- [Narrator] Funding for this edition of Think Tank with Steve Adubato has been provided by New Jersey Children’s Foundation.

Giving all Newark students the opportunity to achieve.

EJI, Excellence in Medicine Awards.

A New Jersey health foundation program.

Congress Hall.

A Cape Resorts property.

PSEG Foundation.

The Fidelco Group.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Working for a more a healthier, more equitable New Jersey.

Wells Fargo.

And by The Russell Berrie Foundation.

Making a difference.

Promotional support provided by The New Jersey Business & Industry Association.

And by New Jersey Monthly.

The magazine of the Garden State, available at newsstands.

[MOTIVATIONAL MUSIC] - Hi, everyone.

Steve Adubato.

We kick off the program with Dr. Shawna Hudson, who's Senior Associate Dean for Population Health Research at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Good to see you, doctor.

- Pleasure to be here, Steve.

- Let's also make clear you're a sociologist, correct?

- Yes, I am a sociologist by training and my faculty appointments in family medicine and community health.

- Yeah, we're gonna talk about that a little bit more.

And also the EJI Excellence in Medicine Awards, which I've been honored to host for many years, and you'll be receiving the Peter W. Rodino Citizenship Award, which is very prestigious.

We'll talk about that in a minute.

But how about this, someone says, what the heck would a sociologist, why are you laughing?

Why would a sociologist be involved in medical school education?

Very important, respond to that, Dr. Hudson.

- Yes.

So people are people first and patients second.

And so we really wanna make sure that when we're addressing the needs of our patients, that we're thinking about them holistically in the context of their families and their communities and the healthcare systems that they're in.

So as a sociologist, I watch, but then I also learn to intervene.

And so a lot of what we do is around trying to help people have better health behaviors and engage in better healthcare seeking in the systems of care that they're in.

So that's why sociologists are actually useful, helpful, and needed within the context of medical education.

- Are you actually engaging medical school students directly as they prepare to become tomorrow's physicians?

This is part of our series about tomorrow's physicians.

I'm gonna try a devil's advocate question.

Someone says either someone has the interpersonal skills, the so-called bedside manner, we're talking about a lot more than that, or they don't, that's not necessarily true, is it?

- It's not.

And actually, so there are a lot of other skills that come in.

So there's the bedside manner piece the you know, we try to teach people how to engage with others, but there are also some important pieces for just being able to understand clinical evidence and information that's out there.

So there are evidence-based guidelines.

We wanna make sure that our medical students are strong connoisseur of the literature that's there, that they can actually discriminate between a good piece of science versus a piece of science that's not necessarily based on the strong merit.

So part of what we do with the training that we have around dissemination and discovery is really to make sure that our students understand how to look at studies, how to better understand what they're saying, and then how to actually engage in guideline care when they're in their settings.

- Dr. Hudson, you've also done extensive research on people who are dealing with cancer.

- Yes - I don't like the term cancer patients, but there are patients who are dealing with cancer and their long-term needs.

Talk about that, cancer survivors.

- Yeah, so I've spent the bulk of my career working with patients in this setting and actually they really are people.

So you have a cancer diagnosis, you go through your treatment.

A lot of people then say either, you know, if they've gotten curative therapy, then hopefully that's the end of their road, but that's really not the end.

It's sort of the beginning of a bunch of other issues that come about because of either their treatments or the cancer.

So we have sort of this lifetime of dealing with different, what we call comorbid conditions, but other chronic diseases that may come about either as a result of treatment or because of the process of aging.

So one of the nice things about this moment in time is that people who have had cancer, and we actually talk about them as individuals who've had a history of cancer, that they really then age for 15, 20 years.

And that's not something that we were seeing back in the '70s.

And so we wanna make sure that that aging process is one that they actually are able to do gracefully and that they live to the fullest extent that they possibly can.

So we want quality of life, not just quantity of life.

- Doctor, how did you become fascinated by this field and the people that are affected and impacted by it?

- So I actually have had, there are many people in my family who have actually been affected by cancer, but when I started this, that was really not sort of the driver.

Subsequent, my mother died of lung cancer.

My father is prostate cancer survivor.

I've had a number of aunts and uncles who have dealt with colorectal cancer and other types of cancer.

And so part of it is personal now, but when I first started it was really looking at how do people navigate the system of care?

And many people, once you have a diagnosis, if you haven't had a strong sort of primary care relationship, that's your first entree into the system.

And so really wanting to make sure that people could figure out how do you best navigate?

And then once you're done with your treatment, where do you go for the best care to continue that quality?

