Announcements & Events

SoLA Impact and UCLA Extension Partner for Scholarship to Retrain Professionals

August 27, 2021

South L.A. Professionals Retrain for High-Demand Career Fields

A joint collaboration between SoLA Impact and UCLA Extension is making a difference in students’ lives. Prompted by the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, SoLA Impact – a leading urban social impact real estate fund – partnered with UCLA Extension to launch an educational initiative, the COVID-19 Retraining & Recovery (CORE) Fund.

The scholarship was designed to help South L.A. professionals laid-off (or furloughed) get back on their feet.

The CORE scholarship facilitates retraining at UCLA Extension in high-demand career fields, such as health care and technology, expected to grow following COVID-19. Recent recipients such as Kyra Rice, who just completed UCLA Extension’s Patient Advocacy Certificate, are already seeing the benefits from this unique scholarship opportunity.

I was a little hesitant about this certificate program in the beginning because I had not been to school in a while and was just nervous about online coursework. I have gained so much knowledge and confidence within myself and the medical field that I currently work in. I see myself also volunteering for a non-profit offering some of my new found skills to others in underprivileged communities.

Kyra Rice

COVID-19 Retraining & Recovery (CORE) Fund Scholar

In addition to certificate programs like Kyra's, UCLA Extension offers custom versions of its Success Academy for all 200 scholars in the CORE program. The Success Academy is a community engagement program that teaches adults essential skills needed to secure, maintain, and advance in a job or launch a career through empowerment sessions.

Whether it’s through collaborations with organizations such as SoLa Impact or programs like the Success Academy, UCLA Extension will continue working to impact students’ lives in the future.

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