A
community college is inherently designed to mirror its community. MVCC strives
to not only mirror our community but also provide a window to our collective
future. The City of Utica is the urban center and largest municipality in
Oneida County. With refugees comprising nearly one in four city residents (in
addition to the 500 annual newcomers from Puerto Rico and the Dominican
Republic!), our community is incredibly diverse.
MVCC has
embraced this aspect of our community through a variety of signature elements
that all make the college a distinctive learning environment. Our Educational Opportunity Center at Third and Elizabeth streets in Utica is a hub of
community partnerships, including the incredible On Point for College program, to provide a safe and comfortable first point of
contact for many refugees and newcomers. The unique one-year certificate in English
as a Second Language is a key rung on the
educational ladder of success for numerous students who start their educational
journey at MVCC.
What
continues to give me great pride about working at MVCC is the incredible
combination of rigor and support that has somehow been hardwired into our
organizational DNA. Anyone attending our “Honors Brunch” celebration event the
morning of spring commencement in May will see an absolute rainbow of ethnic
and cultural representation in honor students who achieve at the highest
levels. Many of them are living examples of hard work paying off, but also of
reaching out and accessing all available resources to succeed. The Learning Center at MVCC is just one of several academic supports that the
College provides to support students as they raise themselves up to the
rigorous standards our faculty maintain in the curriculum.
The
nationally recognized Cultural Series and Diversity and Global View graduation requirement at
MVCC celebrate the diversity of our area — bringing the world to our campuses,
students, employees, and community. Our current challenge, as set forth in our
updated Strategic Plan, MVCC Catalyst 2020, is to “advance diversity and
inclusiveness” to include diversifying our faculty and staff to better reflect
our student population; look for more posts about this in the future.
As we
provide innovative programs like mechatronics, semiconductor manufacturing, and
unmanned aerial systems that are preparing the workforce of the future for our
region, we are also providing access to opportunity for aligning our outreach
and support systems to reflect our community. Refugees and newcomers add a
distinct richness to our classrooms and campuses that enhance learning and
overall student experience — our faculty do an amazing job of making it so. Just
as the immigration of the early 20th century continues to define Utica (and our
country) today, the influx of newcomers here in the past few decades most
certainly will go on to define the remainder of the 21st century.
To
further understand the magnitude and significance of the refugee experience in
our community, I have provided a great PBS
news story link featuring a few of our students
as well as our own Ibrahim Rosic, Director of the Learning Center at MVCC.
If you
have any questions or comments about this post, please contact me directly at presblog@mvcc.edu.
