SAINTS PERSPECTIVE, SCCC President Brad Bennett
The Christmas parade will light up Kansas Ave. this weekend, bringing people together to celebrate the holiday as a community. While the Saints participate in nearly every parade that takes place in Liberal and many of our surrounding communities, this parade always brings memories to mind of the year my family came back to Liberal for good.
Over the years, Lindsay and I have judged floats, walked in the parade with our daughters, handed out candy, and taken a ride down main street in the college pickup. Sometimes there are goats to keep us company, and sometimes the Grinch shows up. It’s always special.
This weekend, the College’s newest student club, Adults Continuing Education or ACE, plans to enter a float and participate. I’m excited to see them step out, as our adult education program has gathered significant momentum this year. Enrollment in GED and English as a Second Language classes has increased, and we have more participants in the Accelerating Opportunity Kansas, or A-OK, program than we’ve seen for several years.
The program accepted a special, personal gift from the late Mary Lloyd as the academic year started, and her generosity has come to symbolize the many good things we see flourishing in adult education.
When instructor Carl Silva got the idea for a student club based in the adult education program, he was responding to a need he saw: a way for what we used to call “nontraditional” students to connect, encourage each other, and strive for excellence. The club offers community, something everyone needs.
I am always amazed to hear the stories of our adult education learners. Many of them are starting over in the United States after having successful careers in other countries. They might have experience as engineers, veterinarians, or upper-level managers and now, facing the language barrier, they are essentially going back to square one.
Other adult learners come to us from circumstances in which they were denied education, or were simply unable to access it. In many surrounding countries, an excellent public school system is not an option, and education is reserved for those with money or influence. For them, the courses offered through SCCC seem like a dream come true: education for anyone who wants it, at little or no cost. All that’s required is a desire to learn and willingness to work.
Then there are the adult learners who are self-motivated to course-correct their life trajectories. It might be a case of starting over after unforeseen circumstances, or it might be a return to education after stopping out. Sometimes, it is simply a matter of getting past disappointment to dare to dream of something different. Those students find that SCCC is a great place for second chances … and third chances, and even more.
As the ACE club members gather to share their stories, form bonds, and cheer one another on, it’s my hope that they will also dream big. Once a student has mastered English and completed the Kansas High School Diploma (also known as GED, or graduation equivalence diploma), they are ready to head to the main campus and start on an associate degree!
From there, the possibilities are truly endless: through our partnership with Newman University, graduates of SCCC can go on to earn bachelors’ degrees in many subject areas right here in Liberal. Generous scholarships cut the cost to almost nothing for many, and help out all SCCC transfer students.
Earlier this fall, adult education instructor Virginia Lerma brought students to campus to explore the Saints Library and tour the academic buildings. Whether they started out in Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, Elkhart, Kansas, or neighborhoods in Liberal, they are already a part of the Saints family. When I met those classes, I told them I hoped to see them enroll as students someday. I’m looking forward to that time.
Until then, I’m keeping an eye on their progress — down Kansas Avenue during this holiday season, and through the next year. Their future is our legacy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR — Brad Bennett is president of Seward County Community College. In terms of employee celebrations, he leans more toward the role of Santa than the Grinch, and is looking forward to the all-employee Christmas party on Dec. 17. You can reach him at
