OPINION

WTMC was the school for me

Chanel Stitt. Illustration by Maia Morgan | Washtenaw Voice

By Chanel Stitt
Staff Writer

The time is near for 2017 graduating seniors to finish our long journey at Washtenaw Technical Middle College. The past three years seemed to go by so fast, but day to day, it went by so slowly. We are in the home stretch and it is almost time to part ways.

When I first started attending the school, I became completely invested. Learning had become my first priority and I went the extra mile on my school work. Teachers helped us to meet new people, some being ones that we wouldn’t normally talk to on a daily basis.

It was a completely different world for me. I had went from walking the short distance of two hallways in my old high school to walking an entire campus at Washtenaw Community College.

We had to spend time in each class learning the concept of “Soft Skills,” which is how we should present ourselves in the real world. If credentialed, we were able to move forward to begin our college courses.

So there I was, winter semester 2015 a 16-year-old in a college course. It was quite intimidating at first and I felt like everyone else was old.

I felt like I blended in with the class until it was time for K-12 Count Day. The bold green and red release papers had to be signed by professors by a certain deadline twice a semester. Everyone would ask what it was and suddenly, my cover would be blown.

During each semester, I was able to find at least one WTMC student in every class due to previous events of meeting people. Most would stick with me for the whole semester, creating study groups and staying friends afterwards.

The most important thing that I have learned while attending WTMC is to make friends that help me study to make sure that I stayed on track. Friends that have motivated me over the years are the ones that kept my positivity high.

While attending WTMC, I was able to figure out my place in the college world early on in life, just like every other student there.

It is possible that one might be only 14-16 years-old deciding the program that you are entering to complete, either an associate degree or certificate. Many students find that they end up maturing quickly because we are given the task of deciding our futures.

If one finds that they no longer like the degree program that they are a part of, with the help of the BASE advisors, they can make a smooth transition into a new program. Assistance was always there when needed and it felt like a community. Having advisors to back us up has made it easy to be this young and in college.
Advisors have helped me get to the end, and now that I have reached it, I’m in shock. Everything is about to change as I move forward to a four-year university, fully prepared at the age of 19.

I’ve been through thick and thin with my friends at this school, but it was worth it. I will be graduating with my high school diploma, journalism associate and liberal arts certificate in a few weeks.

I’ve never come across a better opportunity than I found at WTMC.