Montgomery County Community College Business Administration graduate Courtney Morrow, and her son Engineering graduate Aaron Laws, stand in the Engineering Lab on Montgomery County Community College’s Blue Bell Campus. Photo by Eric Devlin
Aaron Laws, ’26, and his mom, Courtney Morrow, ’26, didn’t plan to graduate from Montgomery County Community College at the same time, but both are glad they did. Not only was it helpful to have someone to lean on each semester, but the pair also said now it’s even better, as they’re able to celebrate their accomplishments together.
Laws and Morrow, both from Pottstown, said they’re proud of each other, appreciate
all the help and support the College has given them and are looking forward to the
bright futures ahead.
“I’m pretty excited to be moving forward,” said Laws, 21, who majored in Engineering Science (A.S.), and is transferring to four-year partner school, Drexel University, in the fall. “It’s been very inspiring watching my mom balance significantly more responsibility with school, working full-time, and handling all of it really well. It’s impressive.”
“I’m relieved,” said Morrow, a Business Administration (A.S.) major, and operations manager at the manufacturing company, Reading Truck. “It’s an accomplishment I’m very proud of myself for achieving. I have a fast-paced and hectic career. It can be a lot at times. But it’s been beneficial to have him in the house too to help me with school. It’s amazing to watch him grow and see how he’s transformed. His confidence has grown. I’m excited to see him move on in his journey.”
A fresh start
Laws enrolled at the Pottstown Campus in the fall of 2023. Before that, though, the
pandemic hit during his freshman year of high school and drastically affected his
results in the classroom.
“Once we went virtual for school, I just lost any motivation to really work at all,” he said. “So that really hurt my high school performance. By senior year, I started to realize, well, OK, this isn’t sustainable for reaching the goals I have for myself in wanting to become an engineer.”
He decided to begin studying at the College to turn things around academically and position himself well to transfer to a four-year institution, he said.
Morrow, similarly, enrolled at the College in the spring of 2024. She’d taken college classes in the past with the idea of completing a degree, but sidelined those plans when life got too hectic, she said. Watching her son begin to turn his life around helped her make the decision to go back to school as well.
“When he started going, it motivated me,” she said. “That, and to get a promotion in my career required a college degree, so that was as secondary motivation. So, I figured, why not? Let’s both get it done.”
Thriving in and out of the classroom
Laws and Morrow said they both thrived as students.
“Overall, it’s been a great experience,” said Laws. “My first semesters were on Pottstown campus. It was an easy commute and nice to take a few classes at home.”
During his time as a student, Laws said he enjoyed getting involved on campus. He
landed an internship at the Pottstown-based, automotive parts manufacturer, Dana Inc.
Through that opportunity, he worked with Montco 360, an immersive STEM program for selected eighth-grade Pottstown Middle School students
held on MCCC’s Pottstown Campus. Laws said he gave students tours of the Dana Inc.
plant and served on a panel of judges who evaluated student presentations on their functioning, alternative energy-producing machine prototypes.
He also coached Montco 360 students during a BotBall Competition sponsored by Dana at the College. Students were challenged to build and design autonomous robots to reset a warehouse after disaster struck. Laws said he enjoyed guiding students with their projects and answering questions when he could help.
“I really enjoy community outreach,” he said. “With Montco 360, I would walk into the classroom, and the eighth graders are so excited to see me. It’s really rewarding.”.
Morrow, meanwhile, took her classes primarily online and appreciated the flexibility
it provided her, while working full-time. She appreciated having Laws home to lean
on at different times when their classes were challenging. She also said she’s glad
she waited until later in life to go back to school, as she was able apply what she
was learning in the classroom directly to her profession.
“Working full-time made the information in the classes extremely relevant,” she said. “My finance classes, in particular— I have a big hand in finance at my company but never had a traditional education in it, so that class opened my eyes and helped with my career.”
Their hard work in the classroom paid off. Both were named to the Dean’s List and the first-generation students were inducted into the MCCC’s Beta Tau Lambda Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges.
New horizons
As newly minted graduates, Law and Morrow said they’re excited about the future. Laws
already has plans to transfer to Drexel. Morrow said she’s interested in transferring
to Temple University in the fall to continue her studies and is also exploring a promotion
to a plant manager role at her employer.
Law called graduating from the College “a milestone.”
“I’m a person who benefits from seeing efforts pay off,” he said. “I’m basically halfway there. It’s very exciting.”
Morrow agreed.
“I’m definitely excited,” she said. “I’m ready to finish my journey to a four-year degree.”