My journey to higher education began during my senior year of high school. I was looking at colleges that I was interested in attending. I considered my options, which included Robert Morris, Point Park College, and Westmoreland County Community College. Two things to consider when I was applying were finances as well as SAT scores. I took the test in January of 2000 (long after most of my graduating class took their SAT’s) and I got an 890, not good enough for the big schools that I was considering. WCCC would have been a perfect option as it was close to home and I could transfer those credits to a four year college down the road.
My OVR counselor mentioned this little campus in Johnstown called the Hiram G. Andrews Center. My mom and I looked into it. Despite being overqualified and WCCC being a perfect option, she wanted me to experience life on my own. The plan would be to attend HGA before transferring to community college (they had a campus in Johnstown). I then had the option to transfer to a four year school.
I graduated high school in June of 2000. That summer flew by and, before I knew it, the day had arrived. We packed up all my stuff on August 26, 2000, and made the drive down Route 30, through Ligonier, up the mountain, and to the Hiram G. Andrews Center. We sat in the lobby and soon were introduced to Jason, the dorm counselor who got me checked in. Aunt Sue and Katie made a trip to Ames to get stuff for my room, while Mom helped me get settled in. We ate dinner at Ryan’s by the Johnstown Galleria, which is like an Old Country Buffet, and made a trip to Staples. I went home for one more night before settling in at school.
At the beginning, I felt homesick but it didn’t last long. I made a few new friends in the dorm lounge and we watched Daria on MTV. Soon enough, I would discover that this school had quite a cast of characters.
That cast of characters consisted of four groups. You had your geniuses. These were the kids who knew what they wanted to do after they graduated. They did the right thing and would not be swayed. A good example of their work was when we had a Christmas party at the end of the year and an awesome time was had by all. The geniuses contributed to the success of the event.
You had the dreamers. That’s what most new college students fall under. They didn’t know what they wanted and would try different things to see what fit best. For the protagonist, it was easy for him to befriend new people because they were all in the same boat.
There were the veterans and by that I mean older students who were going back to school. They usually clashed with the geniuses on whose way worked best. The protagonist introduced himself to one of the older students one morning in the Fall and got to know more about them. He loves the destiny this school has to offer.
You had to watch out for the drama queens. You know, the ones who liked to cause trouble and spend more time in the annex than in class. Our protagonist ran across them quite a few times early on but he learns to ignore them and trust his instincts.
Three Things I Did During my First Semester at HGA that shaped my future.
I took Pre-Baccalaureate classes instead of the usual classes I’d take in a degree/diploma program before transferring to community college in the Spring of 2001. Thus, it would be easier for me to move on to a four year school down the road.
I learned how to use and rely on Johnstown’s public transportation system. This helped when I had to take classes off the HGAC campus later on at the other community college sites downtown and in Richland.
HGAC offered life skills classes and one that I took was Driver‘s Education. We went over the manual, answered questions, and watched driving videos. Eventually, I got my permit and got my name on the list for driver education training. You’ll read my blog this fall about my experience with that.
Conclusion
My first semester is over and it was a success. It’s now on to the community college where I’ll go for my associates’ degree.
Stylish 🍒 