Attending a Community College for life enrichment


For reasons that I still don't understand to this day, I was told not to use the term "life enrichment" when I first started teaching at GCC in 2001. But since I haven't taught there for years, and besides, this is my blog, I can say "life enrichment". Because I really do believe that you can pursue life enrichment at your local Community College.

Yeah, I know it sounds corny, but I really did see people change their lives by taking classes at GCC. And no, I'm not some career teacher who got into the business to change lives. I'm a Graphic Designer who just happened to know the software that everyone was trying to catch up to in the late 90s and early 2000s, Adobe, and that new invention, web design.

Although I don't teach anymore, I have been stumbling over to GCC for the past couple of years, using the Fitness Center, and if you think that schools like this are fading away because of online classes (of which GCC has a lot), go look for a parking space sometime. There are a LOT of cars there! By the way, here's a hint, use the north parking lot, most people don't even realize it's there!

There are a lot of people there on campus, of all ages. And the one thing they all have in common, whether they're working towards a degree or not, is life enrichment. And if you take this point of view, whether you are studying to become a doctor, or just want to learn how to use Photoshop, then the classes, and credits, will take care of themselves. Everything you do, and learn, enriches you. And ultimately you can put that knowledge to work, which will give you a better life, whether you want it to make money for you or not.

Here's what you do: Get in your car and look for the Visitor Parking at your local Community College. At GCC, it's just west of the Enrollment Center at Olive and 61st Avenue. Walk around campus. Grab a cup of coffee at the Student Union. Look at the faces of the people walking by. You will see life enrichment.

Image at the top of this post: Glendale Community College under construction in 1966, 59th Avenue and Olive, Glendale, Arizona.

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