News

In September and October, we celebrate national Hispanic Heritage Month. We are proud of the many Latinx students who have attended Waubonsee to become leaders in their field and in their community. I am pleased to share a few of their stories.

I have worked my entire career in higher education and as a result, I have very specific memories and expectations for certain months in the academic year. August is always the time when we celebrate the start of another academic year. This spirit of celebration is even more important right now as the pandemic continues to create some uncertainties and questions about this upcoming fall semester.

Over the course of a few days in June, the Supreme Court of the United States issued two significant rulings; to sustain the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and to provide employment protections for the LGBTQ+ community. These rulings come at a time when our nation and our community are focused on issues of diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice.

As we begin our summer season, we can all agree that so far, 2020 has been an unimaginable year. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everything we do as individuals and as a community over just a few months. Now, in the past couple of weeks, we are experiencing another significant upheaval in response to the video and death of George Floyd.

The month of May is a wonderful time for many college students. Graduates feel a sense of elation as they move on to the next phase of their academic or career journeys and other students enjoy a sense of accomplishment for all they have done in the year. We celebrate with all of those students.

With the outbreak of COVID-19, the last few weeks have been many things; sobering, stressful, historic to name a few. We have all been affected in some—or many ways—by the virus or the changes it has forced on us. Because of the ever-changing circumstances all around us, we’ve had to be even more innovative in our thinking. We’ve had challenges and issues that none of us have ever seen before.

The outbreak of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has generated a range of emotions, feelings, and responses. At Waubonsee Community College, our number one priority is the safety and well-being of our students, employees, and community members. We are also committed to the continuation of teaching and learning and helping our students reach their educational goals, which includes successful completion of the spring 2020 semester.

Community colleges are very closely connected to their communities. The faculty members who teach, the staff members who support, and the students who learn do so as members of the college’s community of learners. Those bonds are strong and lead to student success in a variety of ways.

Many people look forward to February for a variety of reasons such as Valentine’s Day or the approaching end of winter. At Waubonsee Community College, we look forward to February as an opportunity to participate in Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month.

The start of a year brings a sense of newness and opportunity that extends beyond just the turn of the calendar. Many of us have new year resolutions that we use as tools to help us enhance our lives in a variety of ways. We make plans that support our resolutions and do things like buy gym memberships and healthier groceries, make financial budgets, and create tools to help us stay organized.

Resolutions and plans do not have to begin in January, though. For Waubonsee, the Strategic Plan we launched last August serves as our resolution to be the top choice for learning in our community.