- I was gonna disclose something about a family member who's dealing right now with a cancer diagnosis, but everyone watching, I cannot imagine that everyone watching regardless of what platform you see us on, that there isn't someone in your life who is dealing with cancer at different stages.

And the clinical and the medical component, and I won't get on my soapbox, they're obviously important, but the human aspect of dealing with cancer as a survivor that doctor Hudson's talking about is so important and in that spirit, let me ask you this.

Again, I've been involved in the EJI Excellence in Medicine awards for many years and, and you are the recipient of the Peter W. former late great congressman Peter W. Rodino who was a mentor of mine growing up in Newark and chair of the Watergate Nixon impeachment proceedings in the mid 1970s.

You are receiving the Peter W. Rodino Jr. Citizens Award from the EJI Excellence in Medicine from the team.

What does that mean to you, doctor?

- I have to say that, you know, one of the most important parts of my work is being able to put the patient and the person and the individual voice forward.

And so it's really important to me to get the citizenship award because it means that the work that I'm doing is actually meaningful and it's really putting those people's spaces in the places where we understand that we're dealing with individuals at the end of the day and not just people moving through systems of care.

So really excited to get that award.

- Last question.

This is again, part of our series, Tomorrow's Physicians.

And there'll be many future physicians at that event who receive scholarships.

It's a big part of the event is raising money for scholarships.

Why are you optimistic about the future physicians or physicians of tomorrow?

- So I'm really excited about the future physicians because we are seeing lots of people who are exploring medicine and healthcare fields who have not actually been able to access them in the past.

And so it's really nice to see the reflection of our patient populations really coming through as our students who will then in the future be giving care to the rest of us.

So it's just wonderful to see so many new people, so many first generation and others who are really coming into the field and helping and going back to their communities to continue that work.

- It is incredibly rewarding to be a part of that event, to see those medical students who need these dollars to get through medical school and know that they're going on to make a difference in the field of medicine, healthcare.

And congratulations Dr. Shawna Hudson for receiving the Peter W Rodino Jr. Citizens Award at that event.

Thank you, Dr. Hudson.

- Thank you very much, Steve.

- You got it.

Stay with us, we'll be right back.

- To watch more Think Tank with Steve Adubato, find us online and follow us on social media.

- We're now joined by Yasmeen Sampson, who is head of school at Philip's Academy Charter School in Newark.

Yasmeen great to have you with us.

- Thank you so much for having me.

- Describe the school.

- So, Philip's Academy I think is a really special place.

I don't even know where to begin, but our history now is approaching 37 years years.

In 1988, Philip's Academy started with 10 students in Newark as an independent school.

So, we are the first school in New Jersey to convert from independent to Charter, and that was with the mission of being able to serve more students, a real high quality education.

And so that's been the mission to, since the very beginning, to give the very best to students what they deserve.

- So, lemme ask you this, this is part of our series in the graphic come up urban education that works.

- Yeah.

- We're trying to understand what works, what does not, what are two or three of the most important components of the success of Philip's Academy Charter School?

The keys to making it work for the students and the parents of those students?

- Think on like a philosophical big picture kind of approach.

We wholeheartedly believe that you can have a rigorous, real high expectation education and not compromise happiness and joy.

So, like our model is rigor and joy.

I think sometimes...

I think sometimes we can miss the moment to show our students in urban areas that happiness is still within their reach while we care really deeply about closing academic gaps.

I would say in addition to that, a holistic approach because you can't just give the basics when we're kind of fighting our way to the top.

So, we do believe in wellness as a real important tenant to how we educate.

And I think sometimes it gets lost in like holistic or we're well-rounded.

But I think we kind of do that well because we try to get to the root of issues.

- This is interesting 'cause you used the word rigor a couple times.

Rigor to me, the definition of it is just having the highest standards in everything we do, that can be challenging for adults, much less students.

How well do your students respond to not just, the rigor that is expected, the standards that are expected of excellence, but also the candid conversations, the feedback that you give.

I'm a student of feedback and how people respond to it, how people give it.

How do you even teach doing that for your educators, your teachers, and then putting the students in the right frame of mind to receive it?

I know that's a loaded question, but over your shoulder it says everything's figureoutable Yasmeen.

- Yes.

- So, help us prove that.

(Yasmeen laughing) - Well that's a heavy one.

- I know.

- Where I'll start is we've done I think the hard work of getting really grounded in what we believe.

And so we have core values.

One of our core values is unwavering belief, that we believe that we can achieve really hard things as a community.

