During Community College Week, March 28-April 1, Pennsylvania state legislators heard from community college students, trustees, presidents and employees about the importance of the Commonwealth’s ongoing support and funding for community colleges.

At Montgomery County Community College (MCCC), five students – Eric Bullen, Katelyn Durst, Julia Gallo, Andrew McKale and Jenny Nguyen — joined in the advocacy efforts, sharing their experiences with Representative Joe Webster, Senator Bob Mensch and Senator Maria Collett during Zoom visits on March 29 and 30.

In addition to the students, Dr. Victoria L. Bastecki-Perez, MCCC President; Varsovia Fernandez, Chair of MCCC Board of Trustees; and Mike Bettinger, Director of Government and External Relations, participated in the visits.

“Thank you for this opportunity to meet and hear from our students, particularly during Community College Week,” said Dr. Bastecki-Perez to the legislators. “We hope that you are reminded through our student stories today that the statistics you will be hearing as we move into the budget season are more than numbers – they are our students and residents, and they are our future.”

Throughout the meetings, the students talked about how MCCC helped them to achieve their educational goals.

For U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Eric Bullen, of Collegeville, MCCC is allowing him to reinvent himself and pay it forward. In 1995, Bullen graduated from MCCC’s Municipal Police Academy and started his career as a patrol officer in Conshohocken. After working for several years, he decided to resign and enlisted in the Marine Corps where he served for 10 years.

After his third tour in Iraq, he was honorably discharged due to illness. He then returned to law enforcement, working as a police officer until his illness prevented him from continuing his work, and he was medically released. He returned to MCCC a second time and graduated with an associate degree in general studies and started working in veterans’ services. He again had to cease working for health reasons, but he stayed busy helping his wife raise their six children.

Now that their children are grown, Bullen has returned to MCCC for a third time to earn a degree in Public Safety Administration. After he graduates from MCCC in December, he plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in Public Safety and eventually return to MCCC to teach at the Municipal Police Academy as an instructor.

“MCCC is an important part of my life’s history, and I would not have had the career or be where I am today without it. The College is more than a two-year institution. It is a family. We can come here to begin, expand and flourish and become something bigger than what we were when we first started our journey,” Bullen said.

Katelyn Durst, of Norristown, who is a single parent of two young children, domestic violence survivor and part-time employee at a pharmacy, says she thrives at MCCC because of how much they care. 

“Montco has helped me to juggle the many versions of myself, she said. “They have given me the opportunity to be myself, outside of being a mom, and to learn what I like, which has given me confidence. My son and I do our homework together, which is important.”

Durst described the many resources at MCCC that enable her to be successful, from gift cards for food and gas to the support and guidance through the Act 101 program. After she graduates, her goal is to continue her education and eventually go to law school.

For Julie Gallo, of Upper Hanover Township, MCCC helped her to successfully transition to college life.

“When I was in high school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and my mom, who went to Montco, suggested I go here,” said Gallo, who will serve as the Student Government Association (SGA)  president next year. “When I started, I took baby steps by taking an online class in the summer after I graduated and then two classes in the fall at Pottstown, which is a smaller campus, and then more classes at Blue Bell.”

By building up her confidence, Gallo feels she is well prepared to transfer to a four-year school in a year and a half after she graduates from MCCC.

“I wouldn’t have done it any other way,” she said. “I really love Montco.”

First-year student, Andrew McKale, of North Wales, says he’s been happy going to MCCC because it allowed him to “test the waters” and gradually acclimate to the college experience while saving money.

“I’ve always struggled with being interested in English, but I had an English professor, Don Yost, in my first semester who made me have a genuine love for the class,” said McKale, who now serves as a student ambassador, helping other students on campus.

For Jenny Nguyen, of Souderton, MCCC was an affordable solution to the high cost of college.

Nguyen, the current SGA president, is majoring in Marketing and will be transferring to West Chester University in the upcoming year. When she was in high school, she knew that she would be paying for college herself, so the price tag was a huge factor in deciding to go to MCCC.

In her role as SGA president, she has had the opportunity to meet with students from the Blue Bell and Pottstown campuses as well at the Culinary Arts Institute, and she hears about their “overwhelmingly positive experiences.” As SGA president, she serves on different committees with faculty and the president, and she sees firsthand that if there is a place for improvement, MCCC acts upon it.

“Montco makes sure students are well-resourced, and if there is an issue, they address that issue. To me, their commitment to students is what I find to be so valuable,” Nguyen said.

Fernandez thanked the legislators following each Zoom visit for listening to MCCC’s students.

“It is a privilege to be here to meet the legislators,” said Fernandez. “It is truly heartwarming to hear the experiences from the students because they are our stories, and they are illustrating how the College meets their needs regardless of the diverse experiences in their lives.”

With more than 90,000 alumni, MCCC has many graduates who live in Montgomery County, the region, Commonwealth, across the country and around the globe. The majority of MCCC graduates stay in the county, and they work and live in the region and remain in Pennsylvania.

“Our students are our best promoters, and we wanted the legislators to meet with them and hear their experiences, so they could put faces to their work as they advocate for community colleges in Harrisburg,” said Bettinger.