Mary Braselton
Director, Associate of Arts in Teaching Program
Midland College
On a trip to New Mexico in July, my husband and I were chatting with friends and enjoying the 65-degree temperature as only the New Mexican mountains can provide.
Somehow the conversation veered to education -- community college education to be exact. All six individuals in the group enthusiastically told about beginning their higher education careers at various community colleges, and all told uproarious stories about demanding instructors. My own story was about a certain Miss Vanderford who demanded "Miss Eubank, keep both feet on the floor and stop that nervous fidgeting!" And then she asked me to define rhetoric. While the stories were funny, all agreed that had it not been for those instructors, they never would have learned important lessons nor had certain future "breaks" in life.
The "dancing testimonial" came from a 35-year-old woman named Jackie. She told a poignant, yet typical story about her family and college. She said that while she was in high school in New Jersey, she worked part-time in retail. She also studied dance and dreamed of becoming a professional ballerina. Then, she graduated from high school and took a full-time job in retail leaving her dancing career behind. She said no one in her family ever talked about college for her or any of her siblings. "It was assumed that we would complete high school and then make lives for ourselves; we just knew that was what we would do."
She added that she knew a little about college but she thought there was some magic involved that others knew about and she didn't. That thought made her reluctant to try.
The good part of her story began with her statement "In spite of my ignorance, I enrolled in an English course and a physical education class in a local community college in New Jersey and found both courses to be challenging. On the first day of the dance class, however, the instructor asked me if I was a professional dancer. Of course, I had not been professional at anything except retail. It was she who told me that there was such a thing as a dance major at the university, and she could help me make the contacts. I credit that one teacher with opening up my future to a dream I thought was lost forever. I didn't even know there was such a thing as a dance major. There was something inside me that wanted to know more and to be more. It took a while, but I completed my dance degree at New York University, and had it not been for those challenging teachers who made me think I could succeed, I never would have gone on to the university much less completed my AA degree."
Jackie teaches and performs dance in the art district in Santa Fe, N.M., and is married to an internationally known artist.
Think of it -- all six of the professionals in this small group had begun their higher education at a community college. Four went on to attain master's degrees, and one, a doctorate. Some had been honors students and two had been like Jackie -- capable, willing, but in desperate need of a mentor.
By the way, I did learn to keep both feet on the floor and stop fidgeting -- at least for that semester.
Midland College, your college, is filled with mentors; one of them is yours.
This column first appeared in the August 29, 29011 edition of the Midland Reporter-Telegram, and appears here, in its entirety, with the MRT's permission.
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