50th Anniversary Essay Contest

STAFF PHOTO / THOMAS BENDER

Manatee Community College's Spring Commencement was held Friday evening at the Manatee Convention Center in Palmetto. From its first 502 students, MCC has grown to 9,000-plus credit students and 21,000 residents taking noncredit classes online and at its three campuses.

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Saying thanks to MCC

FIRST PLACE: ALUMNI (TIE)

Jeremy Doerrfeld, Melbourne, '98

Thank you, MCC, for helping "ignite" a change in my life. I always wanted to go to college after high school, but I got kicked out and hope seemed to fade away. If it were not for MCC and the love and support of my parents, I would not be where I am today. But before I get to that, here's how I got there.

I grew up wanting to be an engineer and quickly realized it would be a challenge to pursue that degree. I had to start with the lowest courses MCC offered, but thankfully, they were there for me. Under the tutelage of some of the most inspiring and supportive professors, a few years of intense junior college education followed. From flunking out of high school to graduating cum laude, I could have stopped there with my many thanks to MCC, but I wasn't finished. The next stop for me was one of the nation's top engineering schools, the University of Florida. My stay at UF led to two engineering degrees and where I am today.

I am working as a design engineer for NASA's Space Shuttle program and specifically the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Element; I am an award-winning team member of the new SRB video camera system. Current responsibilities include designing the next-generation space vehicle, Ares 1. Thank you, MCC, for providing the launch pad to a whole new world of opportunities.

FIRST PLACE: ALUMNI (TIE)

Starloe Galletta, Bradenton, '99

Thank you, MCC, for allowing a random girl to be educated as soon she walked in the door, for planting this seed that would grow into a massive tree, for teaching me more than my tuition could have ever paid for.

I remember my first day on campus, the feeling that I had arrived. I was a 20-year- old "drop out" with a dream of being a teacher. Within months I carried a 4.0 GPA and was president-elect of the Student Government.

During the next two years, while traveling to Tallahassee, lobbying legislators and representing our students to government officials, MCC became an integral part of me, the sap within my tree, even after I earned my degree.

The skills I learned from Dr. Pappas as she mentored me, the endless budget meetings, and all the other knowledge gained outside of the classroom prepared me for who I am today. I have utilized these skills in a Los Angeles inner-city school, before the director of education in Toronto, Calif., while cleaning up after Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and in countless other cities.

When I arrived at Manatee Community College, I was a little seed. My dreams provided the roots, my professors gave me a strong trunk of knowledge, and my mentors covered me in leaves.

Now that I am a teacher, every year, I water 800 individual seeds with the same can as those teachers used for me. Thank you, MCC.

HONARABLE MENTION: ALUMNI

Helen Tomlinson,

Winston-Salem, N.C., '74

Thank you, MCC, for a most unforgettable experience. My educational endeavor at MCC started in 1972 and ended with graduation in 1974. Little did I know what an impact it would have on my life. From the first moment I set foot on the Manatee Junior College campus, I felt something magical. I was filled with enthusiasm, elation and great expectations for the future. I was thankful for the chance I had been given to attend this school. There began a love affair I still carry in my heart: love for the school, its setting, the faculty and students, the learning activities, the educational benefits, the warm and helpful attitudes, the acceptance and belonging.

I entered the Nursing Program with wide-eyed wonder and questions, questions, questions. The faculty was wonderful and promoted interest and determination to succeed. Other faculty members in diverse subjects also played a great role. I enjoyed each and every one, and I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all who touched my life and had such a profound and lasting effect.

My educational pursuits did not end with an Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees at MJC. I continued on toward a Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing (1982) and Master of Science in Nursing (1984) at USF, resulting in an ARNP (Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner).

Words cannot express the joy and appreciation I feel for MJC and how nice and beneficial it would be for everyone to share this wonderful carrousel of learning!

FIRST PLACE: CURRENT STUDENT

Katherine Bernal, Sarasota

Thank you, MCC, for giving me a place to experience this country. As a foreigner, my main goal in the USA is learning from a different culture, approaching new perspectives of life, acquiring tools and skills that help me make a difference anywhere I am. MCC has been not only a place to develop academic skills but also a place for interaction where people from many diverse backgrounds share their knowledge, experiences and opinions. There is always a space for controversy and for tolerance too; there is always an opportunity to grow as a valuable member of society.

I have had classmates as diverse as life itself. People with different dreams and goals come to achieve a good education that allows them to make their lives, and sometimes their loved ones' lives, better and beautiful. Young people who have recently graduated from high school share their expectations with parents or professionals who come back to school to improve their skills. I have had teachers who care about their students as individuals, embrace their diversity, and help them to achieve their goals by generously offering their knowledge and experience.

MCC has been a wonderful place for experiencing this country as diverse, dynamic, enterprising, and fun as it is. Thank you, MCC teachers and staff, for offering a welcoming atmosphere for foreigners like me who want to participate in this community and for making my experience in this country an enriching one.

