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What Students Need To Know About the ACCelerators Reopening

ACCENT met with the Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Shasta Buchanan to get more insight on this transition for ACC. on reopening the ACCelerators for student use.

Written by Marissa Greene

Austin Community College reopened three locations for students to utilize the ACCelerator. As of Oct. 26, students can schedule an appointment to have a quiet place to study, technology, and internet access. All things necessary for student success during virtual learning.

Q: How have the operating hours changed at the ACCelerator?

A: The operating hours for the ACCelerator are now Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4 pm. We’re on three campuses [the ACCelerator} so the Highland, Round Rock, and the Hays campus library. We want to be mindful of the best use of our facilities as well as being safe.

Q: Are services such as private study rooms open for student use?

A: Not at this time. But that doesn’t mean we won’t start to transition and open those different opportunities. We wanted to start small. We heard from our students in our campaigns in May and one of the things that really was at the top lists for students was a quiet place to study, access to technology, and the internet.

So they have a whole pod to themselves. Now there is a specific space that they have to sit in just to maintain social distancing. But there are no other people in the pods with them. We are also only in a certain zone of the ACCelerator. Again, we know students want this access but we also know that they still want to be safe in that space. So we wanted to be mindful of that before we slowly start to open up other spaces.

Q: What does it look like to walk into the ACCelerator now?

A: Good question! One, it’s a little different because they can’t just walk into the ACCelerator they have the schedule an appointment for a pod space or a space in the Hays library. We also ask all of our students and employees to watch a video. It really walks them through what it is like and what it feels like to walk on campus. Every employee and student has to fill out the ACC health screener app. This allows us to make sure that they are not experiencing any symptoms and we constantly remind our students and staff that there is just a personal responsibility about this and I am just so proud of everyone. And then to wear a face mask, wash your hands, we take your temperature at the door, and then everyone gets something that certifies them that they can be in that space. The student will have two hours of time allotted in their appointment.

Q: How many times can a student use this facility?

A: They can schedule as much as they want but again it is by appointment only. That allows us to maintain the percentage of people that should be in the building between students and employees. And again, it allows us to practice social distancing and follow those protocols that allow students the things we know they need to be successful.

Q: Are tutoring, academic coaching, and other services open at the ACCelerator at this time?

A: The ACCelerator, as we transition to opening it is really what students told us what they needed most. That was a quiet place to study, access to technology, and the internet. So that is all that we are providing at the Highland, Round Rock, and Hays library right now. We will work across the college partners as we’re monitoring the virus and know what’s happening. We want to keep everyone safe, we want to be mindful in terms of what is happening with the virus before we say “okay what is the next thing we can bring into that space?”

I hope that our students understand that we respect them. We want them to be safe. And so, while it may seem slow, slow means that we are being cautious. It doesn’t mean that we aren’t planning for the future; it just means that it is very important for us to be cautious.

Q: How do students make sure their opinions are heard about ACC’s transition?

A: We send surveys out, we cal students, and what I’ve learned is that our students become way more responsive and they’re looking at emails, newsletters, and whatever the different means we’ve been communicating with them. They are very responsive and paying attention because they are wanting to be in the know. So through all of those levels of learning, I hope our students know that we are not just asking questions to ask questions sake. We’re hearing them. And then our plan of action is to plan and prepare. And how do we meet the needs of our students

Q: Any final comments or takeaways?

A: The biggest thing is that if students see emails or other means of communication or they see that we’re calling them, please pick up or call us back. We understand that they are in the class too so sometimes when we call them it might now match when they’re in class. But please to return our call, please respond to our emails because their voice is what we are trying to gather and to know what do you need. And if there is any takeaway, it is that we are trying our best to meet their needs in the virtual and what would come back but we need to hear from them.

Understanding Diversity

Settling into a mix of people.

Written, photos & video by Martay Whitfield

Diversity refers to the difference among individuals, although many assume it focuses on only race and ethnicity. Those differences also include economic status, sexual orientation and age. College is one place that you can find diversity through a mix of people working together to improve their community by receiving a higher education. Many come from all over to live in the Austin area and attend ACC with aspirations to transfer into The University of Texas at Austin.

Adrian Fierro, general studies student, moved to Austin from West Texas. “[At ACC] I’m meeting people, I wouldn’t have normally met. Coming to a big city like this and having an open mindset, floating around is interesting.”

At ACC Fierro experiences a safe and cultured environment. “I have never had a problem at ACC, I think that it has a very [open-minded] faculty as well as the student body.” Fierro feels that ACC does everything in their power to make everyone feel accepted and at home.

One thing about college is it can help you to discover yourself. Through the growth of diversity at ACC, there is sensitivity to certain subjects. “ACC is culturally sensitive,” says philosophy and psychology student, Grant Loveless. “ACC is all about making it comfortable to succeed and develop success.”

Education at ACC is about challenging and finding your beliefs. The school has programs and organizations for almost anyone. And if a student can’t find a suitable place at ACC, Student Life offers the opportunity to create an organization for those enrolled in classes. Student organizations like Onward to Interpreting, First Generation Students of ACC and Gender & Sexuality Alliance are offered to students for an inclusive community.

