Before becoming a full-time faculty member, Nwenna was adjunct instructor at CCP since 2014. 

Q: Why are you excited to join Community College of Philadelphia?

A: I'm not new to the College, but I'm excited to join CCP now as full-time faculty because I get to have a greater impact on the College and students.  

Q: How do you look forward to impacting our students with your academic/field training?

A: I look forward to contributing to the diversity of the College. I enjoy watching people and things grow, so I look forward to supporting the College in its growth. I look forward to creating programming that enhances the education of students and contributes to the life of the College.  

Q: Tell us a little about your previous work experience, including titles, and what degrees you have.

A: For the past 12 years, I've been an adjunct professor at various colleges and universities in Philadelphia and the surrounding areas. I have a bachelor's degree in French and a master's in Creative Writing.

In terms of previous work experiences, I owned a raw vegan restaurant in Los Angeles. It was also a catering company and a food delivery business before there was Grub Hub and Uber Eats. I also had vegan food products in more than 30 Whole Foods stores in the Southern California area. I did that for four years of my life and when I closed the restaurant down, I was a private chef for celebrities and others in the LA area. In those four years, I felt like I learned more about business than someone getting an MBA.  

I was a segment producer for a TV show called “Taste of America,” which showcased interesting food from around the country. When I left the show, they featured my restaurant.  

Q: Why did you choose to become an educator?

A: I come from a family of educators. My paternal grandmother graduated from Cheyney University in 1940, the same year my father was born, and she became an educator in the Philadelphia school system. She was the first educator that I knew. She lived until she was 102 years old. I have two aunts on both sides of my family who were educators, and my sister and my cousin are educators. It's in my DNA.  

I've also always felt like educators were interesting people who led interesting lives, and they brought those experiences into the classroom.  My 5^th grade teacher was a Black man named Mr. White, and he lived in Japan for years. He got me interested in math and traveling because he taught us math the way Japanese teachers taught math and he spoke Japanese to us. Even though I'm not great at math, he's the reason why I love to travel.  

Q: What experience or individual influenced your career direction?

A: Besides my family members, there are many faculty members at CCP who influenced my career direction: Dr. Debonair Oates-Primus, Dr. Alexine Fleck, Lucia Gbaya-Kanga, Marissa Johnson, Cherise Shane, Dr. Anya “Aaron” Love. There are too many to name honestly.   

Q: Tell us something about yourself you would like the College community to know – hobbies, what you like to do for fun, a fun fact about yourself.

A: I love to cook, read, write, exercise, garden, meditate, travel and spend time with my family. 

Hundreds of students, staff and friends of the College gathered at Main Campus for the unveiling of Community College of Philadelphia’s new brand on April 11, featuring guest speakers Rep. Jordan Harris, spoken word poets Dr. Michelle Myers and alum Eboni Ferguson, and alum Mutha Knows of Power 99, who served as emcee.

The crowd was entertained by DJ Diamond Kuts, Mad Beatz drumline, stiltwalkers and acrobats from the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, and games, in addition to free food from several Philadelphia vendors that lined half of 17th Street, which was closed to traffic for the event. Local influencers attended to get the word out about the College’s new look. Attendees received giveaways with the new logo, including T-shirts, sunglasses, bandanas, a spoken word poetry book focused on what the College means to them, stickers and temporary tattoos.

Celebrations were held the following week at the Northeast Regional Center and the Career and Advanced Technology Center.

Our new logo, a bold “P,” stands for Philadelphia, where most of our students are from, and where most of our graduates stay. The “P” is created from three different shapes, including a bold number one, celebrating the individual and collective strength of one community, one college, and one city.

A light blue dot rises to the top of the “P” on the left side, signifying students’ ability to rise, relating to our new tagline: “Rise from within.” The message is a call to action, asking Philadelphians to recognize the power they have to improve themselves and the world around them—power that comes from lived experiences, talents, and aspirations.

The accent of light blue that accompanies our brand colors of yellow and black connects the institution to the city’s colors of blue and yellow.

View photos from the block party.

