It was hard to believe. But once she saw it, there was no doubt it was just what she needed.
“I needed something to motivate me into the right direction,” said Arlington resident Tanya Hill. “I’ve been waiting and procrastinating. I need to do this.”
Still clinging to the ad she had ripped out of a local newspaper, Hill was one of the nearly 300 people who attended the Tarrant County College TCC & Me Community and High School Showcase at the Southeast Campus in Arlington. Early reports show that more than 1,300 people accepted the invitation to learn more about the educational opportunities at one of TCC’s five campuses.
Hill, who attended college one semester in 2005, said she is ready to move past a low paying hourly wage jobs that doesn’t challenge her into a career. “I want so much more out of life.”
Renee Silici, currently a student at Northwest High School in Justin, is better prepared for her transition after attending the Northwest Campus Showcase. “I learned that I need to take a lot of classes” before starting her college career at TCC. Associate Professor Kim Jackson was one of the people she visited and found out the important role studying humanities can play in pursuing higher education.
At the invitation of his aunt, Joshua Patterson was at the Trinity River Campus learning about TCC’s nursing program. “I thought it would be good to come check out what they have to offer,” Patterson said. His opinion no doubt was shaped by someone who would know. His aunt, Sarah Ary, is also TCC’s Campus VetSuccess Counselor, who diligently works to ensure that veterans know about the academic and vocational opportunities available at TCC.
The multiple campus event also included the dedication of the Family Empowerment Center at South Campus. The ceremony included a formal ribbon cutting to officially open the doors to the Center. The Center that addresses the cyclical nature of the chronically unemployed by empowering families through education already has served about 600 people.
“We are whatever people need us to be at TCC,” said Chancellor Erma Johnson Hadley as part of her remarks describing the broad range of students who attended the College and the myriad of ways TCC helps. “We are here to help people move into financial” stability.
