Breaking through Bias

When thinking about the idea of college, what does it mean to attend a 4-year university in comparison to a tech school? Does attending a 4-year university determine one’s success or the college experience? Do individuals who attend tech schools feel they are missing out on aspects of college, or does where an individual attends college have no effect on this? For the entirety of my time in high school, I experienced my peers placing a stigma around technical colleges. Many people felt that not attending a 4-year university meant not being successful or missing out on the “college experience”. When I decided that Lake Superior College would be the best choice for my college success, these opinions put doubt in my mind. Was I going to miss out on life by attending a technical college? After the start of the semester, the past opinions of my peers were all proved wrong. Lake Superior College is a place that offers opportunities and numerous student success tools.

My first few months of school have shown me that tech schools not only offer the same experiences as other colleges, but they also offer more accessible tools. Attending college this year, I noticed how many opportunities we have at our school, including clubs and organizations to get involved with and student success tools, we have all of these organizations at our disposal. I have found that many students don’t realize the variety of clubs offered at our school. Whether an individual is interested in art, medicine, music, gardening, etc., LSC students have access to all of these opportunities. In the first few weeks of college, an IceHawk has the opportunity to explore and find what clubs are interesting and ignite personal curiosity within themselves.

Outside of extracurricular activities, LSC offers numerous tools for student success. If one needs help on a subject, rather than having to wait hours or days for help, students can simply walk down to the tutoring and learning center for help on all of their assignments. If a student ever finds themselves lost or discouraged in their academic career, they can simply schedule a walk-in or online meeting with an advisor for guidance.  In my time here at Lake Superior College, it has become clear that this school is centered around student success. Unlike other colleges, Lake Superior’s staff and instructors’ main goal is to help individuals achieve their educational goals. No matter what program a student is in or even if they are undecided about their future, all students are treated with the same attention and care. In just the first week of class, my instructors knew my name and were constantly checking in to see how I was doing with my coursework. This completely shocked me. I thought, in most cases, I would just be a name on a piece of paper to staff at LSC. It was apparent that my teachers truly valued their jobs and their students. This unexpected support only motivated me to achieve more and put more effort into my studies.

Ultimately, the entirety of my time spent at LSC has changed my mind set about college. Before my time in college, I constantly heard of a stigma that was placed around tech schools. Many of my peers made me feel like I would be missing out on “the college experience” by not going to a 4-year university. These ideas eventually put doubt in my mind about my college experience. Ultimately, through my schooling, these opinions have all been proven wrong. LSC offers numerous extracurricular activities to be involved in and, ultimately, provides an education full of student success tools. If anyone ever feels unsure about attending a technical college, I hope after reading this and learning from my experiences, they can find relief from these emotions. Lake Superior College is a fantastic school, and as students we should be grateful and proud to be an IceHawk.