Among the nearly 2,500 students graduating from Mesa Community College (MCC) this year are many who have not only earned degrees and certificates and have fulfilled higher education goals, but also have received notable accolades, national recognitions and significant scholarships.
Retired 22-year Army veteran Ron Colwell overcame many obstacles to graduating from MCC in May and being accepted into Arizona State University’s (ASU) Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College.
“Going to school in your 40s, with PTSD, traumatic brain injury and other physical limitations, takes twice as much effort as a normal person,” Ron said.
He recommends to veterans the quiet, low-key environment of the MCC Red Mountain campus, where he studied. Ron said he especially appreciated the support from Student Services Coordinator Bev Maxton, from the Disability Resources and Services Department on campus, as well as Psychology Professor Gayla Preisser, PhD, each who encouraged his research.
Service and leadership always have been core values to honor student Kylee Gillespie, volunteering more than 250 service hours while at MCC. “Erica Horihan, the student life and leadership coordinator at the Red Mountain campus, encouraged me to become more involved in student government and organizations,” Kylee said.
Her honors include a National Communication Association Sigma Chi Eta Advisory Board award and receiving educational funds as an All-MCC scholar, a D and B Milner Journalism Foundation scholar and a Mesa Tribune Journalism School scholar.
This fall, Kylee is pursuing a bachelor’s degree at the ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She also has been accepted into the ASU Next Generation Service Corps, which pays for her base tuition.
Zachary Zapata was named a national 2019 Coca-Cola Academic Team Scholar in addition to being selected an All-Arizona First Academic Team scholar, representing the MCC Red Mountain campus. The Coca-Cola funds are going to his ASU classes this fall, where, inspired by losing his father early in life to an illness, he is pursuing a degree in preventative health care, focusing on dentistry.
Graduating in May from the Arizona Agribusiness and Equine Center (AAEC) Red Mountain High School, Dustin Smith heads to study in the Earth Systems Program of the Environmental Science Department at Stanford. She begins fall classes with associate degrees in general studies, arts and science, as well as an academic certificate in sustainability, which she earned at the MCC Red Mountain campus, adjacent to the AAEC school.
“Classes on the college campus helped motivate me to take on more responsibilities and feel confident,” Dustin said. “It also opened up college-level resources, including faculty whose support and academic knowledge I credit with helping me compete at the National Science Fair.”
Opportunities for student success continue to expand with the introduction of the Nurse Assisting Program on the Red Mountain campus.
“In addition to this new facility, we have restructured our former full-semester program into eight weeks, so we will be able to offer two complete programs each semester, serving more students interested in this in-demand occupation,” said Nursing Department Chair Diane Dietz.
Find out more about the MCC Red Mountain Campus at mesacc.edu/red-mountain.