This week, community college practitioners from across the country gathered in Philadelphia, Pa., for DREAM 2025 – Achieving the Dream’s (ATD) flagship event. Among the attendees were four Belk Center Fellows, who had the opportunity to engage with colleagues, exchange insights and explore strategies aimed at driving impactful change at community colleges nationwide.
The doctoral students that participated in the conference represented the larger 2025 Belk Center Fellows cohort, and during this 21st annual convening, they joined thousands of practitioners from colleges to exchange evidence-based approaches to accelerating student success and driving economic vibrancy.
The Belk Center’s Fellows Program began in 2017 through a partnership with Achieving the Dream (ATD) and the creation of a cohort of DREAM fellows. The program later expanded to include a partnership with the League for Innovation in the Community College. The goal of the program is to bring together groups of doctoral students to listen and engage in national conversations surrounding community colleges and student success.
Alongside the Fellows, several Belk Center staff and researchers attended the conference, leading sessions on faculty professional learning through the North Carolina Teaching and Learning Hubs, and leading innovation at rural community colleges.
“Attending the DREAM conference is an invaluable opportunity for both our Belk Center Fellows and staff to collaborate with community college practitioners from across the nation,” says Audrey J. Jaeger, Ph.D., executive director of the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research. “Our team is proud to be a part of this annual convening, as it allows us to exchange ideas, deepen our understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing these institutions and explore solutions that can drive meaningful change in support of faculty and student success.”
Meet the 2025 ATD DREAM Attendees
Amanda Jewett Zekanis coordinates the implementation of Johnston Community College’s (JCC) Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), which focuses on first-year student success through initiatives such as faculty professional learning, early alert reporting and student mentoring.
Christie T. McCray is the program manager for the Master of Biomedical Science (MBS) degree program at Duke University School of Medicine, where she is responsible for administrative oversight of the program, including budget management, recruitment, admissions, onboarding and student services.
Beth Brehler is the associate vice president of student
success at Alamance Community College. She leads the
recruitment, admissions, records, veteran services and financial aid departments, and plays a key role in planning, assessing and improving services to foster student success.
Adam Wade is dean of student onboarding and success at Central Carolina Community College. His career spans roles in orientation, LGBTQ+ programming, success coaching, academic advising, student conduct, behavioral assessment and intervention, and housing and residence life.
