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August 11, 2004 - For immediate release
Two-Year College Students - Diverse Yet the Same
A two-year college student is sometimes very different than a student attending a university. The average age of a two-year college student is 27 years old, and over 50 percent of the students are above the age of 25. However, each year the number of traditional college age students (age 18-24) increases at two-year colleges. The colleges offer a diverse population with more than 50 percent being female and 19.7 percent African American.
A two-year college student may be the student right out of high school who is not ready for the university scene and wants to live at home for another year or two before moving off to the university. Caleb Grisham, an honor student at a two-year college, is pursuing an Associate of Arts degree and plans to major in mathematics and teach math at a postsecondary institution, preferably a community college.
He is president of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, vice president of the Cultural Diversity Awareness Organization, and a calculus/algebra tutor. Caleb says these organizations "offer limitless opportunities to learn, grow, and lead. Tutoring calculus and algebra has given me the chance to discover and confirm my life's aspiration of teaching mathematics."
A two-year college student may be a non-traditional student who is going to college full- or part-time to upgrade skills to earn a better job. Doris May is a non-traditional two-year college student pursuing an Associate of Arts degree. She plans to get a bachelor's degree in early childhood education and become a teacher. She says she "wants to become the type of teacher that children will remember as 'a teacher who cares and to teach by the standards that were taught to me."
A two-year college student may be the dislocated worker who is forced to change careers after several years in the workforce. Audria Daniels is pursuing an Associate of Arts degree at a two-year college and plans to obtain a bachelor's degree in middle level math/science. After losing her job due to a plant closing, she says "life is too short and fleeting not to smile and enjoy every moment regardless of what you are facing."
Audria was named to Who's Who Among Students in American Junior Colleges, is a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and tutors math and English. About her experience at a two-year college she says, "the college reached out, opened doors, and enriched my life. My advisor, instructors, and other faculty were extremely encouraging and supportive. In the past, fear kept me from achieving my goals. My self-esteem and self-worth both increased."
Or, it may be the employee who needs to upgrade skills to advance in the workplace. Martha Fitts is pursuing an Associate of Applied Science degree in business management at a two-year college. She is an officer of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and maintained a 4.0 grade point average while being a wife, mother of two, and working fulltime in the family business. Her ambition is to build up the small family-owned business and compete with larger companies. One of Martha's instructors described her as "hardworking, dedicated, smart, compassionate, caring, full of spirit, and persistent."
No matter which students you describe, you will find they all have one thing in common - the desire to go to college. Arkansas' two-year colleges serve more than 44,000 students in credit classes and another 44,000 students in workforce training programs. All of the students mentioned are recipients of the Arkansas Academic All-Star Awards as two-year college outstanding students in 2003.
Be a part of Arkansas' two-year colleges…contact the Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges at 501-371-2014 for additional information or contact the two-year college near you!
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