district after Republican Ken Buck, who had represented Colorado’s 4th district in the House, announced he wouldn’t be seeking re-elected in November. Buck later resigned his seat and a special election is due to be held on June 25 though Greg Lopez, the Republican candidate, isn’t seeking to defend the seat in November if he wins—giving Boebert an opportunity.

To secure the Republican nomination for Colorado’s 4th district in November Boebert will have to defeat state representatives Mike Lynch and Richard Holtorf, ex-state senator Jerry Sonnenberg, business owner Peter Yu and former talk radio presenter Deborah Flore. For the Democratic nomination McCorkle is running against engineer John Padora and ex-speechwriter Trisha Calvarese, who will also contest the special election in June.

Boebert has a long history of courting controversy and in September 2023 was asked to leave a performance of the Beetlejuice musical in Denver along with a male companion after becoming disruptive. The congresswoman later apologized for her actions saying she “fell short of my values.”

Earlier this month Boebert was one of a number of Republican politicians who attended Trump’s New York hush money trial in New York as a show of solidarity, prompting criticism from The Colorado Sun columnist Matt Littwin, who labeled her “sycophantic.”