Another one of our core values is a culture of feedback, Steve.

And so everybody can give and receive feedback and so nobody is above feedback.

Administration have to take the feedback when we're getting it wrong, we're getting it right, and same with all the adults in the building.

And I will say it's not the easiest thing to get used to, however, it is essential for growth.

And so as we embody this as a way of being, I think it begins to permeate all the things that we do.

And not to say that it's 100% where we want it to be, but I think as we root ourselves in what we believe, then the actions follow.

- And what a gift, a tool, to give to students who come through Philip's Academy Charter School to be in the frame of mind of growth and improvement, which requires candid constructive feedback, which is often hard to hear.

That's way more than just getting a good grade on a test.

That's a life skill.

How about this one?

What about the, is it the Eco Space?

- Yes, our Eco Spaces program?

- Eco Space education program, talk about that.

- Yeah, so I think a lot of times, people will come to our building just because we have a rooftop garden The cool thing about the garden is, it is representation of so much more.

So, we definitely teach students that there's this sustainable, healthy way to live and eat, but there's also embedded in the curriculum, cross curricular learning.

So, the idea of seed to table, but also measurement and collaboration.

And we serve food in a family style format so that we're also having conversations and it's not just, there are moments to disconnect and connect with each other as a community.

So, I would say that the Eco Spaces program, like on, um... basic scale, we have a hydroponic garden where kids are able to grow and eat the food that they grow.

We have a garden, we have a teaching kitchen, but really we're trying to teach our community around healthy living that is fighting against obesity and fighting against poor, um... just habits that have been ingrained in our communities.

- Yasmeen lemme try this.

Being born and raised in Newark, in Brick City, going to the public schools in Newark, as a kid, many years ago, and I think about the expectations, the lack of expectations that so many have, of so many kids out of Newark, particularly African American Hispanic students, low expectations on the part of so many who don't know them.

You have high expectations for those students because?

- Because they're worth it.

I think for me, just given a little tiny bit about who I am.

I have spent all of my years in Newark educating students for the past 24 years.

I also have experienced students who attend the highest, tuition-based schools in New Jersey because New Jersey has such a range.

And so I believe that all of our students in Newark deserve the same thing.

They deserve beautiful buildings, they deserve excellent experiences, they deserve high expectations, and they deserve mission statements that say our kids can be happy.

We kind of were raised with this idea of like grit and fighting to get what you, you know, what are basic needs.

And I think at Philip's, what we believe is that it shouldn't be a fight to have what kids deserve.

And so we are unwavering in that.

- One to 10, I ask people this all the time.

One to 10, your passion level for the work you do is what?

- 10 hands 10.

- 10 outta 10?

- 10 outta 10.

- Even in the tough times?

- Even in the tough times.

- Because?

- The tough times are, (Yasmeen laughing) the tough times are tough, Steve, but I think it's the passion that keeps us at the 10.

- And I gotta do this as a student of leadership, obsessed by it.

Everything.

If you can see that it says everything is figureoutable.

I have the exact same, our team thinks, he's ridiculous.

You believe that, don't you?

- I do.

I really do.

- It has to be even if, and I won't get on my soapbox.

Even if what you figure out was not what you thought you would figure out, just accepting the status quo because it's the way it is, that's a prescription for mediocrity and ultimately failure, whether it's a school or any other organization.

Yasmeen Sampson doing important work.

Head of school at Philip's Academy Charter School, part of our series, "Urban Education That Works."

Yasmeen cannot thank you enough for joining us.

Make sure you join us in the future.

We'll have you back to talk about the progress of your work with you and your colleagues and your students.

Thank you Yasmeen.

- Thank you so much Steve.

- You got it, stay with us, we'll be right back.

- To watch more Think Tank with Steve Adubato, find us online and follow us on social media.

- We're now joined by Margo Chaly, who's Executive Director of the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.

Now, Margot, there is an acronym.

What is it?

Is it HESAA?

H-E-S-A-A.

- That's right.

HESAA.

And we always like to say students are at the center of everything we do.

- Now the websites up right now.

What do you do for students exactly?

- HESAA's mission is to provide a financial aid to New Jersey residents who pursue a college degree in the Garden State.

And we administer over half a billion dollars every year in grants and scholarships.

Our largest financial aid program, the Tuition Aid Grant, known as TAG.

- TAG, right.

- TAG supports nearly 80,000 students a year.

And this is a testament to the investment in higher education, especially under the Murphy administration, to make sure college in New Jersey is affordable and accessible.

