Reflection Paper: NVCC

Again I ask, “What more can this place provide, and why aren’t more people taking advantage of it?” Tonight’s presentation at the Alexandria NOVA campus on financial aid, accommodating students with disabilities, the “Pathway to the Baccalaureate” program, and the international student program served as a great informational session on some of the key issues and aspects I’ve been interested in analyzing within the community college institution, and generated a number of reactionary thoughts that struck a deep, personal chord. All of the speakers were incredibly insightful and highly fluent on the statistical and biographical data associated with their respective departments. Their presentations, coupled with a solid collection of focused questions and answers, provided me with a great learning experience.
Financial aid has always seemed to me to be a big, three-headed monster, and as our class reading pointed out, I’m not the only one who shares this perspective. My personal memories of FAFSFA and other college loan documents are framed around my mother threatening to punish me if I didn’t sacrifice an evening or two to sit down in our kitchen and fill out the never ending forms and registration applications. Looking back, I’m not sure what was more miserable; the lack of aid I received, or the amount of ink I wasted in scribbling out information that seemed unnecessary. I was completely foreign to the options and process in applying for tuition assistance for my undergraduate degree. My parents had never attended college, my friends who were enrolled had their parents complete the information for them, and my guidance counselor was more concerned with how I was fielding second base than where (or how) I was going to college (he wasn’t much of an assistant baseball coach, either). With the lack of counseling in community colleges, let alone high schools, it’s no wonder why the topic of financial aid was so intimidating.
Tonight’s presentation, along with our reading, opened my eyes to the seemingly vast opportunity students have to capitalize on tuition assistance. NOVA seems to provide prospective students with the necessary tools and instruction on how to acquire financial help, and I’m really realizing that the community college student is the one who would benefit most from this opportunity. I was inspired to think of the relief college money would be to the single parent student, or the first generational student holding down 35-hours a week at a local restaurant, or the average academic who switches three buses and walks 15 blocks each day of class. Financial aid provides a great blessing to thousands of people in this area, and I applaud the work Joan and her staff contributes to those causes every day.
I was also particular interesting in hearing the real struggles of the F-1 international students who attend NOVA, and the daily obstacles they have to hurdle. It struck me that so many people fight through adverse conditions and circumstances all for the opportunity to advance and participate in society. What thoughts these students must have as they fly across the Atlantic to have a chance to learn and engage in American society! Of all of the challenges the speaker presented to our class (differing educational systems and expectations, additional testing, high tuition costs, ect.), I considered the isolation an F-1 student probably feels in arriving to a foreign place with a clouded expectation of how life will be led. What real difficulties they must have in connecting with people, finding a community to live and play in, and contributing in a way that does provide traditional citizens of America a sense of fulfillment of a life well-lived. And yet, I bet a majority of them leave feeling grateful for the chance to learn (and, as listed in tonight’s discussion, contribute $15 billion to the U.S. economy annually). I hope NOVA continues to invest into this program, and that the participants find relative ease in their transition.
I think my highlight of the evening, however, came in our middle presentation in regards to how NOVA serves and accommodates students with disabilities. While we haven’t discussed this particular genre of the academic crowd in class, I have been curious as to what role the community college plays in offering higher education to that particular minority group. I was astounded, and extremely encouraged, to learn that nearly 65 percent of NOVA’s enrollment is composed of students with learning disabilities. That’s incredible.
I’ve spent the betterment of the last two years teaching ninth and tenth grade students with learning disabilities while, deep down, questioning what kind of opportunities lay ahead for them in the upcoming years. Ignorant to what consists of a learning disability and how it truly affects a student function in, and out, of the classroom, it has taken me months of observation and experience to even begin to understand how hard these young adults fight to stay above water. As I teach basic sentence and paragraph structure to ninth graders every autumn, the skill set they leave high school with is limited compared to their colleagues from the public school system. And yet, because of places like NOVA, they have a chance.
Of all that NOVA has to offer students with learning disabilities, I was relieved to hear that their standards remain high and competitive. Asking the question, “What is essential to being a college student?” demands serious consideration from L.D. students and their families as they pursue higher education. While the hand-holding does permeate through middle and high school, it was refreshing to hear how NOVA serves (and empowers) the student by disconnecting them from a sometimes overambitious and accommodating family. One of the areas my school prides itself in is its college preparatory system, and over the last several years, we’ve sent students to a number of two, and four-year colleges and universities. Organizational methods, assisted use of technology, and active reading and writing strategies are all accommodations and mastered skills that would accompany a majority of our students to higher educational opportunities.
Still, the question remains: how many of our students really know about, and honestly consider, the benefits of Northern Virginia Community College?