How I Started Community College

I'm attending El Paso Community College to start off my education. My ambition is to be the first one in my family to be a college graduate. Gain a level of independence, there is still much for me to learn not only in school but in the real world as well. Community College will allow me to complete a degree in a giving environment well also beneficially not costing too much. Thanks to Advanced Placement and Dual credit courses, I have completed some of the requirements needed for my degree. Therefore, I wish to transfer to a bigger university so that I may have an opportunity in my majoring field. I'm not a native El Pasoen however it has become another place I call home. Although I wish to experience more of a diversity in other cities.

Life skills play an important role for becoming successful professionally and improving our personal lives. Oprah, in her lifeclass video, talks about being responsible for yourself and not waiting for anyone else to change the circumstances around you as a way to develop the skills necessary to flourish. The story of Robert Sherfields first experience at community college, “How Community College Changed My Life” tells of how Mr. Sherfield let go of his past failures and worked toward a better future for himself. The quote by Charles Noble “First we make our habits, then our habits make us!” is great to remember when developing the life skills necessary to continue to grow in all aspects of our lives. The video, story and quote can all be connected, good habits produce responsible people. Responsible people are aware of their

During my high school days and the last few semesters when I was at Sandhill Community College I was way too comfortable. I slacked off and all I was thinking about was just getting doing the minimum to just be finished already. Recently, I was pushed by the looks of my grades that I just needed to get things done; I wanted to be free, not to do my best, just to finish so I could say I passed all my classes. Now I realize life isn’t about just getting by, but about bringing all you have to be able to become successful in what needs to be done. In the next paragraphs I will explain what I expected to happen, what actually happened, what I learned, and how I will apply what I learned to future plan.

My most significant endeavor since attending community college has been has been protesting Capitol Hill at Washington, D.C. demanding congress to pass a clean Dream Act. As a member of the organization United We Dream, I went with them on a 16 hour long bus trip to the capital from Miami. Once we got to the capital, we went to a local church to practice how the protest was going to happen. At the church, I met many students like myself who all came to voice their demands to congress. During the lunch break, I met a student my age in the same grade. He noticed I was wearing a University of Southern California jacket and asked if I went there. I told him that I was a community college student at Miami Dade College planning on transferring there, that's when he told me he also attended a community college in Colorado and was planning to attend the same university.

Graduating high school was an exciting time, but I felt lost. I wasn't sure of my career goals or what I wanted to accomplish at University. When I first decided to attend community college, I felt hesitant because I did not take the traditional route like my other classmates. However, community college was cheaper and would give me time to figure out the career path I wanted to take.

Introduction: It seemed so far away, and all of a sudden I had to make the decision. A decision that would change the rest of my life. From the time I was little I knew I wanted to go to college, and here I am. I have always had the desire to continue my education and gain many experiences after I graduated from high school. I didn’t ever thing twice about continuing my education

Where does one go to college, to further their academic education, while also having qualifications, time, and money restricting them? The simple answer to this question is Community College. Individuals regularly struggle to attend college, either after high school or later in life, because of the difficulties of attending major universities. Therefore, community college is crucial, to people of all ages, wanting to further their education.

In the past, community colleges used to be lowly reputed due to the claim that they offered less education than the customary 4-year universities. In this regard, four-year universities were believed to be more prestigious possessing feasible professional preparation than community colleges. However, with the current universities’ prices increase, and community colleges amplification of their study’s fields and enhanced quality; those, have brought considerable transformations in the arena of higher education. Thus, this essay explores the reasons for attending a community college instead of a four-year university college.

One question that I am often asked after introducing myself is “but why are you here though?” For many people that I’ve talked to, the thought of a Wisconsinite moving to Michigan for community college seems a little out of place. For most people, community college is something that is done before moving to another state for college,not after. However, this was not the route I was destined to take, and it payed of to be one of the best ones of my academic career, even if it does come of as a little strange.

I am a first-generation, Chicano and will soon finish my last semester before I transfer to a four year university in the upcoming fall. Coming from a first-generation household, I have had to overcome many obstacles to be in the position that I am now in. Community college has been a valuable resource that has allowed me to pursue an amazing education at a low price which has eased the burden of high tuition on my parents. Sometimes it is the cost of education that impedes those that seek it and scholarships are one avenue in which they become easier to travel down the path to success. Coming out of Gilroy High School years ago, I was unsure of what I wanted to major in and devote myself to but I had the amazing opportunity of enrolling in University of California, Merced.

It is evident the American Community College faces political challenges in the 21st century. According to the America Association of Community College (2017), this is a time of political transition where there are many ambiguities for higher education policymaking surrounding national perceptions of community colleges, funding, infrastructure, immigration, tax reform, accountability, etc. Altbach et al., 1999 (should I include page number (pg 298)) revealed that leaders, such as effective college presidents using a political frame see the inherent politics of the organization, build up plans, muster partnerships, and focus on negotiation and conflict to achieve noble purposes (Altbach et al., 1999 and Bolman et al.,2013, pp216).

Initially after high school I decided to move across the country in order to find myself, my passions, and my career goals. I attended WW-P South in Princeton Junction where many of my friends chose TCNJ. I always loved TCNJ but I knew I wasn't academically ready to be part of the community just yet. I started at a private university in California which turned out to be an amazing experience but also a lesson learned that it was not for me. Everything was new and overwhelming and it was the first time being completely on my own. After completing my freshmen year, I moved to a community college to do better academically and work a little on the side. My passion for pursing a degree boosted during my second community college that I attended.

Community college was created to develop and prepare highly skilled, qualified students to involve in the workforce to make the economy develop and grow successfully. Students from diverse background can benefit from attending a Community college. For example, community college offers quite a few general classes or remedial classes that a four year university would not offer and students are able to pay less money to take any courses that are necessary for them to complete their degree or certification.

Since I am the youngest in my family and have no nieces or nephews, the birthing chapter was difficult for me to relate to since I have had no exposure to these scenarios. I’m sure there are a lot of other people in the class who have the same feelings as me when it comes to relating to birth; we have no experience or memories with these situations. Nonetheless, the pieces we read and viewed in this chapter did make sense and were interesting.

Growing up I was always told college was a must and it was very important for my career. Both of my parents have multiple master’s degrees and my mom has her doctorate. So college was always in the back of my mind. I was not the most studious student growing up. After graduation I tried community college and it just was not for me. I got married at 19 and had children right after that. I had 4 children within 5 years. I worked a full time at a decent job, but school never really was brought up. I moved to Idaho in 2009 and started a job at the Emmett Library in 2011. Schooling again was really never brought up, even though I knew a job in libraries did usually require some type of schooling. I went for a 2nd job at the Middleton Library in 2015. The director there told me she would like to see all of her employees who do not have a degree enrolled in some type of classes. I started CSI fall of 2015 and graduated with an AA in Library Science in Spring of 2017. I decided if I wanted my bachelor’s degree I better continue now or else who knows if I would go back. I spoke again with the director at Middleton and asked her opinion about a bachelor’s degree that would be good for me since there are not many bachelors programs for library. (I had quit Middleton and started at the Nampa Library) She had said one of her employees was doing the MDS program at BSU and gave me some background information on it. It sounded like something I would be interested in so I contacted Rebecca