Making Career Dreams Come True with Dallas County Community Colleges!

Let’s discuss life after high school. Quick question? When you graduated from high school, what path did you take? Did you move on to a 4-year university, attend a vocational college, attend a community college, enlist in the military or did you begin working? As you are aware, these are tough decisions for every high schooler to make and the great thing is that there are no right or wrong answers. Now that you are a parent, have you considered Dallas Community Colleges for your children?

My Personal DCCCD Experience

Let me share my story with you. It was the expectation that college was a given and in some ways an extension of high school in the eyes of my parents. My parents knew that a college education was important not just for us but for our future and future families. My dad didn’t attend college but served in the military and began working in the industry once he retired from the military. My mom worked for the government, and when we were adults, she went back and obtained her Bachelor’s degree. In my opinion, my parents did a phenomenal job proving their point that education beyond high school was key.

My sisters and I all attended El Centro College and Cedar Valley College soon after we graduated from high school where we attended two years before transferring our credits to the university we would eventually graduate. To round out my personal experience with Dallas Community Colleges, I briefly worked as a Visiting Scholar at Cedar Valley College (years ago), so I am a life-long fan.

Cedar Valley College Tour!

My daughter and I got the opportunity to tour the campus of Cedar Valley College, and we learned so much. I knew that they offered many programs, but had no idea the depth they go through to prepare students for the workforce or beyond.

The first stop on our tour was to sit in on the Musical Instrument Digital Class with Dr. James Boyle. I was honored to experience his class for myself. He is an excellent instructor that brings his real-world experience to teach and relate to the students. He even taught THE Norah Jones! In this department, there are two certifications a student can seek in the Composition and Digital Music Production track (Digital Music Production Level I Certificate and Composition Level I Certificate). The way he explained the two certifications helped me to understand them better. We listened to some of the creations the students produced and their arrangements sounded like perfection and sounded like a real band.

The CVC Commercial Music program has many advantages. Imagine being able to work and learn from industry professionals. There are over 150 Commercial Music students each semester giving the students plenty of opportunities to collaborate.

Fun fact. The analog recording equipment you see was the actual equipment used to record the famous Chili’s “Baby Back Ribs” commercial. How cool is that?

Automotive Technology

Next up was the Automotive Technology building /department. This building is relatively new, but it contains state of the art equipment that students have access to learning the trade.

An interesting fact is that Cedar Valley College Automotive Technology program has a partnership with Snap-On Tools and it’s the only partnership of its kind in the state of Texas.

There are seven classrooms and two labs which means there is plenty of space for the students to learn.

Veterinary Technology

Our last stop of the tour took us to the Veterinary Technolgy department building has a beautiful contemporary design.

These students are a part of a beautiful department because they get the opportunity to work with the cute animals and learn to care for them. I admit I didn’t expect to see actual classrooms that resemble what the workplace will look when they begin their work in the veterinary field.

A lot of the animals comes from a local animal shelter in the area. They take in the animals, focus on their care, and they stay an entire semester before they find good homes. They boarded animals are given booster shots and provided veterinary services for little or no cost. There is even a barn and working farm on the premises. The barn was lovely, and we also got to see some of the horses and goats.

As A Parent!

I have a child who will be attending Cedar Valley College in the fall as a part of their collegiate partnership with her high school. She will be a junior, and I am thankful that she gets this opportunity to attend college and get those necessary course credits. In the long run, this will save her time and our money because when she graduates, it will be a smart idea for her to continue her studies at Cedar Valley College for a year or so. See the cost of attendance fits into our budget at $177 for a three-hour course. When she has completed her studies, she can transfer those same courses to a university.

Dallas County Community College District believes in “higher education that actually gets you hired.” As a former student, educator, and parent of a current student what they think is a sincere acknowledgment of what they show. The instructors have real-world experiences and make it a point to ensure that the students get the education and training they need in a supportive environment.

DCCCD has seven campuses within the district: Brookhaven College, Cedar Valley College, Eastfield College, El Centro College, Mountain View College, North Lake College, and Richland College are all located throughout Dallas County so at least one will be convenient for you and where you live within Dallas. Also, be mindful that there are more than one 100 program areas. See a list of all of their programs.

Dreams Do Come True!

Dallas Community Colleges can be considered a “dream-maker” when it comes to education. All students have the opportunity to soar from high school collegiate students getting a jump start on their college education to those very same students getting real-world work experience to be able to enter the workforce as soon as they graduate and complete the program of their choice. Of course, we can not forget the traditional and non-traditional students who want to be able to gain those real-world work experiences and those that take their basics and transfer to a university to complete their education. Whatever your choice, you will get a great start with DCCCD. Dallas Community Colleges has a vast array of programs that will fit your needs. Some examples of those programs include Radio/Television Broadcast Technology, Graphic Design, Small Business, Photography, Studio Art, Foreign Language Courses, Automotive Technology, Healthcare programs, Construction Management and Construction Technology.

Life Comes At You Pretty Fast

Check out The Living Wage Calculator here. This is important information to have because it helps you to set a goal for your financial future while at the same time providing a variety of programs to help you earn the salary you will need. That is where Dallas Community College comes in.

Please share your education journey. Did you attend a community college? Also, when you get the time, view the program information and maybe apply for admission. It’s that easy.

For more information about Dallas Community Colleges, please visit their website and social media channels.