The Male Leadership Program (MLP), began in the Office of Student Life. The program is known for providing institutional support to encourage success for first-year male students, by providing a network of resources. This program is inclusive of men, women and non-binary students.

There is one student organization currently in the works by a few students. Similar to the Black Student Association, this organization will be Black Minds Empowered. Their mission will be focused on providing resources and a safe space to minority students.

Alexis Carr, psychology student, is one of the creators of Black Minds Empowered. “We see the lack of community in the African American culture as black students. We don’t really speak to each other, like when we walk by each other – there’s lack of communication. So we just want to have a space for students to come and express how they feel as a minority student, as a black student.”

Carr believes that the ethnic diversity at ACC can improve, so she is working to help this community. Austin, known for being “weird” or “the blue dot in the red state,” portrays a sense of liberalism.

“In Texas, specifically, we do see a lot of cultural insensitivities going on in different cities where we have injustice and inequality around minorities,” Loveless says. “[At ACC,] we have a large array of students with various cultures, students, backgrounds and nationalities. So the diversity at ACC, here, is number one.”

Fierro oversees diversity and inclusion for the Student Government Association. My experience here at ACC has been life-changing. Where I’m from you don’t really get to experience half the things you get to, we don’t have the conversations we have here. Especially being in the middle of not only political issues, but scientific advancements. Austin is basically Silicon Valley, so it’s amazing to have it all combined.”

As a community college in an open-minded city, ACC embodies the “weirdness” of Austin. There are 11 campuses in the Austin area, making ACC the sixth largest community college in the United States, and the fourth largest college in Texas. ACC works to represent diversity while making every campus feel safe and welcoming. These values embody ACC’s slogan, “Start Here. Get There.”

Climbing the College Ladder

Two Austin Community College Alumni from different walks of life, share their stories in hopes to change the stigma of junior colleges.

Written, Photo & Video by Marissa Greene

Once one has come to the point of receiving their high school diploma or completing their GED, what’s next? Well, that may look different for some people. It could be taking a gap year, entering the workforce or attending a college.

“Not going to college was never an option,” says ACC Alumni Network Council President, Lynn Kindler. Like many, Kindler was encouraged to take, at least, one year at ACC by her father. So, she began her educational journey in 1980 at the Rio Grande campus.

Decades later, a first-generation student, Jose Sosa, began his college education at ACC in 2002. “It was a big challenge, to be honest,” he says. “I never thought I would be able to accomplish my associate’s degree.”

Sosa was able to further his education through ESL and math classes to better his GPA at ACC before transferring to a four-year university.

Many pursue community college to make the transfer to a four-year college. However, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics, this past fall approximately 13.3 million first-year students enrolled in a four-year university, while 6.7 million students attended a two-year college. That’s nearly twice as many students paying more for the basic courses. What causes this gap – is there a stigma related to attending a community college?

“I had a lot of shame going on…it’s like everybody knew I was going to a community college instead of UT or St. Edwards,” says Kindler. “But I knew I was getting the education I needed because the classrooms were smaller and I was getting the attention I needed from the professors.”

As some may feel a lack of clout at a community college, others feel the stress of juggling daily tasks.

“I had to meet deadlines, go to work, study for my tests, and travel between campuses because I didn’t have transportation at the time,” Sosa says.

Prioritizing these tasks can be difficult for some. ACC works to create a variety of resources provided to its enrolled students, from financial readiness with Student Money Management to goal setting with academic coaches to networking with the Alumni Council.

“I was very disciplined to take my tests,” Sosa says as he took advantage of ACC resources in order to comb through all that he had to accomplish. Once he completed his associate’s, he wasn’t done just quite yet. Sosa took it to the next level by attending Texas State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 2013.

“I truly believe in education, it is very important,” Sosa says. “It can open so many doors professionally in so many ways.”

After looking back at all of her accomplishments and her start at ACC, Kindler recommends trying a two-year college before anything else. “It has taken a progression of many years for me to get to the place where it’s not a shame thing to go to community college. In fact, as a career coach…if you don’t know exactly what you want to do and where to get it, why wouldn’t you go to a community college to get the first two years knocked out?”

Kindler completed so many of her classes at ACC that she only had to earn 30 credit hours after transferring to UT. She claims to have a passion for helping others, “when I’m working with somebody and they’re really struggling with something or looking at something in their life, I can help them unlock the knowledge and gifts that they already had in them and wow that’s awesome.”

As members of the ACC Alumni Network Council, Kindler and Sosa show thanks to ACC for being their first steps to where they are today.

“I would like to give back to all that ACC has given me,” Sosa says. “What I tell students is that when I came to ACC I was not very fluent in the language. So if I could do it anybody else could do it.”

Whether you are looking to go back to school or beginning your first semester of community college, think about Jose Sosa and think about Lynn Kindler and think to yourself if community college is really all that bad?

Jose Sosa is a Lead Safety Coordinator at Workers Defence Project and owner of Sosa Income Tax and Adela’s Cleaning Services. He also earned OSHA Safety Certification to educate construction workers and nonprofit organizations about safety in the workplace.

After college, Lynn Kindler had a variety of careers such as an Executive Assistant to the Publisher of Texas Monthly, a mentor coach, Producer and host for Blog Talk radio, a career coach, amongst many others.