Urban Work College

Vision

The vision of the Paul Quinn College Work Program (the Work Program) is to transform potential into achievement by encouraging all students to embrace the ideals of disciplined work, servant leadership, and initiative in preparation for lives of financial freedom, community engagement, and outstanding character.

Mission

The Work Program strives to “poverty proof” the education experience by 1) providing students with meaningful work opportunities that allow them to better serve the Paul Quinn community; 2) developing the necessary skills, habits, and experiences needed to be competitive in the 21st-century job market; and 3) actively contributing towards the cost of their education. This mission is fulfilled by:

  • Creating a competitive workforce for PQC campus operations and outside companies
  • Providing opportunities for student debt reduction
  • Expanding students’ educational experience
  • Strengthening students’ work ethic and commitment to the service of others
  • Encouraging the pursuit of excellence, reflection, and self-development
  • Producing effective, high-quality work supervisors.

Work PRogram Overview

As the nation’s first and only Urban Work College, Paul Quinn is in a unique position to prepare our students for their next step via an experiential model which starts with their very first day on campus. At Paul Quinn College, students have an opportunity to not just learn academically, but learn through the experiences of corporate opportunities. Our students spend their first summer and subsequent two semesters in an on-campus internship to set the foundation for the corporate opportunities to come in years 2-4. Our program is designed to provide our Quinnites with holistic professional development that will set them up for success beyond their time at Paul Quinn. We do this through our Preparing Leaders for Excellence (P.L.EX.) program and our 4E’s Framework:

  • Exposure to pathways they never knew, or thought were possible.
  • Experience in something that they are passionate about and interested in exploring.
  • Engagement and immersion in the workplace culture of their placement.
  • Encouragement to continue to be a lifelong learner and seek to reach their goals and achieve their dreams.

All residential, full-time students are required to participate in the Work Program regardless of their financial need. As part of their participation, students work between 300 and 400 hours per academic year in order to earn a Work Program Scholarship and to receive a cash stipend. Students are permitted to work a minimum of 10 hours per week and a maximum of 20 hours per week.

Participation in the Work Program looks different for each student depending on the student’s interest and our campus needs. One student may assist administratively in the Registrar’s Office, while another develops networking skills at our External Affairs office and yet another, reaches beyond the gates of Paul Quinn by participating in the Corporate Work Program. With more than 35 on-campus work assignments to choose from and 40+ corporate partners, our goal is to lead by example by returning our students to their families and communities, better and more well-rounded than when they first enrolled at Paul Quinn.

Each on-campus assignment is staffed with a supervisor who is committed to ensuring that students perform their jobs well. More importantly, supervisors are primarily charged with developing and mentoring students through uplifting instruction and modeling positive behaviors and attitudes.

All students are required to complete Career Skills for the Global Marketplace. This class offers a transformative journey where students learn critical skills that are aligned with the National Association of College and Employers (NACE) core competencies for career readiness. These competencies include: critical thinking teamwork and collaboration, career management, and global/intercultural fluency. In addition to completing the course, students are required to complete the Microsoft Office Suite (MOS) Certification Preparation Course. After completing this course and additional professional development opportunities sponsored by corporate and community partners, students will have an understanding of what it takes to be an indispensable corporate intern.

Interns are assigned to supervisors who act both as a manager and a professional mentor. Interns receive formal work performance evaluations at both the midpoint and at the end of each semester. Supervisors regularly provide students with constructive feedback throughout the school year and conduct formal performance evaluations at the end of each semester. Evaluations are based on the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Career Readiness Competencies. Students receive letter grades, “A” through “F,” based on the degree in which they fulfill the following expectations and skills:

  • Attendance/ Punctuality
  • Accountability
  • Initiative/ Willingness to Learn
  • Teamwork/ Attitude
  • Prideful Workmanship/Presentation
  • Response to Supervision
  • Workplace Culture, Policy, and Safety Communication
  • Problem-Solving
  • Critical Thinking

Final evaluation grades are reported on students’ work transcripts but do not factor into academic GPAs. Upon completion of the Career Skills Course, the MOS certification, a year of on-campus work experience, and more than 25 hours of professional development workshops, students are ready for the Corporate Work Program (CWP). The CWP is an opportunity for students to gain real-world work experience. Corporate Partners are a critical component of the Paul Quinn Urban Work College model, providing work experience and financial assistance for students. Because of this important role in students success, corporate partners are asked to ensure that interns who work for them are given meaningful, substantial work that challenges them daily.

