America’s Educational Gem

“Community colleges play an important role in helping people transition between careers by providing the retooling they need to take on a new career” – President Barack Obama

                             Community College is America – Opportunity!

Community college sets the United States apart from any other place in the world in offering open educational opportunities to anyone.  The community college is a cornerstone of success and education in the United States, and a shining example of educational opportunity to everyone around the world. I’m an extremely proud graduate of Shasta College.  Some of the key advantages of a community college education are listed below. .

• Allows everyone the opportunity to attend college
• Smaller student-to-faculty ratio. 
• Many students are returning back to college after a break from the dream of pursuing their college degree or getting a second chance at a college education.
• Long list of amazing two-year degrees, vocational programs, technology programs, and four-year university transfer programs.
• Easy transfer to state colleges, private colleges to ivy league universities.
• Smooth transition between high school to a university.
• Momentum of an Associate of Arts degree (AA) before transferring to a university.
• Amazing faculty, extremely helpful staff, and the most optimistic students anywhere in the world! You can feel the educational enthusiasm!

Community College Remains an Amazing Value

The community college is a wonderful place to knock out the first two years of college at a much lower cost than the four year university.

• Online education through a community college is an inexpensive way to take college courses from anywhere in the world.
• My past students proudly have bachelor’s degrees, MBAs, PhDs, and are now successful entrepreneurs, pursuing hundreds of professions around the world.
• My students boast about the financial advantage of community college vs the four year college.

My  current communication course is similar to any community college course I’ve attended as a student or taught as a faculty member.

• A large number of the faculty members have worked in other professions outside of academia.
• Many of the faculty members are extremely talented and pursuing collegiate teaching as a second or third career.
• The class has students ranging in age from 17 to 64 years old. All amazing students perusing their educational dreams.
• The demography of the class is made up of the first-time college student, returning college student, single parent working multiple jobs, service member deployed around the world, or someone who can only attend a college class virtually.
• Passion and energy! Amazing to watch as they seize this educational opportunity.

Notable Community College Alumni

              “Community College made me what I am I am today” –Tom Hanks

Community college mentorship and support is forever, and the lineage is long and caring! This is a strong fraternity of sharing knowledge and assisting the next generation of community college graduates.

Notable community college graduates include George Lucas, Tom Hanks, Walt Disney, Bonnie Blair, Halle Barry, Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal, Clint Eastwood, James Dean, Sam Sheppard, Eileen Collins, Nolan Ryan, Ross Perot, Sarah Palin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Queen Laifah, James Belushi, Aaron Rodgers, Kweisi Mfume, George Brett and the list goes on.

I distinctly remember each and every one of my instructors while I attended Shasta College.  My Associates of Arts degree (AA) is my most memorable achievement after failing to graduate from high school.  I’m forever grateful that this “American Gem” gave me a second chance at educational success.

The clip below documents the travels NFL Superstar Cam Newton and how Blinn College in Brenham, Texas changed his life and developed the amazing superstar we see today.

https://youtu.be/EiAPubbPAPo

“In the coming years, jobs requiring at least an associate degree are projected to grow twice as fast as jobs requiring no college experience. We will not fill those jobs – or keep those jobs on our shores – without the training offered by community colleges.” – President Barack Obama

A great resource for community college students is the book by Isa Adney, Community College Success

Cheers, 

Greg