SAINTS PERSPECTIVE, SCCC President Brad Bennett
If you follow Seward County Community College on social media, you have probably seen a series of photos this month, featuring students, faculty, and staff. Each of them holds a placard with reflections on what community means to them.
Some of their answers are classic: community means working towards a shared goal, unity, and showing up when someone needs help. Others tap into humor, like the student who defines community in terms of baseball. One of our Saints wrote simply, that community is “Everything.”
It’s a great question to contemplate, and it connects to each one of us. People exist in communities based on their location and activities; we flourish when we make the most of those connections. At SCCC, we’re focused on two kinds of community — the campus setting, where we look out for one another, cheer each other onward, and strive to be a little better each day. We’re also focused on how we, as an institution, interlock with the wider community of Liberal, Seward County, and our entire service area.
As the new year gains momentum, it’s more important than ever to nurture the communities that we are part of. On campus, I’m encouraging folks to believe the best about one another. There are always growing pains, unpredictable events, and challenges, but overcoming them is possible when we focus on the positive and give others the benefit of the doubt. The amazing thing is that when we do this, most of our fears turn out to be unfounded, and in the meantime, we will likely feel less anxiety.
For our students, I encourage them to believe in their own possibilities. Mistakes and failures are part of how we improve, if we are willing to learn from them. A few years ago, the term “growth mindset” became a popular catchphrase. There’s a reason it caught on: it’s true. Henry Ford famously observed, “Whether you think you can or you can’t … you are right.”
When I look at our community, the same notion is true. Tough issues are real, and it’s normal that people often latch on to extremely different solutions to problems that affect the entire group. One thing is clear: it’s always better to have a community filled with people who care (and who have opinions) than to simply exist in a cloud of indifference.
The fact is, between politics, the economy, and individual circumstances, there is always plenty of trouble to go around and arguments to pick. I am convinced that we can always find solutions when we work together. I am so proud to be part of groups that practice this approach. The Liberal Chamber of Commerce, which is always ready to encourage business owners and equip them with tools for success, often in partnership with our own SCCC Business & Industry department. Our area school districts, which have empowered their students to take full advantage of the Saints Ahead scholarship and launched hundreds of area high schoolers toward success with early college credits.
The City of Liberal and USD 480 have both worked with SCCC on a variety of projects over the past years, and I expect future victories for us all. It’s not pie-in-the-sky to look forward to success; it is a mindset that makes a real difference. I’m thankful for our elected Board of Trustees for modeling cooperative, thoughtful leadership, and for keeping the channels of communication open. Of course, the W.A.I.T. rule is helpful for us all — asking the questions, “Why Am I Talking?” and “Why Aren’t I Talking?”
All of us who are alive right now are at the 25-year mark of the twenty-first century. I can’t think of a better location to embrace the future. Let’s continue to build our community into a stronger, better place. We can do it together.