Tough times allow us to shine brightest
Edison State College
It’s a busy time at Edison State College, with record numbers roaming our Charlotte campus. But as hectic as things have been the past couple of months, a tremendous sense of accomplishment and pride consumes me these days. Thanks to the wonderful work of my student services staff, I’ve seen one daunting obstacle after another transform into a successful tale of triumph. This fall, our number of enrolled students is up 18 percent. With the state of the economy, however, I assure you this was no easy task. The intense desire of our students to better their lives had to be met with a passionate and willing support team, dedicated to help each student accomplish his goal. Whether it was helping a single mother return to school to make a better life for her family, finding that scholarship that helps a student who otherwise couldn’t attend to pursue his dreams, providing a nervous student the confidence needed to take his entrance exam, or just helping students find a career path that excites them, the student services team at Edison State was up to the task. Like I tell every potential new employee, working in student services is not for those who seek prestige, glory, fame or money. The reward is helping others, and one day seeing that student you tutored in math who never thought he would make it walk across the stage at graduation. It takes a special kind of person to work in student services, and I’m proud to say Edison State has an entire team of such dedicated individuals. When I first joined Edison State, then Edison Community College, back on July 16, 1999, I didn’t know if I was making the right choice. I had recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, married the man of my dreams and moved from Orlando to Fort Myers, ready to take the world by storm. Like many of the students who now come to me for help, I quickly realized the world was a difficult place full of obstacles. I eventually took a job working in an ophthalmologist’s office as an assistant. While not exactly my dream job, it was something to get started. But I applied at Edison hoping to find a better fit for my skills and interests. Thankfully I was brought in for an interview Wednesday, offered the job on Thursday, and started my career on Friday. In the 10 years since, I’ve worked in admissions and registration, been a supervisor in the peer tutoring lab, a recruiter, an academic adviser, and now serve as the director of student services. Best of all, I know I made the right choice 10 years ago. I’m thankful to work with such a wonderful, caring and dedicated group of people. And I’m thankful that I have a job that makes a difference in the lives of the people in our community. Christy Gilfert is director of student services at Edison State College Charlotte Campus in Punta Gorda.
