Mary OBrien
Edmonds Community College isn’t on Delmar Larsen’s resume. Now that he holds his doctorate in chemistry and is doing post-doctoral work at Free University Amsterdam as part of a three-year fellowship, he figures no one will ask about the Associate of Science he earned in 1991.
He’s probably right.
So when Larsen stopped by to see me, his community college chemistry teacher, on his way to make a presentation at the International Conference on Ultrafast Phenomena in Vancouver, British Columbia, I had to ask him: How did we do? Was there anything he’d learned at Edmonds Community College that applied to what he was doing now, academic research into the structure and dynamics of proteins?
His earnest answer: "All of it."
"I felt prepared when I came out of Edmonds Community College. The education was good, even better than what I could have got in the first two years at a four-year school because of the personal relationships with the teachers and small class sizes," he said.
That was gratifying for me to hear because it’s why I’ve taught at Edmonds Community College for more than 25 years. It’s also something I think high school graduates should know. Community college is better than a back-up plan — it can be a first choice to get a solid education foundation.
High school graduates who did not get into their four-year school of choice or who are balking at the higher tuition, or who have procrastinated on completing college applications can get a great start at a community college and go on to achieve their goals.
For a student to be doing post-doctoral research surpasses even my expectations, but I’m pleased to be able to say that I have seen many other success stories over the years.
These are just a few students I’ve heard from recently:
These are the kinds of careers I hope, expect and have seen my students will go on to.
Students often choose community college for the convenience, to save tuition costs, for the flexible class schedules or because they like the smaller class sizes. Students who go on to be successful realize that it’s a great place to get an education. They take their studies seriously. They soak in everything the college offers and take all the classes they can. They get help and work hard.
And it pays off.
A community college is a smart investment for beginning a four-year degree. From here, students can get on the road to where they want to go, whether that is working in a pharmacy, becoming an engineer or researching ultrafast phenomena.
Mary OBrien is a chemistry instructor at Edmonds Community College. She earned the college’s Excellence in Education Award in 1989.
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