SAINTS PERSPECTIVE, SCCC President Brad Bennett
In less than two weeks, Seward County Community College will start a new semester. It’s an electric time here on campus, as we greet returning students, welcome new ones, and set off on something that feels like an adventure. I admit, I get excited about the start of the school year. It’s full of possibility. This is the big step that our SCCC Saints have worked so hard to reach. They are excited, a little scared, still young enough to dream big.
That is the theme our admissions team has chosen as they recruited students across our service area all last year, and continuing through the summer: Have a dream, be the dream, seize the dream. The words remind of us of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as the old slogan, “Carpe diem!” Seize the day.
Dreaming about what you can achieve in your life is really the first step to getting there. Thomas Edison is famous for saying his inventions were “1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration,” and it’s true that hard work is essential. But without that seed of a dream, many of us don’t get down to business to do the the hard work. We might not ever start.
It took a dream for us to have the light bulb, the telephone, the airplane. Today, we continue to see amazing inventions that started with a wild idea, a dream, and now show up in everyday life; cell phones, contact lenses, front porch camera systems. None of these things would exist if people settled for the status quo.
Remember, it takes courage to dream. We live in a time where people struggle with fear, mental illness, and uncertainty at unprecedented levels. That is why SCCC has upped our game in terms of student support services for mental health and wellness. It wouldn’t be reasonable for us to expect the best from students who struggle just to keep showing up day to day.
Over the summer, renovations have continued to create a dedicated space for our full-time mental health counselor, as well as our on-campus Student Health Center. The Liberal Rotary Club has provided support with a grant to fund a poster campaign reminding SCCC students, faculty, and staff to be kind to ourselves and those around us. All those efforts are part of our goal: to equip our students to be their best selves. To dream big.
I am always amazed at the stories our students bring with them. International students from all over the world had a vision of playing their chosen sport in front of a bigger audience than wherever they call home. Students from the many small towns that surround Liberal are also looking farther than the high school hallways.
Wherever they started, every person who comes to campus represents parents and grandparents, siblings, and a long line of teachers who prepared them for SCCC. Every person who shows up in their life played a part in how they got to our campus.
That’s a lot of dreams.
Now it is time for those new college students to take hold of their own.
Our Vice President of Student Affairs David Hardman will kick off orientation week for our new students with a convocation in the Showcase Theater, which is sponsored by Rapid Fit. In it, he will introduce a few new traditions here at SCCC, building on our longstanding heritage of Saints pride, hard work, and high achievement. Our incoming students will take a class photo in the amphitheater, marking this moment in their lives.
Besides graduation, this might be my favorite time of year. Seeing all those faces, filled with optimism, a little uncertainty, excitement, and hope. They are Saints. They are dreamers. They are the future. We couldn’t be more honored to play a part in their dreams.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR — Brad Bennett is the president of Seward County Community College. It was not his dream to attend the recent KidzBop concert but it was the dream of his daughters, so he made it happen. He even survived the on-stage Daddy Dance-Off, along with three other committed fathers. Now it’s back to business as he prepares for the 2024-25 academic year. Email him at