HONORABLE MENTION: CURRENT STUDENT

Carolyn Webber, Sarasota

Thank you, MCC, for giving me the confidence to believe in myself. I came to MCC in the summer of 2004. I had been a stay-at-home mother of four, recently divorced with no skills. My first day of school I was nervous, and as I looked around the classroom I thought I must be the oldest student ever. Then I began to meet my classmates and enjoy pushing myself to do things that were new and exciting. I sat in the front of each class and completed each assignment with a feeling of success. The faculty responded to my desire to learn and I felt they were truly on my side and wanted me to accomplish my goals. I have met many wonderful people from all walks of life and admire their reasons for bettering themselves. I wanted to be an example to my children and show them that if I could accomplish my goals, they could do it as well. When I walked across the stage at my MCC graduation in May of 2006, with my children applauding, it was the most wonderful feeling. My children were proud of me, and most of all I was proud of me, too. I am currently enrolled in the MCC Dental Hygiene program and will walk across the stage again in May of 2008. I would like to thank the faculty, Academic Resource Center volunteers, library staff and students who aided me on my journey to believe in myself.

HONORABLE MENTION: CURRENT STUDENT

Carmen Miranda, Venice

Thank you, MCC, for giving me the opportunity to get my life back together. With the nearness of your location and the affordability of your classes, I hold hope that a brighter future for both my daughter and me is an obtainable thing.

I may have come to you with timidity and uncertainty, but you have opened me to many different experiences I had never before been a part of. You have turned me from the shy outcast I had always been into a club vice president and MCC Idol participant. The professors you employ consistently inspire my creativity and challenge my mind, daring me to be more than I ever thought I could be. From the discouraged person I once was, you have unlocked immeasurable doors to any path I wish to set my feet to. I no longer wonder if I will ever make something of my life; now I wonder how quickly I can make it happen.

It is for all this and so much more that I thank you, MCC. You have become one of my most valuable starting points from which I will make dreams into reality. So watch me soar, and know it's you who gave me my wings.

FIRST PLACE: FRIEND

Edmundo Delgado, Ellenton

Thank you, MCC, for being the harbor of my dreams, the shipyard for the vessel of my success, for being the wind I need to sail to the shores of wisdom. Many years ago, I lost sight of that beacon of hope called education. I was living in a faraway land and experiencing a different reality, driven to tears, desperation and despair out of the frustration of not achieving my dreams.

For a while, I believed that justice to the oppressed masses could only be brought with the blunt power of guns made out of steel when in reality the same objective can be attained with the power of a teacher, an instructor, a professor, a pen. Of all the things stolen or taken away from me, there is one which could not be taken; one that endures; one that truly lasts: That is the education I have received. How much more should I appreciate the fact that I can still continue to make simple, yet profound, deposits of lessons, lectures or demonstrations into my knowledge account? How much more should I appreciate the fact that no matter how many times I draw "funds" from such account, it will never run dry?

Thank you, MCC, for taking me forth, and leading me on to a better, brighter future. Your seeds I will keep, to plant them in the souls and minds of those who thirst for knowledge. I came to you not knowing; I will leave knowing that others can know, too.

HONORABLE MENTION: FRIEND

Mary Farr, Bradenton

Thank you, MCC, for giving me the opportunity to further my education in areas of my personal interests. You have afforded me the opportunity to explore and discover one of the wonders of the universe.

One of the most exciting, informative, inspiring, educational classes I have ever taken was at MCC. This was a class in oceanography, and it opened my eyes to so many things about which I was previously ignorant.

I am a 74-year-old continuing education student from the land-locked state of Indiana. Living so close to the ocean now, I felt it was important to learn all that I could about something I had heretofore only watched on television.

Starting with the Earth's inner core and working my way to outer space was the most exciting adventure in education I have ever taken. I wish all students could have the experience of learning about the Earth from the inside out. My only regret is that it took me so long to discover the wonders of this world when I am so near the time to be traveling to the next.

FIRST PLACE: BUSINESS PARTNER

Tom Dignam, Englewood

Thank you, MCC, for having a campus in Bradenton in 1963. At the time, I wasn't doing very well at Auburn University. I dropped out and decided to get my insurance and real estate licenses so I could go to work at Key Agency in Englewood, a business my father started in 1952. While at MCC I also took math and English courses to get my grades up so I could go back to Auburn and graduate. There was no interstate in those days and I vividly remember my daily drive to Bradenton and back -- 50 miles each way! The drive aside, I liked MCC's small campus and will always treasure having the opportunity to begin a career and finish my degree.

When I was chairman of First American Bank in Englewood, we would buy a table for the Pops Concert and take part in the table decorating contest. We still have fun doing that, but today you will see us at Key Agency's table along with other members of our family.

In 2004, The Foundation for MCC nominated my wife Annette and me for the Association of Fundraising Professionals Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year. We were happy to accept the award at National Philanthropy Day celebration.

Today, Annette serves on the board for the college's foundation, but since we are a team, I help her -- especially when it comes to asking for money for MCC, something we both consider a top priority.

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Manatee Community College has campuses in Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch and Venice. To learn more about MCC, visit the Web site at http://www.mccfl.edu. Phone: (941) 752-5000

(In Venice, 408-1300)