Corporate Work Program

Southwest Airlines, is the official airline of Paul Quinn and first airline in the school’s Corporate Work Program, investing in the school to promote diverse academic pathways, ultimately inspiring future generations to pursue careers within aviation. This strategic partnership comes at a time when there is a heightened imperative for the airline industry to attract and hire more diverse talent in their workforce.

Work Colleges Consortium

As of March 2017, Paul Quinn College has joined the ranks of eight federally-funded work colleges as the ninth federally-funded work college in the United States, the first minority-serving institution in the Work Colleges Consortium, and the only work college in Texas. We come together around our “comprehensive work-learning-service programs”. President Sorrell currently serves as the Chair of the Work Colleges Consortium’s President’s Council and is the longest-serving President of the member institutions.

Current Consortium Members:

Contact Us

Director of the Work Program
Ashley V. Hamilton
Email: AHamilton@pqc.edu
Phone: 214.379.5512
Office: 206A

Associate Director of Work Program Training
Dr. Marta Torres
Email: WPTraining@pqc.edu
Phone: 214.379.5407
Office: 206B

Open Positions

  • Associate Director, Corporate Work Program Business Development
  • Associate Director, Online Work Program
  • Associate Director, On-Campus Work Program
  • Associate Director, Work Program Training
  • Coordinator, Corporate Work Program
  • Coordinator, Oncampus Work Program
  • Manager, Work Program Events & Logistics
Coach Keldrick McKinney of the track and field team smiling

COACH Keldrick McKinney

About the Coach

Coach Keldrick McKinney is a native of Dallas, Texas who enters his third year as the Head Track and Field/Cross Country Coach at Paul Quinn College. After serving one year as Associate Head Coach under the leadership of Coach Maurice West; Coach McKinney was given the opportunity by Paul Quinn’s legendary Athletic Director James “Zip” Summers.

The program has quickly grown from 3 to now 25 student athletes under the leadership of Coach McKinney. In the second year of competing at the Red River Athletic Conference Track and Field Championships, the Paul Quinn Tigers placed two athletes in the Top 10.

Coach McKinney received his bachelor’s in Kinesiology from Prairie View A&M University. After graduation he then opened a training facility where he trained hundreds of athletes. This provided the background and experience for Coach to thrive at the next level. Coach McKinney’s student-athletes not only excel on the track but also in the classroom as well. Coach McKinney’s team maintains over a 3.0 gpa.

Coach Michael Delgado of the mens soccer team

COACH Michael Delgado

Email: mdelgado@pqc.edu | Phone: 214-379-5374

About the Coach

Coach Michael Delgado has been coaching at the collegiate level since 2009. He began his coaching career at Howard Payne University, shortly after starting his time there as a collegiate soccer player. He began as a student coach and after graduating with a degree in Spanish Education, became an assistant.

In 2015, Coach Delgado moved back to Dallas to form the Men’s and Women’s Soccer program at Paul Quinn College as the assistant coach and became the head coach of the Women’s team in 2017. From 2015-2021 he was also the Men’s assistant coach. 

In 2021, Coach Delgado took over the Men’s program and led the team as the #3 seed (highest in school history) to the USCAA National Championship for the 3rd year in a row, with a 3rd place finish. 

