Cowley County Community College Top Questions

What should every freshman at your school know before they start?

Elizabeth

Focus on your coursework more. Study, study, study!

Marissa

Does she see me? I stand in the corner. I sit near the door. I try standing beside her. Yet, her eyes never look my way. I sense by looking at her, a feeling of uncertainty. As she walks to her locker, her book bag pulls heavily upon her shoulders. The weight has become a constant reminder of all the things that need her attention. Her planner is full of notes, reminding her of the deadline she soon must meet. Each day crossed off is a day closer to the end of her twelve years of schooling. Will she continue? What will she choose to do? There seem to be so many schools and yet so little money to pay for them. If I could, I would tell her that this is only the beginning. Her life will be full of decisions. Decisions that weigh heavier than any school book, with consequences that will leave their mark. Yet, choosing is the better half of indecision. Deciding brings more relief than staring at the wind. Yet most of all, I would tell her to think of her future, to think of me. To think of how things could someday be.

Jessica

I am a student athlete, so one of my greatest concerns in high school was to find a school that I could both afford and like my coach. I spent a lot of time worried that something would go wrong. My biggest fear is that I wouldn't be able to get in, or endure being a student athlete. If I were to talk to someone in the same position, I would tell them that everything would work out and to just concentrate on the only contollable things, athletic and academic performace in high school.

Chris

The first thing I would tell myself is to go to class and pay attention! Don?t slack off and hope that you can finish the homework five minutes before class starts?it won?t work! Improve your time management skills. Trust me when I say that it will help you out so much in the future. Another thing is that you should enjoy what?s going on around campus only after you finish your homework! Keep your priorities straight: homework first, job second, fun things later. Do not change those priorities no matter what or you'll regret it in the long run. Plan ahead and when you think you have it all planned out, make a backup plan. Sometimes things don't work out the way you think they will so be prepared for the unexpected.

Kimberly

As difficult as it is to talk to a hard-headed teenager about their future, it is one of the most important "life" discussions to initiate. My particular situation would make the discussion even harder because I was a mother and a wife by my senior year. Luckily, my husband had a very good job and I didn't have to work, and my mindset was that he would always be able to provide for us so then I could focus on our family and raise our children. However, children grow up and start to have their own lives and become more expensive than one income should have to support! Just because I didn't need an education or a job back then doesn't mean that I won't need one eventually. Well, that "eventually" hit a few years back when my husband lost his job and we almost lost our home because I could only get a minimum wage paying job. Luckily his lay-off was temporary, but it was an eye-opener that I need to be better prepared for the next "eventually." Hopefully seeing the big futuristic picture will motivate my younger-self to step up!

Jennfer

You will experience a lot in your years in college as you move toward becoming an adult. Each step along your journey will define every part of who you are. The woman that you are today will not be who you are years from now. Today you are a child, a student, and a friend; but years from now you will be a wife, a mother, and professional who still continue to seek excellence. You will fight for everything you have and will need to choose to rise above extraneous circumstances in everything that will define you. The years will teach you the value of school. While you are young you just take for granted that education is something some people get. When you are older you will understand that an education is something you must earn. Education will set a new standard for you and your family that you will create. These moments in your life will shape and define every aspect of your lifelong journey. Appreciate every opportunity to grow and seek to be nothing less than the best, because that is exactly what you deserve.

Amy

Well, my situation in H.S. was very different than most. My Sophomore year I was taken away from my parents. My step-dad had been sexually abusing me since the age of 5. Needless to say, I struggled quite a bit for the next 2 years. I found that you really don't know who your friends really are until you are faced with something like this. I went to 3 different H.S.'s my Senior year 1990 due to being moved from foster home to foster home. I did graduate with a scholarship in Art, but since I had no family, I had to chose between school or surviving. I chose to work and support myself. I think the thing I would have done differently would have been to research out more scholarship opportunities on my own and not rely on everyone else to do it for me. This way I could complete my education at an early age. I am 38 years old now and I still do not see my family. But, I was instrumental in 2005 in getting him put in prision for sexually abusing my niece. I AM A SURVIVOR OF SEXUAL ABUSE!!