Tri-County Community College has been a positive, life-changing experience, but the journey hasn’t been easy. Being an only child and homeschooled, I had never been in a public classroom until my first day at Tri-County. Since Fall 2013, I have become more comfortable in a classroom setting, started a precalculus study group with fellow classmates, joined the Student Government Association, and served as a part-time peer tutor. As a new student still searching for my identity, many instructors encouraged me to take several career and personality assessments that continue to shape me into a confident person. Although transportation issues have required me to arrive on campus before daylight and stay nine to twelve hours a day, this time has helped me maintain my 4.0 GPA while taking seventeen to eighteen credit hours every semester.

Now, almost two years later, I’m completing my final semester to earn my Associate Degree in Science. This fall, I will transfer to Tennessee Technological University majoring in Mechanical Engineering. I will miss my Tri-County family and the life-long friends I have made, but I know that they will support me in anything I aspire to achieve, and that is what makes Tri-County Community College special.