"How My Community College Changed My Life" Peggy Michel, Prairie State College 2006 Paul Simon Student Essay Contest Winner When I was about to graduate high school, my parents asked me a simple question: "Do you want to go to college or would you like to have your bedroom redone?" They knew my answer. I was a poor student, with a proclivity for "partying." Much to their delight, I chose the latter, and spent many unproductive days in my new floral bedroom sleeping off hangovers. That simple decision three decades earlier, plus my parent's desire to keep a buck, left my life to frequent self-doubt and financial struggle. I took the road most traveled, deeply rutted with the weary footprints of others. Prairie State College student Peggy Michel (fourth from left) accepts her $500 scholarship from Illinois Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson, Illinois Community College System Foundation board member Richard Wilson, PSC president Paul McCarthy, and PSC trustee Peg Donahue. A half century is almost upon me and I have three kids and two divorces under my belt. After the second divorce, I found myself working in a grocery store wondering about my life. Did I ever think standing for hours waiting on customers would be the most creative use of my time? Was bringing home $125.00 a week satisfactory? Is this what I planned? That was the problem; I hadn't planned much. Extraneous factors prodded me to examine my choices. I grew close to a few co-workers, who were attending community college and they encouraged me to do the same. Somewhere I realized I had left my life to circumstance. I desired choices and I was inspired to go back to school. The academic challenge forced me to examine old myths and new possibilities. I believed I was too old to return to school; fortunately, I realized it is the very nature of learning that makes a person "child-like." Curiosity is the secret to eternal youth and more beneficial than Alpha Hydroxy. Also, in high school I was a student who would not learn math because I was afraid of numbers and avoided them. When I returned to college, math was an unavoidable requirement. I had to quash my fears and decide I could learn it. Subsequently, I achieved A's and a new love -- algebra. Originally, my major was mass communication. When I took a communications class, we were tested to determine a career that fit our personality. As I previewed my career list, I was startled to see the word "Naturalist." Suddenly, I remembered who I was. I was the girl who hung out in the forest all summer and I am the woman who likes to hike and explore nature. There, on paper was the possibility for my life's work. The next semester I changed my major to science. Because I work ful-time and have two children at home, I will be much older when I finally see my degree. Still, it is more about the journey than the destination. In the final analysis, how has community college changed my life? I can't say it has changed it as much as it has expanded it, illuminated it and impressed wonder upon it. I'm excited again and for that I am forever grateful. Peggy Michel received a $500 scholarship for her winning essay, donated by the Illinois Community College System Foundation. For additional information on the Paul Simon Student Essay Contest, please contact Kim Villanueva at 1-800-454-2282, ext. 1. Illinois Community College Trustees Association 401 E. Capitol Ave., Suite 200 Springfield, IL 62701-1711 217-528-2858 (phone) 217-528-8662 (fax) ICCTA@communitycolleges.org (e-mail) http://www.communitycolleges.org | Home | News | Events | Links |