Project Attain seeks to close the education gap in adult learners

By Hannah Ross | Solving Sacramento Melanie Dixon (far right), is the executive director of Project Attain, a nonprofit that helps adults navigate and achieve their higher education goals. Pictured here, Dixon speaks with her “navigators” during a staff meeting. (Photo by Nick Shockey) Mia Lopez graduates next week. The communications analyst for the Sacramento Area Council of Governments will be graduating with a Bachelor of Science in communications from the University of Phoenix this spring, completing her higher education journey at age 35. “Everything came together at exactly the right time for me, even though it was about 10 years after when young adults normally go through that process,” Lopez said. “I can hardly believe that I’m here and I really feel like Project Attain was just what I needed to help get me over that hump.” Project Attain, a nonprofit that helps adults navigate and achieve higher education, offers a handful of programs for people like Mia — residents of the eight-county Sacramento region with some or no college education looking to get back to their educational goals. “School is like another language when you start talking about credits and availability of transfer,” Lopez said, adding that she...