Overheard at CCP

We were curious to hear what members of our community thought about the new brand. Here are a few first impressions:

"The logo capitalizes on the school's atmosphere. It's Philly."  —Khalil M., student

"It's simple. P is for Philly - this is a community for us."  —Daisy N., student

“CCP is the only public, open admission institution in Philadelphia. I had to come and support because this is an amazing school. The rebrand is fire. The logo is fire.” 
—Christian C., 76ers arena host and influencer

“Our AMAZING colleagues in EMSC have worked tirelessly on Community College of Philadelphia’s new branding. Great work! Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate with us!”—Abbey Ametrano, director, Human Resources, CCP

Earning a Behavioral Health/Human Services (BHHS) degree will allow Tracey Downing to help individuals as a support specialist, just like others have helped her throughout her life. The first graduate of the College’s I Am More initiative, which assists justice-involved individuals earn an education, Tracey invites others to learn from her story. With assistance and knowledge she received from others, as well as the BHHS program, she also has come to understand the challenges she has been confronted with in her life.

Tracey was in and out of rehab programs, and institutionalized at times. She  accumulated a record with retail theft associated with active addiction, leaving her mom to raise her six children. “People who were trying to help told me ‘We hope you’ll get tired of this. We see so much potential in you. We hope you make it. We see something in you that you can’t.’ In many county jails, prisons, and recovery programs, counselors and psychiatrists embraced me with unconditional love, education, and knowledge. It still took years to get sober.”

Tracey has been in recovery for 12 years, which started during her last incarceration. After transitioning to a recovery house, equipped with goals and a plan for the future, a son tragically passed away, but Tracey was able to remain sober. At PRO-ACT, which offers educational resources for those in recovery, she earned leadership and group support certificates, and noticed a CCP flyer for those who have experience in the justice system. She has been at the College since 2017, continuing her education through a near death experience and more heartbreak.

A diabetic coma and then a stroke left her on life support and unconscious for weeks; a month and a half in a physical rehabilitation facility followed. After the death of a daughter, BHHS faculty helped her through the funeral and the grief. Despite excruciating muscle pain from fibromyalgia, arthritis, myalgia, and neuropathy, Tracey traveled to campus for classes and frequent tutoring, which provided the extra help she needed due to a learning disability. She had COVID-19 and surgery for gall stone removal. With the support of friends, family, her College network, and her Narcotics Anonymous and Alcohol Anonymous sponsors, Tracey pushed through these hardships to continue with her education.

“I am at awe at the team of professors in BHHS. Their support enabled me to have more confidence and believe in my abilities. I’ve learned so, so much from the professors and staff at CCP. It has been an awesome, rewarding, fulfilling, life-changing, transformational gift of self-discovery,” she said.

Tracey now understands the circumstances that affected her, and knows her family did the best they could with what they knew and what they had.

“My mom was a nurse, and an awesome provider. She would give gifts but did not openly express her feelings because of her painful childhood and life experiences. My sisters and I didn’t want for anything, but there was not much nurturing,” she said.

Eventually, Tracey started looking elsewhere for affection; first, with a grandmother who struggled with alcohol abuse, and then to others in her neighborhood.

“I never felt I fit in or belonged, which was part peer pressure, and part verbal and emotional abuse. I started to feel a deep sadness. I became the neighborhood drifter, looking for love and acceptance.” Societal beauty standards that did not include girls who looked like her, and trauma from sexual abuse and rejection, contributed to her self-destructive behavior of drinking and skipping school. After an abusive relationship, Tracey gave birth to a daughter when she was 16. Eventually, Tracey was eventually able to secure an apartment for her and her child after getting a job in a nursing home. Shortly after, Tracey became addicted after freebasing, and continued drinking.

Now, she has tools she needs to guide her journey.

“I have the spiritual gifts of kindness, compassion, self-determination, courage, resilience and helping the community. My everyday skills are yoga, eating healthy, mindfulness meditation, prayer and faith in Jesus Christ,” she said.

Tracey relates her experiences to the agility of a boxer, dodging punches, getting knocked down and getting back up.

“That’s the story of my life: pivot,” she said.