Túbal Padilla-Galiano, CPCS ‘89

My name is Túbal Padilla Galiano. I hold a Masters in City Planning degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (class of 1991) and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Public and Community Services (CPCS) of the University of Massachusetts (class of 1989).

I work with NeighborWorks America, a national community development intermediary. In my work I help nonprofit organiza­tions develop affordable housing, build grassroots community leaders, provide home-ownership opportunities to low and moderate income families, make for healthier urban neighborhoods and rural communities, create economic opportunities for those left behind, address basic social justice issues. I can do this because of CPCS.

I got married in 1977 and in 1979 dropped out of college. For years I worked in community development organizations, making what I think were significant contributions and deriving personal satisfac­tion and pride. By 1987 my oldest son was finishing elementary school and the importance of a college education began to be part of our conversations. It was then when I first came face to face with the realities of not having graduated from college. I was a competent and committed employee but had very limited opportunities for professional growth, not much of a chance for a “career” beyond a string of jobs. But more importantly, I knew I spoke from a position of weakness when I spoke to my son about college education, my message was not supported by my example.

Finding CPCS was finding a treasure. I could receive academic credit for my practical experience, work at my own pace, define a major, work one on one with members of the faculty, and share in a unique, diverse and dynamic community of adult learners. To my amazement, within minutes during my first interview with a counselor, the first time I had set foot in the college’s old downtown building, I was asked about my plans for graduate studies. I had not even submitted an application for admission in the college and here was this woman challenging me to create a new horizon.

The following two years were an intense learning experience; always feeling among peers, never as a student to be taught but as an equal contributor to a community of learners. CPCS was like a world into itself, it had to be, it has to be, its mission demands it. The student body, the faculty, the staff, and the competency-based curriculum interact creating a democratic culture that is essential to the college’s mission.

People are usually impressed when they find out that I graduated from MIT, something about which I feel especially proud. But the truth is that CPCS made a bigger impression on me.

Túbal Padilla-Galiano,

NeighborWorks America