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MCC Daily Tribune

Quotes That Inspire

On the First Friday of the month, it's once again my turn to share an inspiring quote.

"You can never learn less. You can only learn more." -- R. Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) American author, architect, and futurist

After one month here at MCC, this quote resonates for me because I have been learning so much. While the responsibilities of a community college president are familiar, Monroe's people, places, programs, policies, and protocols are all new. (You do know you use A LOT of anacronyms, right?)

Add to my learning curve representing MCC on the Board of the League for Innovation in the Community College and sitting through innumerable COVID-19 conference calls and webinars, and I attest Buckminster Fuller absolutely had this right: I am learning more.

This quote also resonates for me when I think about the teaching-learning dynamic that is at the core of what we do here at MCC, whether in the classroom, online, on the playing field, in the hallway, or in our respective offices.

As I speak with students during my walkabouts, I ask what they are studying. Too often I hear the descriptor "just" qualifying their descriptions.

  • "I'm just in liberal arts."
  • "I'm just in developmental math."
  • "I'm just in my first semester."

From my perspective, there is nothing to qualify in any of their situations. Our students get themselves here. They go to classes. They advance towards their respective academic goals in spite of circumstances that humble me. In response, I give them a hard time about using the "just" qualifier by underscoring how amazing they and their efforts truly are. At times, I also offer them that each of us--no matter how long we have been on the planet nor where our life's circumstances have landed us--can only learn more; we can never learn less.

To all my colleagues who are patiently guiding me along my MCC learning journey, thank you. You and our students inspire me every day as I continue to learn more.

Enjoy the sun this weekend.

Katherine Douglas
Office of the President
03/06/2020