Wednesday,
October 3rd is
College Completion Day, and our Phi Theta Kappa chapter is hosting a number
of activities on both the Utica and Rome campuses. From 9am-4pm there
will be a tent on the Utica quad and a display in the Rome PC atrium including
a signing wall along with other activities, both fun and
informative. Our chapter is also asking all faculty and staff to
wear a shirt from their alma mater that day as a conversation starter with
students about your own college completion story.
My completion
story is one of good fortune with guides and mentors along the way. The journey
began with my parents who set college graduation as an expectation and
supported me the entire way. My high school golf coach encouraged me to go to
the local community college and helped me secure a scholarship to play golf.
The faculty at Mott community college encouraged me to believe in myself and my
academic potential and the golf coach there pointed me to Oakland University
where I was able to “walk-on” the golf team and secure a scholarship. My
resident assistant encouraged me to
become a resident assistant my senior year, which led to an internship in the
Dean of Students office. The Dean (who is now the VP for Student Affairs at
Fredonia) spoke so highly of the rewards of educational administration as a
career, I applied to graduate school at the University of Michigan where I met
a professor who has guided me in my career for more than twenty years and
counting.
We so often
think completing college is about the individual student – of course internal
motivation and ability are essential.
However, my completion story is a series of guides and mentors who
played very important roles in helping me get there – it’s parents, family,
friends, faculty, staff that help light the way. Finding good mentors requires one to be a
good mentee by asking questions, listening to others, and synthesizing all the
advice you get along the way while never veering from the goal of
completion. I always say my Ph.D. stands
for Persistence humility and Determination.
I didn’t sign a
pledge to complete board when I was a student like hundreds of MVCC students
will on October 3rd, but
pledging to yourself and letting others know you are committed to complete will
help others know you are serious. If
you’d like to learn more about why completing college is an important issue for
individuals as well our entire country, I’ve included a short video from the
head of Phi Theta Kappa International, Rod Risley - http://www.cccompletioncorps.org/
If you have any
comments or questions on this post, please contact me at presblog@mvcc.edu.
