I don't talk much about my day job here since I don't think you would care all that much about that part of my world. I have a comfortable position as an academic counselor at my local community college. I work mostly with our nursing students which is one of the most popular programs at the school, which means I have pretty good job security. This time of year is all hands on deck for Fall freshman registration, my least favorite time of the year. It is a constant barrage of first time freshman who have procrastinated until now, when just about everything is closed. It is an epic effort to put together a schedule for most of them at this point.I generally enjoy working with my nursing students. They are very focused group and know what they want. Undecided freshman can be sweet but are very tiring to me. I get to know many of my students by name and particularly like my very large population of Kenyan students that are working on their Practical Nursing license. Even if I have to spend extra time with them it's worth it as they are some of the most gracious students I see. I had a student today ask me my name and when I introduced myself she said, "Oh, you are that Paige. You are my friend S's favorite person." That made my day.
I really hate the bad rap that community colleges get. We really are an invaluable resource to the community and make higher education accessible to just about everyone. My mother told me the other day that she saw a new TV show advertised for the Fall that was about a community college. I thought it sounded like a good concept but then I went to NBC's website and read this, "It's been said that community college is a "halfway school" for losers, a self esteem workshop for newly divorced housewives, and a place where old people go to keep their minds active as they circle the drain of eternity." I'm guessing from this description that we probably will not be getting much respect. The cast includes Chevy Chase and John Oliver from the Daily Show so perhaps the laughs will at least be well executed.
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4 comments:
I have an AA from a Community College.
I had to work for it...
Good for you!
I teach full time at a community college. People come to us thinking it's not a Real College and they can just coast on through on their way to Real Life. They often get a very, very rude awakening.
I LOVE my local community college, I've never thought of it as a second-class education. If they offered the degree I wanted I would have graduated from there. I stayed there for as long as I could to take all of the basic classes, it was much much cheaper to do it that way.
Ugh, that's a terrible one liner about community colleges! Well, I have had nothing but good experiences at both of the community colleges I attended on the way to getting my degree. My husband is currently attending, too, and he really enjoys it!
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