"An Academy for the Non-Traditional: How John A. Logan College Has Changed My Life . . . Twice . . ." By Timothy J. MIles, John A. Logan College Honorable Mention, 2001 Paul Simon Student Essay You'd have had to live on the moon to not notice the distinction, and you'd have had to have the personality of yogurt to not appreciate the irony. The bow-tied man with the unmistakable countenance and the bass tones whose voice would represent both the powerful suburban Chicago interests and the multicultural Cook County interests, the senior senator from the great state of Illinois, hailed from below I-80, below I-74, below I-64, in a town no bigger than the whisker of a deer he'd find in his backyard. Former U.S. Senator Paul Simon, D-Makanda, was as non-traditional a representative as perhaps you could find in the annals of American politics. He is also the perfect icon to represent the merits of John A. Logan College -- a community college that has changed my life not once, but twice. In 1993, as a 22-year-old set adrift searching for an identity, I met a man who was a part-time instructor at John A. Logan – a place I'd driven by many times but never entered. I had been in and out of school, in and out of work, in and out of many things of which I'm not altogether proud. He introduced me to the theater, and it was there that I began to finally feel comfortable and not trapped in my own skin. Over the next seven years, I occasionally took a class at John A., but for the most part I honored their nickname as a volunteer, and they honored the "community" part of community college. In this time, I learned no mathematics, no biology, Spanish, or nursing. Yet it is without a doubt that John A. Logan College instructed me in the grand classes of life and self and what it means to be a part of a wonderful community in southern Illinois. Towards the end of 2000, John A. Logan College was there for me again as I fell victim to budget cuts at the company for whom I had worked for the better part of five years. Faced with accepting one of several job offers and relocating or remaining a member of this community and learning to accept a new degree of fiscal responsibility, I chose the latter and went back to school. Though accepted to Southern Illinois University's Radio-Television program, I was unable to afford the tuition. Needing to take several general education courses, though, allowed me to re-enter the halls of John A. Logan College this semester. Using parts of my brain for the first time since the other Bush was in the Oval Office, Logan has taken me to even greater heights of self-worth, self-determination, and self-discipline. Today I make less money that I have in five years, and I can confidently say that I am happier than I've been since perhaps the first time I took a bow from the stage of Logan's O'Neil Auditorium many years ago. So now I stand before you what they call a "non-traditional" student. I find that term amusing, though I'll proudly wear that badge with honor. You'll have to order several thousand badges, though, because I challenge you to argue that each student -- both walking through the halls along Route 13 and entering the doorways of the extension centers in surrounding counties -- is anything but a non-traditional student. From every fresh-faced Reagan-era born child trying to establish an identity, to the working single mother, to the former coal miner trying to evolve from a lifestyle his family's known for generations, to me -- a just-turned-30 farmkid from a small town who's finally found his place in the world, whether we're conscious of it or not, John A. Logan College has profoundly changed each of us. It has welcomed our quirks and embraced our differences in age, culture, and financial means. This Community College has become an academy for the non-traditional -- a public and open factory of growth, knowledge and liberty, and it has done so with all the grace and beauty and patience that are the very staples of life in southern Illinois. The former senior Senator from this great state should be proud. 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 |