Episode 39: Pocket Change Podcast
How are community colleges helping students fast-track into the middle class? Join Shea and Carrie as they candidly talk with Dr. Carol Rothstein, the President of Jackson State Community College, on the latest episode of the Pocket Change Podcast. Since there are varying opinions about community colleges, Dr. Rothstein sheds some light on the myths surrounding them and their importance to students nationwide.
"Community colleges provide an opportunity for all students to achieve their goals," said Dr. Rothstein. "So, regardless of their background or their academic preparation, they really provide a convenient and accessible pathway to education."
Summary
While community colleges can be seen as a second choice, they offer their students a quality education at a cheaper price. Students also have the chance to participate in study abroad programs like they would at a four-year university. People may think community colleges are limiting, but the truth is they provide students with freedom from significant debt from student loans and opportunities for career advancement.
"We have excellent faculty, faculty who win awards," said Dr. Rothstein. "We have programs that win awards. It really is a smart, savvy choice because you can get a great quality education for low cost or no cost to you and really be able to get support in a small campus environment."
At Jackson State Community College, $40 million is being invested in updating the campus's facilities and grounds. One of these expansions is the Workforce Development Center, which will host the TCAT program and feature a community space that can hold 200 people. This new 60,000-square-foot building will also host their Engineering Science Technician program.
If you're looking for financial help for your college degree, check out the Tennessee Promise, Tennessee Reconnect, and Leaders Education Foundation scholarships. Don't hesitate to reach out to one of the financial champions at Leaders Credit Union for any questions you have about student loans and your financial journey.
Key Takeaways
- Community colleges are an excellent resource for all communities since they provide quality and inexpensive education.
- Jackson State Community College provides various programs, including study-abroad opportunities.
- Leaders Education Foundation offers workforce readiness and college scholarships.
- Community Colleges are the smart, savvy choice because they are low to no-cost options.
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Full Transcript
Shea:
Hey, this is Shea.
Carrie:
And this is Carrie.
Shea:
Welcome to the Pocket Change podcast.
Carrie:
Where you'll learn better ways to spend, save, and invest, and take control of your financial journey.
Shea:
So, Carrie, post-secondary education is important for many adults as they try to advance in their careers. So we're going to talk to somebody about some of those options today.
Carrie:
That's right, and it's helpful for those that are not just four-year traditional students and those who are ready for the workforce. So we're excited to talk to an expert today all about community colleges.
Shea:
Jackson and West Tennessee is really blessed with a great community college system. So let's dive in.
Carrie:
We're excited to welcome our guest today, Dr. Carol Rothstein, President of Jackson State Community College. Welcome to Pocket Change, Dr. Rothstein.
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
Thank you, Carrie, and thank you, Shea. Thank you for the invitation to be on the podcast.
Carrie:
If you could, just to get started, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became a college president.
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
Sure, I grew up in a small town in West Virginia, and I am a first-generation high school student. Both of my parents dropped out of school in the eighth grade because they had family responsibilities and needed to take care of their families. So when I graduated high high school, that was a big deal, and my parents really couldn't help me navigate college. They didn't know. There wasn't an expectation to go to college, and they really just didn't know how to help me. They taught me hard work. I always want to say that they taught me a great work ethic, but as far as going to college and getting an education, that was not something they were prepared to help me with. I tried to go to community college and took a couple of classes, but I always felt like I was aimless. I didn't know what I was doing or even I was doing it right, and so eventually I dropped out and I started my family. It was a few years later when my daughter was around kindergarten age and somebody asked her that age-old question, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
She said she wanted to be a nothing like her mom, and I know she was trying to be sweet, but it really struck me that I wasn't setting a great example for my children. I wanted my daughters to see me as an educated woman and to know that, all my children, to know that education really mattered to me, and I thought that it was valuable and important. So I went back to school and I finished my degree. That's when I started working at a community college in West Virginia, and I was an admissions counselor there, and I really felt like I was helping people that were like me, who didn't necessarily have that support system to help them navigate college, help them determine what they wanted to do. Sometimes they didn't feel like they were prepared enough, or really, they didn't have the confidence to go to college. So, I felt like I was the person that could do that for them. That was something that I was missing when I was in their shoes. I really fell in love with the community college mission at that time, which I felt was meeting people where they are, connecting them to opportunities through education.
