Greetings, Calhoun Community College family! I hope your spring semester is going well and you are well and safe. We are excited to let you know that plans are to get things back to normal at Calhoun Community College and offer a full complement of person-to-person classes with an abundance of student activities and support services for everyone to become fully engaged in college life! We will continue to monitor the COVID situation closely and follow the guidance from medical experts and the Alabama Community College System. We believe the fall semester is the right time to return to normal operations, as millions of people are getting the vaccine and positive cases are decreasing.
We are also pleased to let you know there will NOT be an increase in the cost to attend. The Alabama Community College System has directed all colleges to freeze tuition. We are confident that Calhoun Community College is your best option for getting ahead, saving money and graduating early.
Several years ago, I owned about a dozen cows and bulls. One fall day, when it was time to take some of the calves to the sale, I backed the trailer up to the hall of the barn to herd the calves through and into the trailer for transport. The first three calves were easy. The fourth calf, however, refused to load and rejected every effort to make him comply. It was becoming late in the day…and I was becoming frustrated after several attempts to get this 500-to-600-pound monster where I wanted him to go. Then I noticed lying on the ground nearby was a 6-foot long 4 by 4 wooden fence post. I picked up the post determined to do some convincing and to teach him a lesson! Instead, I was the one who learned a lesson that day… before I knew what happened the calf turned, lowered his head and butted one end of the heavy post. When that happened, the other end of the post hit me right square on the jaw and I hit the ground! Momentarily dazed, it took me a few seconds to gather myself and stand up again when I discovered that my upper teeth and lower teeth did not meet in the middle like they did before…they were somehow off center…and I was in pain! To make a long story short, I called my dentist; she had me come to her office as it was after business hours. She did an x-ray and said that my jaw was broken and directed me immediately to the hospital where I would have surgery to repair what looked like a clean break. Well, my mouth was wired shut for six weeks and I had to teach psychology classes like a ventriloquist!
As you might imagine, I was miserable the entire six weeks…but somehow, I adapted to the situation and made the best of it. Although I knew I was suffering the consequences of my own stupidity!
The challenges of the past year were by no fault of our own, but like me teaching with my mouth wired shut persevering through the pain, you have also had to make the best of a bad situation. But that’s what we do! I learned lessons about my relationship with bull calves and adapting to a wired jaw. Likewise, we have learned lessons about virtual teaching and learning, remote work, and many other ways of adapting to the most unusual environment.
We continue to navigate our way through COVID-19, but with wearing masks, social distancing and now, with the vaccine, we can see that the light at the end of the tunnel is getting a little brighter! However, the virus remains with us and all of us have experienced it first-hand in some way or another. Our sympathies go out to those who have suffered and especially to those who have lost friends and family members.
I cannot thank all of you enough for the flexibility, perseverance, hard work, kindness and empathy you have demonstrated.
You have arisen to each challenge and we are encouraged by the ingenuity and the many learning experiences this past extraordinary year has given us. We will come through this so much better than before!
We are about the business of teaching and learning and how best to accomplish those two things, and I know, if you are like me, we have missed that personal interaction with each other and look forward to getting back to a routine. I have met with students who told me that, although the online classes have been challenging, instructors have been wonderful in working with them. Students have appreciated the effort faculty have put into having in-person classes this spring semester because they really needed that personal instruction.
To Calhoun students: Please remember all the resources the college offers to help you succeed. We have laptops to loan if you do not have an adequate computer available. We have hotspots if you do not have sufficient Internet access. We have free tutoring in almost all subjects. We have emergency funds available if you have critical needs of any kind. We have food items available for you in the food pantry. If you are having stress or anxiety and need to talk to someone about that, there are counselors available. If you have other issues, please let someone at the college know so we can direct you to the right place.
So let’s all plan accordingly as we return to campus with normal operations for the fall semester. We will continue to be diligent about our safety and protecting others from exposure. Should you have any needs in the way of personal protective equipment for yourself or your workspace or classroom, please let us know.
I had a little more wisdom after the encounter with the bull calf. Some days, we may feel like we have been hit in the jaw with a fence post! But after the pain and aggravation has passed, we can say we have a little more wisdom than before; we have a little more strength and perseverance than before and we are a little bit better after the challenges of the past year. We look forward to an exciting Calhoun future as we utilize the wisdom, strength and perseverance gained from the fence posts!
Joe Burke, PhD
Interim President