Every once in awhile, we receive emails and letters from past students, providing us with feedback on their experience with us. This week we received the following open letter to the college. As we face the challenges of our work, perhaps this kind of feedback helps keep us all in touch with the positive impact we have in our community -- and the importance of finding ways we can ensure that even more students have stories of support and success to share with us as they move forward. I hope you will be as inspired by this as I am.
Dear Linn-Benton Community College:
I would like to take a moment of your time to express my feelings regarding my experience at your school. When I tell people (often) that if LBCC offered a bachelors degree I would get mine there, I’m not just posturing a compliment. I make the statement in all directness and with no reservation. My experience at Linn-Benton was that of a truly high caliber education. When I interact with other university level institutions, I find myself thinking “I already learned that at LB” or “they do a better job of this at LB.” I earned my Associates of Applied Science in Instructional Assistant and in doing so knowingly chose a non-transfer oriented degree. I did this knowing that my education at Linn-Benton was going to be one that I would not want to take for granted. What I didn’t know was just how stellar that education would turn out to be.
Before I go into the classroom experience, I’d like to make sure to point out that it isn’t just the learning environment at Linn-Benton that has earned high praise. The administrative structure and student services on campus are also exceedingly well conducted. I’m the kind of student who takes it upon myself to directly interact with every aspect of the college environment. I spend time sitting down with the people who are going to have an impact on my life as a student. When I do this I make sure to get the message across that I care about my education and I make very explicit observations as to whether they care about it as well. Time and time again the members of; admissions, financial aid, academic advising, disability services, student government, counseling, and administration went above and beyond to meet my needs as a student and show me that they care about my outcome. I’ve had the opportunity to work with other colleges in my life before and after my time at Linn-Benton and continue to do so today. Let me tell you that no other institution I have attended or interacted with has even come close to understanding the purpose of serving their students like Linn-Benton.
So then, the teachers. While I can’t say that each and every instructor at Linn-Benton was the best thing since sliced bread, I can say that nearly all of them were and the few that might not be are still pretty good considering how hard it is to have me as a student. With my major being in education I was able to interact with most of the faculty in that department. I say this with the deepest conviction; the people working in the Luckiamute Center are saints each and every one! With every class I took that carried an ED prefix, I grew leaps and bounds in terms of my knowledge and understanding. I also grew greatly as a person. Because of them I finally was able to bring into focus what my place in the world would be (no small feat for an autistic high-school dropout). The instructors in my education classes taught me more than just the meaning of words, concepts, and theories; they taught me what those things truly mean to me and gave me the tools to apply them in my life. I can honestly say that without these people being some of the best educators in the state (or beyond); someone like me would never have found my path in life in such a clear and profound way.
The teachers in the education department aren’t the only ones who showed themselves to be exceptional educators. Today I can look someone in the eyes and honestly say that I got to spend a summer living inside of an active volcano with underwater robots (I do this often as well). I can say this because of a unique program offered at Linn-Benton through a certain exceptional science instructor. The instructors in the math department were able to work with me and my Asperger’s style of learning so that I could finally make sense of algebra. And the CWE and GED programs I worked with connected me to the students I would strive to serve and brought a level of value to my education that most don’t get until they look back on their working careers years later.
Speaking of the GED program, I cannot emphasize enough how amazing this program is on your campus. Having obtained a GED myself back in 2000 from LCC, I can tell you that the difference in quality cannot be accounted for simply via a decade or so of progress (and the LCC program was pretty decent, just saying). The staff and faculty of the GED program work more and harder than a mule team for the students they serve. Of course again that goes for pretty much everyone working in the Luckiamute Center.
I am a non-traditional student with Asperger’s Syndrome. I was the kind of student who in my K-12 education was the sole reason that more than one teacher quit their job. I have seen a lot of learning environments, both primary and college. At Linn-Benton I have seen a community of people who have what it takes to inspire and enrich the life of the students they serve. I make it a point in my life to not only study the subject in a given class, but also to study the learning environment in that class and at that school. So it is with a critical lens that I go into any academic program to see if it is one that will hold up to my high standards. In that sentiment, I say again, if I could come back to LBCC for my bachelor’s degree I would do so in a heartbeat.
I hope that my words resonate for you the quality that I have come to appreciate and miss at your school. If ever you need it, my story of success and growth at Linn-Benton is at your disposal.
Sincerely,
Nathan P. Wobbe
No comments:
Post a Comment