By: John J. “Ski” Sygielski, MBA, Ed.D., president and CEO of HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College

As April, Community College Month, comes to an end, I hope for the next 11 months we can drop the outdated narrative that HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, or the 14 other Pennsylvania community colleges are just a “plan B.” In truth, they're often the smartest first choice - even when they aren't the first first choice.

As Pennsylvania’s first community college, founded in 1964 and with five campuses, HACC represents something uniquely American: reinvention. HACC is where dreams are rebooted, skills are rebuilt and lives are rerouted. They're where single parents, career changers, veterans, immigrants, artists and late bloomers all sit elbow-to-elbow, sharing a determination not bound by age, background or GPA. HACC flexes so nimbly to meet people where they are, rather than expecting them to fit a rigid mold.

The popular image of college still tends to be a leafy, four-year campus where teenagers find themselves in the hallowed halls of tradition. But the truth is, for over 30,000 HACC students, finding themselves happens at 11 p.m. after work, in one of our science laboratories,  on a tower in the Fire Academy or in a Zoom meeting with a professor. I might add a professor who remembers our students’ names and their goals!

HACC and the other 1,100 community colleges in the United States don't need pity. We don't need to be rebranded to sound fancier. We need to be celebrated for what we already are: the beating heart of opportunity in 11 counties in Central Pennsylvania and throughout this country. Accessible. Affordable. Audaciously hopeful.

As we say good-bye to April, let's not talk about HACC and community colleges only as stepping stones in the months that follow. Let’s talk about them as launchpads. Let's stop treating them like the backup plan and start recognizing them as the blueprint for a more flexible, inclusive and resilient future. 

#HACCproud