Winners will be announced later today on Facebook!
www.facebook.com/acrangerpaper
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Read below for more information on some of the students above.
Rachel Zeck:
“I have been taking classes at AC since spring of 2013, both online and on-campus. Before that, I took courses online with Herzing University, and received a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and Homeland Security. But, even before that, I was taking classes at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. I graduated high school in 2005 in Springfield, Virginia (born and raised), my boyfriend bringing me to the area to be close to his family in 2009. What a culture shock!!! I went from the Washington, DC area, complete with 6-lane bumper-to-bumper traffic, cherry blossom trees, every square inch of land occupied with a building or house and 100% humidity, to an area with no traffic, buffalo grass and weeds, miles of flat land that the eye can see, the smell of cow patties, daily tornado-force winds, and to saying ‘ya’ll’.
I currently work in an office setting in the medical field. I volunteer for a few organizations, through my work place and through the community. I am currently taking classes at AC in Office Administration with the intent of achieving two certificates – Office Assistant and Office Administration Software. I was brought to AC by word of mouth. Not only do Texans talk about AC, but so do Virginians. AC is a nationally distinguished community college that is known for its astounding, helpful, knowledgeable and admired instructors, beautiful, conveniently located campuses, widespread curriculum and academic support with a high graduation rate, as well as an amazing delivery of educational material on time and budget.
People around me think I am crazy when I tell them that I am still in school; I am known by family, friends and co-workers as ‘the career student’. I love to learn and develop my skills and knowledge of many different areas, which AC encourages. I love to interact with others, often pushing them to do well by encouragement or through further study, AC offering the resources to do such. And, above all, I love the atmosphere that is provided by AC. AC provides a great place to learn, advance and interact, giving many opportunities of success through clubs, social or learning events, and other activities. It brings different people with different ideas together to produce the true next generation. I believe that giving back to one’s community and supporting our peers is very important. In order to be successful ourselves, we must help others to be successful.”
Brandi Craig:
“I am currently in the nursing fast track program at AC. I am from Sunray, TX. I grew up on a farm and always have had a passion for continuing my education. I chose to attend Amarillo College upon my high school graduation, and have never regretted any minute of it. This school is amazing, I would recommend it to anyone. Make no mistake the classes are hard and push your limits, but the staff at Amarillo College WANTS you to succeed. Any problems I faced through my journey of college, have been lifted off my shoulders. I was financially in a bind and AC gave me a sack of groceries. When I struggle in a class, the professor sits with me and explains it until I have it down. When I couldn’t find any scholarships, they handed me a list of websites to try out. It is rare that colleges have amenities that they don’t stick a price tag on along with your tuition; Amarillo College does not do that. The AC card for instance, works at all public libraries in this area EVEN CANYON! That’s great for me , seeing I don’t have wi-fi access at home. I chose Amarillo College because there is no other college out there that could benefit me more.”
Kim House:
“I am from Borger Tx. I was accepted into the ADN program at AC. I have two very special children and a hubby. My oldest son who is 7 years old has a heart condition known as Tetology of Fallot. That means 4 defects in the heart found by a man named Fallot. He has had open heart surgery. He has a pace maker because he is in complete heart block and is fighting mild autism. My other son was also born with a defect within the throat. This required many surgeries and hospital stays on and off for over a year. He required a Micky button(feeding device) to eat. However, this had been removed and he is doing much better. He is now 3 years old. They are the inspiration for me wanting to be a nurse, and a good one at that. Oh, I also love coffee!”
Staff member, Quintin Marquez:
“I was born in Hereford, Texas, 1985. I lived in Hereford until I was 4 years old, then my family and I moved to Amarillo where I attended many elementary schools and two middle schools. When I was about to start my eighth grade year my mom and I moved back to Hereford where I attended La Plata Junior high. My freshmen year in high school, I moved to Happy, Texas and joined the first six-man football team Happy had seen in 50 something years. I lived in Happy for two years then moved back to Amarillo where I attended and graduated from Tascosa High School in 2004.
I came to Amarillo College in the fall of 04′ but due to the economy I decided to get a job that paid salary so I became a restaurant manager for a popular family dining establishment. I worked as kitchen manager for 5 years and decided the economy was better than when I started so I made the bold move to step down from my position and became an hourly employee just as I was 5 years before and go back to school to try to get a career that would one day support me and a family of my own. I am a mass comm major and this is my second year back to school. Everyday I am reminded that I have made the better choice to leave a job where I was becoming well-established in the company to a student starting at square one but making the effort to do better than I would have if I had settled. It has been a long road to get back to where I was 7 years ago and even though I am older I would not change a thing.”
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