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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

President's Wednesday Message


Near the beginning of each fall, I have the opportunity to meet with our student leaders at their weekend team-building retreat at Camp Stella Maris. This year, more than 50 students, representing the full diversity of our College, participated. They ask me to talk about leadership, but most of our time is spent in conversation, and question and answer. As I’ve shared before, our students are not afraid to speak their minds.

Last Friday evening, I was struck by the seriousness of their questions, the challenges they reflected, and the opportunities we have as a College to serve them more effectively.

Students asked about MCC's role in addressing the racial unrest in our community and the nation. They are looking to us to model inclusion, to understand and value their experiences, and to engage their voices in a shared path forward. They want to be heard; they want us to listen.

Students questioned what MCC could do outside of our walls, in our community and their neighborhoods, to offer services that would help prospective students access our College and do more to enable them to persist through graduation. They want us to see past our traditional boundaries and silos and meet them where they are.

Students shared difficulties in funding College, especially if they've exhausted financial aid in previous attempts, and questioned what MCC could do to assist. Some revealed that they now pay out of pocket for their studies, with little room for error. They are looking to us to offer them new paths to fund and accelerate toward their goals.

Students expressed frustrations in learning about and navigating much-needed services. For example, a young woman praised our Counseling Services as the lifeline that kept her in school but said the name of the office, "Veterans' and Counseling Services," initially made her believe it was for veterans only. She avoided it until expressly directed to go there. Others spoke about the difficulty nontraditional students have accessing services: the hours don’t extend past their workdays into the evening and there is limited online access. Students said that too many of their peers (and they, themselves) simply don't know about all the help we offer until it is too late: our organization and communication make sense to us but are opaque to them.

I challenged our student leaders to challenge us--make us uncomfortable, ask tough questions, and push us toward solutions that really work for them. If the night’s discussion was any indication, they are more than up to the task: smart, brave, thoughtful, insightful, and truly inspiring. We have so much to learn by listening to our students and, then, taking the next step: having the will and institutional courage to act upon what we have learned. Our students deserve nothing less. Is there a question or comment from a student that has changed how you approach your work? Please share it on the blog.

Anne M. Kress
Office of the President
09/28/2016