During Community College Day on April 15, state legislators heard from community college students, trustees, presidents and staff across Pennsylvania about the need for the Commonwealth’s ongoing support and funding for community colleges.

At Montgomery County Community College (MCCC), 13 students added their voices and perspectives to the conversation, including Madelyn Anton, Rosalee Banks, Kelsey Breisch, Sheri Delaware, Julia Dona, Ethan Gage, Paige Jones, Emilie McCarthy, Carly Morris, Adam Olivera, Lauren Weller, Lillie Williams and Teddy Zhmut. The group included students of different ages at varying stages of life, from dual enrollment students to young parents to adults returning to finish their education.

In addition to the students, Dr. Victoria L. Bastecki-Perez, MCCC President; Frank X. Custer, Chair, MCCC Board of Trustees; Eleanor Dezzi, Trustee; Varsovia Fernandez, Trustee; Bill Vitiello, Chair, MCCC Alumni Association; Mike Bettinger, Director of Government & External Relations; Tyler Steffy, Director of Student Life; Diane VanDyke, Director of Strategic Communications; Eric Devlin, Public Relations & Communications Coordinator; and Courtney Lynch, Digital Marketing Coordinator, participated in the meetings.

In a typical year, MCCC students would travel to the State Capitol in Harrisburg to meet with legislators in person for Community College Day. However, with the pandemic, the students met via Zoom in groups of four to five students with legislators from their respective districts, who included Senator Amanda Cappelletti, Representative Nancy Guenst, Representative Napoleon Nelson and Representative Todd Stephens.

“Our students are our best advocates, and it is important for our legislators to hear from them directly about their experiences as they work on our behalf forming policy in Harrisburg,” Bettinger said.

Throughout the meetings, the students were eager to share their experiences and describe how MCCC helps them.

“At Montco, I’m not just a number, someone actually cares about me,” said Paige Jones, who selected MCCC because it was close to her home and her mom also went to MCCC. “Montco is good about giving resources, not just financial aid, but mental health resources and acknowledging students when they do good work.”

Jones started her education at MCCC as a dual enrollment student in high school, taking college courses at the same time as her high school courses and getting a jumpstart on earning credits toward her degree.

President Bastecki-Perez explained to Rep. Stephens and the other legislators that MCCC has a variety of dual enrollment options, including on-campus and online courses, as well as courses taught at the high school by MCCC faculty or high school teachers who work as adjuncts for MCCC.

“The beauty of dual enrollment is that the students in high school are truly a part of the Montco Family, and they have complete access to an array of resources, such as 24/7 tutoring,” said President Bastecki-Perez. “They also have an opportunity to take advantage of our mental health services, including Talkspace online therapy, and they can use our libraries. They can use all of the resources available, and, in addition, we discount the tuition for dual enrollment.”

This year, MCCC offered a new online dual enrollment program for high schools that were not able to offer AP courses due to the pandemic, helping students stay on track while earning college credits.

However, since dual enrollment students do not have access to any state or federal financial aid, they have to pay out-of-pocket for tuition. MCCC, through support from donors and alumni, offers scholarships to help remove these barriers for students.

Community colleges, including MCCC, are asking the Commonwealth to provide financial support for dual enrollment students to help more students take advantage of the program.

In addition to dual enrollment, several students spoke about MCCC’s affordability and convenience.

One student, Sheri Delaware, began her education at MCCC, but then took a break to start a family. She is now returning to complete her education.

“The quality of the education for the money is amazing,” said Delaware, whose mother also is an MCCC alumna. “I’m currently homeschooling three kids during the pandemic, but I can continue my education because it’s flexible and affordable.”

For business administration major, Teddy Zhmut, MCCC is giving him the opportunity to be the first in his family to get a college degree.

“My mom being a single parent couldn’t go to college, but now I’m getting my education and can help her later,” said Zhmut, who serves as the vice president of the Student Government Association.

Even with the reasonable tuition rates, many students continue to struggle with other challenges, including food and housing insecurities, transportation concerns, childcare and technology needs, among others. All of these things, as Trustee Custer noted, are intertwined. Some of the students shared their concerns over the lack of public transportation with Rep. Nelson, who wanted to hear whether on-campus housing would help them.

With more than 78,000 alumni, MCCC has many alumni who live in the Montgomery County region, including Rep. Guenst, who is an alumna, and Senator Cappelletti’s husband.

"The majority of Montco graduates stay in the county, and they work, live and thrive in our region and remain Pennsylvanians,” said President Bastecki-Perez. “That’s important because when you invest in our students, you not only change their lives, but you change the trajectory of the constituents that you serve.”

“The alumni are very passionate about their experience at Montco because of all the programming and support they received,” said Bill Vitiello, Chair, MCCC Alumni Association. “We ask for your continued advocacy on our behalf so Montco can continue to make this area and the world a better place.”