Twenty years ago, One Million Degrees began with a simple belief: that community college students deserved support that recognized the full reality of their lives and stayed with them over time.
Since then, the work has taken many forms. It has lived in board rooms and classrooms, in one-on-one conversations and long-term relationships. It has been carried by students who kept showing up, staff who stayed present, alumni who carried the impact forward, and partners who believed in what was being built.
Each story in this series reflects a different part of that journey. One Million Degrees has never been about a single moment or a single person.
As the organization enters its next chapter and into its 20th year, that foundation remains steady.
For Aarti Dhupelia, OMD’s newest CEO, this moment is less about changing direction and more about honoring what has already been built.
“The work doesn’t change just because we grow,” she says.
Growth, in this context, is not about leaving the past behind. It is about carrying it forward.
“There’s a responsibility to protect what makes this work meaningful,” Aarti says.
That responsibility is shared. In her first year, Aarti has spent time listening to the people who have shaped One Million Degrees across its 20-year history. What has become clear is that the organization’s strength lives in its community. In staff who show up day after day. In scholars and alumni whose experiences continue to guide the work. In partners and supporters who have chosen to stay involved.
“This isn’t one person’s story, it belongs to everyone who’s been part of it.”
Aarti Dhupelia
Much of what comes next is already underway. More students being supported. Stronger connections to careers and opportunities. New partnerships extending the work into additional communities. At the same time, the core remains unchanged.
Rather than presenting a fixed vision of the future, One Million Degrees sees what comes next as an invitation.
“The future is something we’re building together,” Aarti says.
Twenty years in, the work continues with purpose.