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
From there, I became a faculty member, and I was teaching individuals and students of college study skills and developmental math, developmental English, and helping them become prepared. And they were a lot of first-generation students as well. I really connected with the students and felt like I was making difference. I was then asked by the college president to start a center in my hometown, and so for me, I knew what that meant because it was a small hometown. We were 45 minutes to an hour away from any higher education opportunities. So, starting that center there allowed that community to have access to higher education. I started the first early college program for the high school students to go. So from that, I realized this is what I want to do. This was my purpose and my passion was helping individuals achieve their goals, and so that's when I knew I wanted to become a community college president. So that's when I set out to make sure that I explored all areas in the college, to train in different areas, take up every responsibility, and really learn how a community college really operates and what I needed to do to become a community college president.
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
From there, I became a dean of instruction at a community college in Maryland, and had the opportunity to be an interim vice president of academic affairs while I was there, and then became a vice president of academic affairs at Nashville State in Tennessee. Then I had this wonderful opportunity to be here in Jackson as the President of Jackson State Community College. So that's a lot to say. I knew when I first started this career that this was my purpose. This was something that made me feel like I was making an impact on a community and also on individual lives for the betterment of their future.
Shea:
Because you had that experience, you were able to pass that on, like you said, helping other students achieve that and navigate the educational experience. It's so profound that you were able to step into that and use that gift to help others.
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
One of the things I'll just quickly, when I was an admissions counselor, I worked with a mother and her son. She brought her son in. He was 18, graduated, helping him determine a program. During the course of that conversation, she mentioned that she had always wanted to be a nurse. We started talking about, okay, well, what do you need to do? She enrolled in our program and became a nurse after a couple of years in the program. So that's the kind of change that community colleges make.
Shea:
Yeah, definitely. So you've been here in Jackson, got to Tennessee via Nashville State, and now over to Jackson State Community College, been here a little less than a year. So what were your first impressions stepping on the campus and being in Jackson?
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
So the very first thing is, as I got to talk to people at Jackson State, is there are a lot of long term employees at Jackson State, and everyone there is so passionate. So passionate about the school, passionate about their students, and they love the West Tennessee community. So that was one of the very first things I've noticed. The other thing is everywhere I go, every meeting I'm in, there's someone who is a graduate or an alumni of Jackson State. They either took dual enrollment classes or they graduated with their associate degree or certificate. They're just really the Green Jays, I always say the Green Jays are everywhere. They're all through West Tennessee and throughout the state, really. So that was another thing that really just surprised me and I was really thankful to see.
Shea:
We got any Green Jays in the room?
Carrie:
Yes. I started my college career at Jackson State as well, so I understand how much of an impact it can have starting out. So why do you feel that community colleges are important?
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
Well, community colleges provide an opportunity for all students to achieve their goals. So, regardless of their background or their academic preparation, they really provide a convenient and accessible pathway to education. You can find everything you need at a community college campus. So we're there to meet everyone where they are and help get them to their goals. We also allow you the opportunity to explore what you want to do. The average college student changes their major three times, and so you're able to come onto a community college campus while you have opportunities to explore different program majors, different courses, and all while you're getting your education virtually low cost or free through Promise, through scholarships like Leaders has their education scholarships, Reconnect, all of those are available to our students so that they have an opportunity to explore what they want to do. It's also a fast track to the middle class. So students who come in, they get a technical degree program, they're able to get a great paying job in just two years and without any debt. So it's an amazing opportunity for them. Plus, community colleges are right in your backyard. They're here.
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
You don't have to travel. You don't have to go find a place to live and stay there. Then also they're very diverse. So you get to interact with people from all different backgrounds and all different lifestyles and everything that they have. They can come in and just talk about. You get to really broaden your horizon on a community college campus.
Shea:
I think one thing you said goes into the next question because you said they're right in your backyard, community colleges. I know Jackson State has more satellite locations, if you will, in different areas. So it's not just in Jackson, but it may be in Lexington or Gibson County, for instance, where you all have those campuses where people can go right there instead of having to go all the way to Jackson in most cases. That's helpful, and that gets rid of one of the misconceptions of community colleges. What are some more just misconceptions people have about community college?
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
Sure. So sometimes people think of a community college as a second choice. Well, if I don't get into this school, I'll just go to community college, or maybe they think of it as a lower quality, but all of that is just really not true. We have excellent faculty, faculty who win awards. We have programs that win awards. It really is a smart, savvy choice because you can get a great quality education for low cost or no cost to you and really be able to get support in a small campus environment. You have classes that are usually capped out at 25 students. You're there with a small group of students. Some of those misconceptions are about just that it's a second choice, but it really is the smart choice and the savvy choice for anyone who's looking at the cost of education, return on investment, all of those things. It's one of the great things, and there are some things that people, they don't realize you can do on a community college campus, like study abroad. So all of the programs that we have, we sent 23 students this year across the globe to different countries like Ecuador, and in Italy, and Spain, and Japan.
