My name is Ira Rubenzahl and I am President of Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) in Springfield, Massachusetts. STCC serving over 6000 credit students each semester is one of fifteen public community colleges in Massachusetts. Although technical is in our name we have, over the years, added new programs in engineering transfer, computer science, business, nursing, health and liberal arts. In fact, liberal arts which leads to transfer to a baccalaureate degree institution is now our largest major.
(For more about STCC, please visit our website at www.stcc.edu)
As the title indicates, the purpose of this blog is celebrate what is right about our college, public higher education in Massachusetts and public higher education nationally. In this era of instant news that highlights all the tragedies of the world, it’s especially important to remind ourselves of what is working in our society. And public higher education is working by giving opportunity for undergraduate education in Massachusetts to one hundred eighty thousand credit students (180,000), by educating our citizens for the jobs of the future, and for providing access to those of modest means including the growing Latino and African-American population. Moreover, public higher education does all this effectively squeezing out efficiencies from limited state support.
To put a face on public higher education, let me introduce you to Madeline Lopez, 27, a single parent of eight-year-old Destiny. She just graduated from Springfield Technical Community College in Liberal Arts Transfer, and next fall will be entering Mount Holyoke College. Madeline will be studying pre-med, on track to become a doctor, and is a strong role model for her daughter.
Madeline is representative of her fellow community college students. They are varied in age, ethnic background, and country of origin. Often, as Madeline, they are coming from a low-income situation, and are the first generation in their family to go to college. They often work full time, as Madeline does, and may be supporting a family.
Madeline is grateful for the support and encouragement of her teachers and counselors at STCC. This was her second try at college, and she not only got back on course educationally, she achieved a perfect 4.0 average for her final two semesters.
Madeline says, “Education is number one –- it’s the key to everything.” And that’s what she’s teaching Destiny.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Thank you so much for including me in this blog. I am extremely appreciative of the support and opportunities STCC presented to me. Support was a crucial element in my path to success at STCC, there were so many things I had been ignorant to being a first-generation college student. My teachers and advisers answered every "silly" question I may have had, and never let me feel inadequate. These experiences are ones I will always remember and will be forever grateful of. Thank you again, STCC!!!
ReplyDelete