When I decided to come to GCC last spring I honestly had no idea what was in store for me. I didn’t exactly plan on going out of my way to join any clubs or organizations. I had already been out of school for four years at that point and I wasn’t interested in having the entire college experience. To be honest I was more concerned with getting a degree and getting out of here.

When I began classes however I found that this all quickly changed. I had Dr. Tom C. Priester for First Year Experience (FYE 100) and I suddenly found myself involved in campus activities. (Anyone who knows him knows that he has a way of making this sort of thing happen) I joined the Leadership Certificate Program and that lead me to becoming an orientation leader. I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to become involved on campus and how accepting all the different people were.

You know in high school how your teachers are always telling you “wait until you’re in college! Its going to be 10 times harder.” I haven’t found that to be true yet. Yes, the work is harder, but as a student you are also more advanced. Plus the people in college are all in different places in their lives and they don’t have time to deal with menial high school drama. They all just get along and that was something amazingly refreshing to me.

Going into Orientation Leader training I had no clue what to expect. I thought that it would be impossible to make friends in the three short days we spent together before our first orientation. But here I sit on the eve of our first session feeling confident in not only my ability but our teams ability to help new students feel welcomed coming into GCC. It’s amazing how the energy and people grow on campus. Its almost like our own little world here to just be accepted for who we are, not for our past or future actions. It’s a place for growth and learning and for the most part everyone wants to be here.

I know some people are disappointed when they have to come to a community college as opposed to a four year school but I think that GCC does a great job in keeping the hometown feel but still giving students the full college experience. So if you were to ask me, I would say go for it! Take a leap of faith, ask someone in class to hang out, join that club you were always interested in, study abroad. After all there’s no time better than the present.