C’erra Rhodes is a first-year Virginia Collage Advising Corps adviser at Madison County High School, having graduated from Radford University in 2023. She attended Charlottesville High School, where a VCAC college adviser supported her with her own college application process. “I was served by VCAC advisers throughout my junior and senior high school years,” recalls C’erra. “I wanted to serve as a VCAC adviser because I remember the challenges I faced during the college application process as a first-generation student. Without the guidance of my VCAC adviser, I’m not sure if I would have navigated it successfully on my own.”

One of C’erra’s students says, “I am thankful for Ms. Rhodes because she has been a good advocate for students of color in our school and helping us know that it is okay to be a student of color and to want to go to college.” In addition, C’erra has been doing an impressive job coordinating college exploration activities for her students, including a campus tour of Eastern Mennonite University and an upcoming trip to Longwood University, with support from a State Council of Higher Education for Virginia grant.

“Each day I spend interacting with my kids leaves a lasting impact on me,” says C’erra. “The trust they place in me and the openness with which they confide in me make me feel like I’m genuinely making a difference in their lives. The exchange of stories, both theirs and mine, is a privilege I never take for granted.”