Academic Excellence Awards Luncheon
North Carolina Community College System
April 24, 2007
Good afternoon. My name is Christian Conway and I am here representing Southwestern Community College in the Great Smoky Mountains in Sylva, North Carolina. I am a 30-year-old college transfer student and will transfer to Western Carolina University to major in environmental science.
Before I begin speaking, I want all of us to join in and give a round of applause to the people and the community college system that brought us here together.
I am honored to be here with you today. To be surrounded by greatness. Let me share my story with you.
I’ve never been one to overachieve. In fact, if you had told me five years ago that I’d be where I am today, I’d have laughed and given a doubtful look. At that time, the extent of my educational experience was a GED that I had received in northern Arizona. My mission was CLEAR in those days. Make just enough money to pay the rent and spend every spare moment climbing, mountain biking or skiing. As a single 20-something bouncing between mountain towns in the southwest, I was living a sweet dream.
Now, as we all know, dreams tend to change over time. The catalyst for the change in my dream began in Durango, Colorado with a brown-eyed girl. I was working at another of what seemed to be an endless supply of dead-end retail jobs (you are all familiar with those jobs – the ones that require a lot but pay very little with no formal schooling) when one day she walked in. She knew a friend of mine at the shop and we were introduced. Gradually, I won her heart and she became my inspiration toward success. With a biology degree from Chapel Hill and a 4.0 GPA in post graduate hours, my perspective on learning was forever changed in the fall of 2002.
Now, the spring of 2007 I stand before you, speaking at the North Carolina Community College System Academic Excellence Awards Banquet. It is an understatement to say a lot has changed. I am married to that brown-eyed girl, who is completing a graduate degree in human nutrition. My time is now spilt between playing “Mr. Mom” to my amazing three-year-old son and doing my very best as a full time college transfer student and a part-time math and chemistry tutor at Southwestern.
How did I get here? Maybe it was inevitable. I have always had some academic potential. But I want to say that potential is a lot easier to realize if you come across folks who care about you, stand beside you, and offer both support and challenge to do your best. My title for this presentation is “Held to Greatness” because I have been held to greatness as a student at Southwestern Community College. I want to acknowledge the people in the student support services office who have repeatedly supported and challenged me in specific ways over the last two years; and to Mrs. Deanne Oppermann who believed in me enough as a student and a contributing citizen to nominate me for this award.
None of us would be gathered here today if we were not successful classroom students. What the community college has given me and (I am safe to guess…you) goes much further than the classroom. I am an active citizen in my community because the community college centered itself on me as a citizen and not just a student. Southwestern exposed me to, and gave me experiences in, teaching and learning values that support the fundamental characteristics of citizenship.
Please let me elaborate.
Volunteering for local community organizations is one of those things that sounds great, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought about helping others but haven’t gotten off the couch to actually do it. However, participating in student support services has gotten me involved. It is easy to engage in volunteer work when the expectation is such. It was most helpful that Peter Buck, a counselor at Southwestern is always there, a friendly face facilitating the introductions and clarifying the work to be done. My volunteering has helped me think more largely about my place in the world and what I am called to do I was held to greatness!
Next, I’ll mention tutoring. I have found that I really enjoy listening to fellow students and helping them gain more understanding in algebra and chemistry. Of course, my own understanding of the material deepens as I teach it. This interplay of teaching and learning is confirming that more school is in my future and that teaching will always be a part of my life. And I wouldn’t have had this experience if Marti Hunter of the student support services office hadn’t approached me about tutoring. She held me to greatness and in return, I held my peers to greatness!
Lastly, but surely not least, the advising I’ve gotten through student support services has had a direct influence on my life. Cheryl Contino-Conner, my adviser, is a motivational force of nature. She has repeatedly seen my potential and reminded me that I am capable of anything I put my mind to. She holds me to greatness each day!
I know that all the people in our life change us. But it is truly helpful to meet with folks who are focused on bringing out the best in us. Through my contact with Peter, Marti, Cheryl and Deanne, my life has been deepened, my experience enriched, and my vision clarified. I am learning to hold myself to greatness.
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