- I mentioned before we got on the air that the 529 College Savings Program has been a big part of how we and our family have helped to fund the education of our children on the college level.

But explain to folks what the heck is a 529 plan and how does someone start it, access it, make it work for them, for their family.

- That's right.

The other side of our house, beyond the financial aid and financial literacy resources, is saving for college.

And the NJBEST 529 College Savings Program allows families to invest in themselves and their young learners.

Now, the benefit of a 529 College Savings Account is that you don't have to be a parent to open one.

Any relative or friend of a family member can open an NJBEST 529 College Savings for a young learner.

And that's what we encourage that these accounts are open when children are young.

So there's plenty of time to invest and saving early and often is what we say.

This is also another opportunity for families to talk about financial aid literacy, saving, budgeting in general, and any opportunity to chip away and make a contribution to an NJBEST 529 College Savings Account allows this nest egg to grow and eventually be used for educational expenses like college tuition.

- Okay, so let's put this in context.

I only know about this because we've done it for four children at different times, and I also know that the way that investment is managed is very cautious.

I'm not gonna turn this into a commercial for 529s, but I also know as children become closer to college age, that portfolio, particularly in uncertain times in the equity market, it becomes even more conservative and protected.

Is that a fair assessment, Margo?

- That's right.

With our partners at Franklin Templeton, we make strategic and wise investments in the plan so that there are these funds available when it comes time to use them.

Usually around beneficiaries age of 18, but there is no age limit on these NJBEST 529 accounts either.

Which is- - Oh, oh, what do you mean there's no age limit?

What does that mean?

- You can take out the funds when you need them.

So you might not go to college right after high school and you can continue to invest that money and when it's time for you to go to college, you can withdraw your funds and use them as necessary.

- Can they be used for other educational purposes other than "college?"

- That's right.

Eligible education expenses do actually include high schools, vocational programs.

The reality is you can even use savings in a 529 to pay off student loans.

- You can.

That's legal, ethical, appropriate, right?

- That's correct.

And with the changes in the federal IRS code a few years ago, you can actually roll any funds into an IRA plan as well up to $35,000 - An individual retirement account.

- That's right.

- Say someone says, "Well, wait a minute, how much do I have to have to get into this?"

How much do I have to have to get it started?

The 529 College Savings Plan, NJBEST College Savings Plan.

- It only takes $25 to open an NJBEST 529 account.

But of course, anytime there's available funds, perhaps after a birthday or kindergarten graduation or some other celebratory milestone in a young learner's life or family members just want to contribute that funds can be deposited at any time.

Contributions can be made throughout ongoing.

- How the heck did you get into this, Margo?

You're a lawyer by background.

- I am, and I've been at HESAA now for about four years.

My journey here started as Chief of Staff and then a year ago when our former Director moved on to his next adventure, I was able to step into this role and appointed by the Governor to have the honor to serve New Jersey by leading this agency.

And when you talk about financial aid, the generous supports that we provide, as well as this mammoth institution of NJBEST 529 Saving for College, it is a wonderful opportunity to make sure students are aware that there is an academic journey beyond high school and that if they choose to pursue it, we are here to help them not only with the financial resources, but all the supports throughout what can be a complicated process.

- Speaking of complicated, I got a minute left.

FAFSA, go ahead.

What does it stand for?

Financial- - FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and FAFSA is the gateway application that New Jersey residents can use to find out their eligibility for both federal and state aid.

So it's one of- - How do you navigate it?

Can people go on your site to find out how the heck to navigate the FAFSA?

- That's right, HESAA.org, we have all kinds of contact information.

You can call us, you can email us, you can sign up for one of our virtual webinars, and we walk through, walk with families through this process to make it as easy as possible.

We'll answer any of your questions and we also do some live in-person events.

Just reach out to us and we can come to your neighborhood.

- We could not end this conversation about college affordability without talking about FAFSA.

And Margo Chaly is the Executive Director of the New Jersey Higher Education, excuse me, Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, otherwise known as HESAA.

Margo, thank you so much.

We appreciate it.

- Thank you so much, Steve.

- I'm Steve Adubato, that's Margo Chaly.

We'll see you next time.

- [Narrator] Think Tank with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by New Jersey Children’s Foundation.

EJI, Excellence in Medicine Awards.

A New Jersey health foundation program.

Congress Hall.

A Cape Resorts property.

PSEG Foundation.

The Fidelco Group.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Wells Fargo.

And by The Russell Berrie Foundation.

Promotional support provided by The New Jersey Business & Industry Association.

And by New Jersey Monthly.

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