Coach Delgado is a Dallas native and graduated from Mesquite Poteet High School as a district MVP & All-State. He holds his Master’s degree from Concordia University in Coaching & Athletic Administration. He resides in the campus neighborhood of Highland Hills and lives daily by his motto, #AlwaysRefuse2Lose.

coach brandon espinosa

COACH Brandon Espinosa

About the Coach

Brandon Espinosa starts his fourth season as Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Paul Quinn College.

Last season, Coach Espinosa and the Tigers had a historic 19 game turnaround from the previous year going from 7-25 to 26-2 (12-2 RRAC). Coach Espinosa led the 2021-2022 Tigers to the school’s first USCAA Men’s Division I National Championship and the 3rd overall national championship in school history. The Tigers also won the Red River Athletic Conference West (RRAC) regular season title for the first time since joining the conference in 1998. The Tigers finished the 2021-2022 season with the most RRAC wins and highest winning percentage in a season in program history.

The Tigers were the No. 1 seed at USCAA Nationals and had a dominant showing with 3 double digits wins. The championship game featured seven ties and ten lead changes. After trailing by four at half, 38-34, Bryant & Stratton led 67-65 with 6:33 left in the game. Henry Hampton hit a jumper a minute later to give Paul Quinn the lead to highlight a 10-0 run to seal the victory for the Tigers. Ja’Mare Redus led PQC with 18 points while Hampton finished with 17. Spencer McElway added 12, Ja’Mere Redus came off the bench and scored 11, and Steven Tynes chipped in seven points and nine assists.

While the team’s collective efforts were the deciding factor in their success, several outstanding individuals led them both on and off the court. Coach Brandon Espinosa was recognized as the USCAA National Coach of the Year. In addition, senior forward Spencer McElway was selected as a USCAA 1st Team All American, USCAA All Tournament Team and RRAC 2nd Team All Conference. Sophomore forward Trevoin Shaw was voted USCAA 1st Team All American, USCAA All Tournament Team and RRAC 1st Team All Conference. Sophomore guard Ja’mare Redus received USCAA Tournament MVP as well as USCAA 2nd Team All American Honors. Sophomore guard Torron Mingo Jr. earned the USCAA Academic All American award. Junior guard Caleb Thompson received the RRAC Champions of Character award.

During his first season with Paul Quinn, Espinosa led the Tigers to the most conference victories since 2012-2013. In addition, PQC had two players receive RRAC All Conference honors; Spencer McElway was 1st Team All RRAC and Mateo Escheik received 2nd Team All RRAC honors. McElway also joined the schools 1000-point club.

Espinosa also serves as the Director of EYBL and 17U Head Coach for Drive Nation which was founded by former NBA All-Star Jermaine O’Neal. This summer Drive Nation qualified for the 2021 Nike Peach Jam and currently has the most ESPN Top 100 ranked players in the country.

Espinosa has held coaching positions at Bossier Parish Community College, Ranger College and with the Dallas Mavericks NBA G-League affiliate, Texas Legends.

  • In 2016-17, while he was the associate head coach for Chris Lovell at Bossier Parish Community College, Bossier qualified for the Region 14 Championship Tournament for the first time since becoming a member of the conference. In 2017-2018 Bossier again qualified for the Region 14 Championship Tournament and finished with a record of 17-14. The 17 wins was the most for a team at Bossier in ten years.
  • While at Ranger College, he helped head coach Billy Gillispie orchestrate the biggest turnaround in college basketball history. During the 2015-2016 season Ranger went from 2-23 the previous year to 35-3, making the NJCAA national tournament and a Final Four appearance for the first time in the schools 90-year history.
  • From 2013-2015, Espinosa was an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks NBA G-League affiliate Texas Legends. Espinosa coached under Eduardo Najera, who in 2000 was the first Mexican born player to be draftedinto the NBA. During the 2013-2014 campaign the Texas Legends tied the franchise record for most wins in a season with 24. Legends guard PJ Hairston was the first G-League player ever to be drafted in the first round of an NBA draft when he was selected 26th overall by the Miami Heat in 2014.
  • Espinosa also served as the associate head coach for Jeff Webster and Nike Pro Skills 17U EYBL team from 2016-2018.