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
So we're sending them out there to explore the globe. Those are things that people just don't realize that are available at a community college campus.
Carrie:
There's so many amazing opportunities, it sounds like, and I feel like I see you guys everywhere. So you're definitely in the community. So could you, shifting gears a little bit, share us a little bit about some of the capital improvements that Jackson State is bringing to the campus?
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
Absolutely. I always say facilities matter, and so when students come on campus, I want them to see the quality and the excellence that we provide. And so we're investing $40 million into our campus. We're building a new workforce building for our ENST programs. We're investing in revitalizing our administration building and bringing that up to date and modern. We've just redone all of our parking lots. We have fifteen major capital projects happening right now. Just to do a renaissance across campus, we're investing in our athletics. We're redoing all of our athletic softball and baseball fields and upgrading those, adding restrooms and new dugouts. I always say, if you're going to do something, do it well, and so that's what we're looking at, is where can we do things better and invest in those areas?
Carrie:
Well, I think has made a great impact on the campus because it's beautiful. If you haven't visited Jackson State recently, you should definitely visit. It's really beautiful.
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
I agree, Carrie. You should visit Jackson State's campus and just see how beautiful it is. Our grounds crew are amazing. It's like a botanical garden sometimes when you walk out in the quad and you see the beautiful crepe myrtles and all the flowers that they have out there. But yeah, definitely come visit us.
Carrie:
They're doing a great job.
Shea:
I'm sure they love to give a tour.
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
They will, yes.
Shea:
So you mentioned the Workforce Development Center. And so tell us more about that and what that's going look like.
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
Sure. So that's a 60,000 square foot building. Our ENST, our Engineering Science Technician program, will move from our current McWherter building over into that building so that we can expand the cohort. That's our advanced maintenance tech co-op that's part of that program. With that, we have 34 industry partners that support that program. We're going to be able to support even more industry partners and help them with their workforce pipeline by expanding that program. TCAT is also moving from McWherter. Their tool and die program is going to move over into the new building. Then we're going to have a community space in there. That's a 200 person event space that we'll have available to do different things in there as well. We'll have a great workforce, modern industrial vibe. Part of that will be what we call flexible training labs. So these are very large open spaces that our industry partners can bring equipment in and out and do customized training in that space as well. So it's really going to be a great presence on our campus to have that That's wonderful.
Shea:
And so these students are working side by side on different machines that they'll use in the factories they get jobs at right here on campus.
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
Absolutely. That's right.
Shea:
That's amazing.
Carrie:
That is great. So this is a financial podcast. So I do have to ask, what is your best financial advice that you've ever received?
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
Well, I'm going to say one of the things that I wish I would have received sooner was really just the investment in education via a community college. I did start and take a couple of classes at a community college, but I wish I would have finished there and really realized that the cost of a community college education, again, is low or no cost, and you don't have to take out student loans. So I wish I would have received that versus what I did. I think the community college experience is wonderful. You don't have to take out the student loans. Your ROI is immediately higher when you graduate. One of the things that all three of my children did is they went through community college for their first two years and then transferred. So it's one of the things that, again, I wish I had that when I was starting out, I had that advice to finish at a community college first.
Shea:
Yeah, check it out. That's great advice. Get those classes, maybe those general education classes you need taken care of, and also use your resources like the free programs through the State of Tennessee for tuition, or like you mentioned, our Leaders Education Foundation, Workforce Readiness Scholarships, which supports students going through workforce readiness, that we call workforce readiness programs or certificate degree programs. Those are available, and you can find more information at leadersgives.org. So thank you for mentioning that and for saying students should make that smart, savvy choice when investing in their education, and you can do that at a community college. So we appreciate that. Our last question, since this is the pocket change podcast, if you had a little extra pocket change, what would you do with it?
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
So I thought about this, and I was thinking about this, just what I would do if I had a little just free money here and there. My husband and I love to go to nurseries. We love to go to Lowe's, and we're always planting flowers. So I would probably go to a nursery and just buy some flowers to plant around the house or expand our vegetable garden. We love to be outside, so that's one of the things that we like to do.
Carrie:
We thank you so much, Dr. Rothstein, for being with us today on Pocket Change podcast.
Dr. Carol Rothstein:
Well, thank you so much for having me. It's been a delightful conversation.
