Taken Directly from the Report:
On March 21, 2011 CCV-Winooski honored 16 student leaders (peer tutors, orientation leaders, Student Advisory Board (SAB) members, and work-study students) at a luncheon discussion with president Joyce Judy, Academic dean Linda Gabrielson, and Dean of Students Deborah Stewart.
Several students shared that they had found academic success at CCV after struggling in high school or in large classes at other colleges. “You’re not a number here,” one student said. “when you are not in class,you are missed.”
President Judy noted that small class size is a core value at CCV, along with attracting committed faculty. CCV has 747 contract faculty throughout the state and many also work in their communities, bringing real-world experiences into the classroom. “Our faculty are people who love to teach, not people who have to teach,” she said.
“What makes you persevere?” dean Stewart asked the group. Several students said that a faculty member or coordinator had helped them to set and meet educational goals, and this first experience helped them to take the next steps. “I’ve learned that it is OK to take risks,” one student said. “I’m getting A’s and B’s for the first time in my life!”
The group was diverse in age, background, and experience: a few had just graduated from high school,and several were returning to school as parents of small children. Some were working their way to their degree a course at a time and others were on a two-year track. A few had been unhappy at other colleges, and some were finding their way in a new country. All mentioned that the CCV community—staff, faculty,and fellow students— was flexible and supportive, and gave them “the courage to keep going.”
Madj Hassan, an Iraqi woman who arrived in Vermont in 2008, shared that learning English had been hard for her at first. “I am not a young student,” she said. “But now i am not a stranger. I opened my eyes here and i am not afraid. I feel that CCV is my family.”
photo by Lyndsay Deery
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