Espinosa is a native of Houston, Texas. He played collegiately for Dallas Christian College, where in 2010 they won the ACCA National Championship. Espinosa earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 2011.

Paul Quinn did not compete in 2020-2021 due to Covid-19.

Coach Camille Headshot

COACH Camille Smith

Email: csmith@pqc.edu | Phone: 214-379-5499

About the Coach

Camille Smith is in her first season at Paul Quinn College.

Smith was hired in early March and her most recent position was as an Assistant Coach for the WNBA Dallas Wings.

Prior to coaching, Smith played professionally for 10 seasons internationally and 12 seasons in the WNBA before retiring in 2019. Smith was drafted to the San Antonio Silver Stars in the 2007 WNBA Draft as the 17th Overall pick. Amid the start of the 2008 WNBA season, Smith was selected in the Atlanta Dream dispersal draft before being traded to the Seattle Storm where Smith played and won a championship in 2010! In 2015 Smith was traded to the Connecticut Sun, then to the Phoenix Mercury in 2017, where she finished her career.

Internationally, Smith played on multiple teams in Israel (2015 Israel League Champion) and China. She also played in Turkey, Limassol, Cyrpus, Ragusa, Sicily (2016 Cup Champion), Lebanon (2017 Arab Cup Champion), Montpelier, France, and Venice, Italy (2018 Euro Cup runner-up).

As a former student-athlete at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Camille graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in interpersonal communications. A four-time All-ACC selection, she finished her college career with over 1,700 points, 800 rebounds, 250 assists, and 250 steals. As a senior, Camille averaged 13.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game along with 99 steals to help the Tar Heels reach the Final Four. Camille is ranked among the top 20 all-time scorers at UNC and was named Honorable Mention All-American by the Associated Press following her junior year. She averaged 11.7 points and 5.5 rebounds as a junior. As a sophomore, Camille averaged 13.3 points and 8.0 rebounds in the ACC tournament, including a 23-point game against Duke in the finals. In 2004, she was named ACC Rookie of the Year and was the only freshman selected as a finalist for Kodak All-American honor. Camille became the first Tar Heel to be named first-team All-ACC as a freshman.

In high school, Camille was named Associated Press NC Player of the Year and NC Miss Basketball (Class 3A; 2003). Camille was also awarded State Player of the Year by the Charlotte Observer and NC Gatorade Player of the Year (2002 and 2003). In 2001, Camille shared AP Player of the Year honors at Carver High School and helped her team finish with a 30-0 record and State Championship. Camille is a three-time All-State Selection and averaged 20.2 points and 11.1 rebounds per game during her senior year. She holds the record of 2,168 career points during her high school career, was a McDonald’s High School All-American, and played in the 2002 USA Basketball Youth Development Festival. Camille was also named Piedmont Triad All-Conference, four years in a row, and Piedmont Triad Conference Player of the Year, three years in a row.

Camille Smith & her husband Jeremis Smith are happily married & live in the Historical Stop 6 Community.

Coach Patrick Gonzalez of the womens volleyball team

COACH PATRICK GONZALEZ

About the Coach

Coach Patrick Gonzalez is a native of Fort Worth, Texas. He has a Bachelor of Science in Sociology with emphasis in Criminal Justice from Texas Wesleyan University. He also has a M.Ed. in Sports Administration from Concordia University in Austin, Texas. He has coached volleyball for over thirteen years. He has coached on the high school, club, and collegiate level.

He currently coaches for 360 Volleyball Club in Arlington, Texas. Coach Gonzalez brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the Paul Quinn College volleyball program. He served as the women’s assistant volleyball coach at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee for five seasons. While at Fisk University, Coach Gonzalez served as an Admissions Counselor and Director of International Student Services in the Office of Student Engagement. He has also worked at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and served as the Associate Director of Minority Outreach in the Office of Admissions. He most recently was selected into the Big XII Reach & Teach Volleyball Diversity Program.