(Image by nakataza92 from Pixabay)
(Image by No Way from Pixabay)
At the start of each semester at Austin Community College, across our 11-soon-to-be-12 campuses, we have Welcome Tables for the first two days that are positioned at main entrances. Faculty, staff, and administrators all sign up for shifts, and we have great fun welcoming new and returning students, helping students find their classroom or get their ID badge, reassuring students, and connecting with them individually.
Many of our students are the first in their families to attend college. Many of our students aren’t sure they’re college material. Many of our students feel “imposter syndrome” when they start with us. Many of our students don’t know what a syllabus is, or what office hours are for, or what a “blue book” is. We serve all who walk through our doors, and we occasionally need to be reminded of that fact so that we can practice kindness, offer grace, and patiently guide our students.
My reminder came last week. When I was working the Welcome Table at one of our campuses on the first day of the semester, a student asked me where his classroom was. It was right above us, essentially, and I said as much. Our Welcome Table was positioned directly across from the elevators, and the stairs were a little bit to the left of the elevators. Before I could stand up to walk him to his classroom, he asked me this:
“Should I take the elevators or the stairs?”
He asked that question with such earnestness, and with an air that told me he didn’t want to make a mistake or do something wrong. These are our students. They don’t want to make mistakes. They don’t want to do anything wrong. They don’t know if they belong in college. They don’t know if they’ll succeed in classes. But we know – we know they belong, they’ll make mistakes and learn from them, and they’ll succeed. That is the reason I’ve spent my career in a community college – we help everyone find their path and we help prepare them for what’s next.