By Caroline Hansen
Supporting the Learner: Building a Better PCC Experience
When a person decides to go to college, it is one of the most important decisions they will make in their life. When a person is starting out at their local community college, they most likely have not led a privileged life. When an older person comes back to get a degree and they qualify for FAFSA, chances are they really need the financial aid and need to get that degree as quickly as possible.
There are many reasons students might experience financial hardship, especially coming back to school later in life. Maybe it was a car accident, a divorce, an injury, or a job layoff. Perhaps they were disenfranchised from their former job or their field has been taken over by AI. Chances are, they aren’t back at college just for funsies. This is happening more and more, and Gen X-ers are feeling the burn, because most are too young or too broke to retire.
Financial aid departments at community colleges need to take excellent care of their students who qualify for aid. Assign each student (“learners” as PCC calls us) who qualifies for aid one financial aid advisor. Every financial aid advisor in this role should be experienced and do a deep dive into the student’s situation, not a cursory glance.
If there are potential problems, the advisor needs to address them immediately and get them resolved in a timely manner, one way or the other. The financial aid advisor can communicate clearly with the learner’s student advisor and/or ADR coach to make sure everyone is on the same page.
This team will prevent the learner from getting bounced around from advisor to advisor, receiving conflicting information and wasting precious time and resources following bad advice instead of being able to focus on their classes and school activity participation and their overall.
Pima Community College must do better by its students.
To read Pima’s ethical standards and employee behavior guidelines, click here.
As you probably can tell, I am a bit older than the average, traditional student. It isn’t easy coming back to school after so many years, but it is rewarding. I have always loved learning and school and I absolutely love my classes and professors here at Pima, but I have a heavy course load this semester with several classes that require a ton of writing.
Sometimes, it’s nice to take a break and express myself via video. I decided to introduce myself to fellow classmates in my SSE 110 course. It was a spontaneous decision, but when I saw recording an introduction as opposed to writing it, I knew that’s what I wanted to try – unscripted and minimally edited to get rid of pauses.
My journalism professor, the amazing Emma Peterson, suggested I submit it here as well, because I touch on some issues that affect many students who are financially struggling while pursuing their education.
Protecting Our Community: Staying Safe, Engaged, and Empowered
In my video, you’ll hear me refer to our community coming together to prepare for what is surely going to escalate in Tucson and surrounding areas. Well, we saw an escalation just last week in several areas where ICE raids were conducted. Newly sworn-in Representative Adelita Grijalva said she was exposed to tear gas during a restaurant raid.
It is critical that everyone is well informed on your legal rights, regardless of citizenship status. I encourage people to become educated and make safety plans for themselves, their family and their neighbors. I recommend getting connected with organizations and community members who are working to protect the people and small businesses in Tucson and surrounding areas. Here are a few resources:
https://www.takeactiontucson.org
Stay up to date on news happening here in Pima County. Arizona Luminaria is one outlet that is freely accessible (no paywall) and focuses on community based journalism pertaining to Tucson and surrounding areas.
Telling Our Stories: Creativity and Connection in the Classroom
Now to end on a cheerful note:
Taking JRN 185 is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Consider signing up for this course in the spring semester! Word on the street is that the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism alumnus Emma Peterson will return to lead the class.
In this class you’ll write articles about whatever interests you, and you can also make a video, a podcast, a photo essay… anything you want. Maybe you love to take photos and you can hone your photography skills. Not only will you learn writing, reporting, interviewing techniques along with production skills, but you’ll learn a ton about yourself and what drives you. You’ll develop your voice, written or spoken, and discover how you observe the world, what captures your attention, and what things escape your notice.
As if all that wasn’t enough, you’ll also wrap up your semester with a professional portfolio you can use for any number of things: submissions to journalistic publications, scholarship and university applications, internship applications, contests, career advancement, or just to keep as your own collection of work you can continue to add to as you go through life.
If you’re unable to fit the class into your schedule you can still contribute to The Pima Post by joining the Student Media Club. We need more contributors and would love for you to join!
You will also get to take cool field trips, like going to the Reid Park Zoo Lights with your journalism peeps! Don’t be intimidated, just join the adventure!
For more information about JRN 185, contact Student Media Advisor Ambur Wilkerson at awilkerson7@pima.edu.
Rory Archer (left) and Caroline Hansen (right), both JRN 185 students and contributors for The Pima Post, smile in front of a light tunnel at Reid Park Zoo during PPC Zoo Lights night on Wednesday, Dec. 3. Photo courtesy of Caroline Hansen.
The JRN 185/285 class and the Student Media Club joined together for PCC Zoo Lights on Wednesday, Dec. 3. From left to right: Emma Peterson (instructor), Trigo Marroquin, Ruby Valenzuela, Caroline Hansen, Quinton Smalley, Rory Archer. Front: Jackson Melin. Photo courtesy of Emma Peterson.