First, a confession.
I am a product of a community college.
Second, another confession...
I am proud to be a product of a community college.
Back in the day (more than 20 years ago), I was sitting in summer school because I failed 10th grade English by 1 point. I was missing a swim meet. I was filling out stupid worksheets. I was bored off my rocker.
My 10th grade teacher, a woman I despised at the time, flunked me because I was "lazy, unmotivated, and refused to work to my potential" (I am reading the report card right as I type this).
As I sat in that classroom and looked around, I remember thinking that I didn't belong there. I read all of the time; my vocabulary, thanks to my parents, was fairly robust. I had read all the books I was supposed to read, but I was too stubborn, or thought I was too cool, to fill out the worksheets.
The summer school teacher, whose name has long since escaped me, asked if I really wanted to spend my life working at gas station because I was too lazy to do my homework.
That summer changed me.
You never admit this when you are a kid, but OMG...I didn't want to end up in some boring dead-end job. I wanted to go to college. I want to be noticed for how smart I was and not for how cool I thought I was (and, truly, I wasn't even very cool).
To make a long story very short: I got my act together.
In the summer between my junior and senior year, I went to summer school again - by choice. I went to the local community college and took all the math courses I needed to catch up so I could take Calculus and Trig 1 and 2 during my senior year.
During that summer experience, a bunch of returning adult students were in my classes. They were all going for nursing. They pulled me along with them by the scruff of my neck and kept telling me that I had it good; my parents could help me. They waited too long and it was harder because they had jobs and families.
We studied together in the learning center, the cafeteria, the lounges. We held study groups at each other's houses on the weekends. I don't remember any of their names or faces now, but I sure do owe them a lot. They helped me be a better student and a better person.
My parents weren't prepared for me to go to college. I had never shown any interest, academically or otherwise, in going. As a middle income family, there wasn't money to pay the big bucks of college. As a student with a spotty academic (not to mention naughty behavior) past, my options were slim. My mother wasn't convinced that I had converted to the good side, either, and she was a little hesitant to toss all kinds of money at a whim. My father told me that I had one semester to prove myself if I wanted their continued help.
Much to everyone's relief, I made honor roll that first semester, the second semester, and all the way through graduate school. A community college changed my life and gave me a fresh start to become the person I am today.
As state governments choose to cut this program and that program, I hope they will consider the invaluable services provided by a community college. Trade programs, transfer programs, and community programming are just a little bit of the amazing services these schools provide.
As costs rise, and students shoulder more of these costs, there needs to be a place where students can go that fits within their budgets and offers flexibility to work around work schedules. These schools need the best equipment, and a commitment to continued support for technology and diversity.
Please do all you can to support your local community college and its efforts to retain state and local funding. Even if you have never stepped foot in one, I promise that you will meet a community college graduate. He will be taking your X-Ray after you slip on the golf course or taking notes during your meeting with your lawyer. She might be preparing your taxes or fixing your computer. He might be building your cabinets, or she might be helping you solve an insurance problem. He might be teaching your child or saving your life in an ambulance.
Community colleges matter.
I am a product of a community college.
Second, another confession...
I am proud to be a product of a community college.
Back in the day (more than 20 years ago), I was sitting in summer school because I failed 10th grade English by 1 point. I was missing a swim meet. I was filling out stupid worksheets. I was bored off my rocker.
My 10th grade teacher, a woman I despised at the time, flunked me because I was "lazy, unmotivated, and refused to work to my potential" (I am reading the report card right as I type this).
As I sat in that classroom and looked around, I remember thinking that I didn't belong there. I read all of the time; my vocabulary, thanks to my parents, was fairly robust. I had read all the books I was supposed to read, but I was too stubborn, or thought I was too cool, to fill out the worksheets.
The summer school teacher, whose name has long since escaped me, asked if I really wanted to spend my life working at gas station because I was too lazy to do my homework.
That summer changed me.
You never admit this when you are a kid, but OMG...I didn't want to end up in some boring dead-end job. I wanted to go to college. I want to be noticed for how smart I was and not for how cool I thought I was (and, truly, I wasn't even very cool).
To make a long story very short: I got my act together.
In the summer between my junior and senior year, I went to summer school again - by choice. I went to the local community college and took all the math courses I needed to catch up so I could take Calculus and Trig 1 and 2 during my senior year.
During that summer experience, a bunch of returning adult students were in my classes. They were all going for nursing. They pulled me along with them by the scruff of my neck and kept telling me that I had it good; my parents could help me. They waited too long and it was harder because they had jobs and families.
We studied together in the learning center, the cafeteria, the lounges. We held study groups at each other's houses on the weekends. I don't remember any of their names or faces now, but I sure do owe them a lot. They helped me be a better student and a better person.
My parents weren't prepared for me to go to college. I had never shown any interest, academically or otherwise, in going. As a middle income family, there wasn't money to pay the big bucks of college. As a student with a spotty academic (not to mention naughty behavior) past, my options were slim. My mother wasn't convinced that I had converted to the good side, either, and she was a little hesitant to toss all kinds of money at a whim. My father told me that I had one semester to prove myself if I wanted their continued help.
Much to everyone's relief, I made honor roll that first semester, the second semester, and all the way through graduate school. A community college changed my life and gave me a fresh start to become the person I am today.
As state governments choose to cut this program and that program, I hope they will consider the invaluable services provided by a community college. Trade programs, transfer programs, and community programming are just a little bit of the amazing services these schools provide.
As costs rise, and students shoulder more of these costs, there needs to be a place where students can go that fits within their budgets and offers flexibility to work around work schedules. These schools need the best equipment, and a commitment to continued support for technology and diversity.
Please do all you can to support your local community college and its efforts to retain state and local funding. Even if you have never stepped foot in one, I promise that you will meet a community college graduate. He will be taking your X-Ray after you slip on the golf course or taking notes during your meeting with your lawyer. She might be preparing your taxes or fixing your computer. He might be building your cabinets, or she might be helping you solve an insurance problem. He might be teaching your child or saving your life in an ambulance.
Community colleges matter.
I don't mean to brag, but when Dr. John K. Lesier, associate professor of biology, was named the Pennsylvania Professor of the Year for 2012, Northampton Community College became home to two professors of the year (including Dr. Vasiliki Anastasakos, 2010)! Douglas Heath, a geography and geology professor at NCC, received the Distinguished Teaching Award from the National Council for Geographic Education and is included in Who's Who Among American Teachers. Sharon Lee-Bond, an associate professor of biology at NCC, received the 2010 Two-Year College Biology Teaching Award by the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT). She is one of two teachers nationwide to be chosen for this honor. Some of the best and brightest are right in my own back yard, and I am lucky enough to have them teaching at MY college. Take that, Yale!
ReplyDeleteGO SPARTANS!
Some of the most enthusiastic students I met were the ones I tutored in math at Northampton Community College. I spent a semester tutoring while waiting for the USAF to send me assignment orders. My students at NCC wanted to be there, they wanted to learn, which was a stark difference from many of my former classmates to Lehigh University. Community colleges fill a very critical need in providing education to the community at large.
ReplyDelete