Chemical Education Today edited by
Association Report: 2YC3
Ann Cartwright
Personal Experiences at a Two-Year College
San Jacinto College, Central Campus Division of Science & Mathematics Pasadena, TX 77501-2007
by Carmen Collazo
Thinking back to my last year of high school and remembering being somewhat overwhelmed with graduation as well as by enrolling in an institution of higher education, I realize that I made the right decision about higher education. I attended a two-year college. Science has always been my favorite subject. As a kid, I explored and was fascinated with changes that took place when certain solutions were mixed together. Back then, I thought it was magic. Then I found out it was not magic— all this mixing and exploring was called chemistry. That’s why, when I decided to go to college, I knew that I wanted to study chemistry. But what college or university should I go to? I applied to various universities in the United States and also in Puerto Rico. Since I was the first person in my family to go to college, my parents investigated potential schools and talked with people in the various institutions. Nearly all of the U.S. institutions ranked excellent in our opinion. Then as enrollment time came near I had to make an important decision. My parents contemplated my departure to the United States. But, although I knew that the U.S. universities were well known and were among the best in the world, I decided to stay in Puerto Rico and study in a two-year college.1, 2 The first and most important reason to stay in Puerto Rico was my family. I come from a large family, and we have always been very close. To be separated from them seemed difficult. Second, I really wanted to study chemistry, but I did not know if I was “college material”. Travel, housing, and many other expenses also had me worried. Studying in a twoyear college close to home gave me the opportunity to stay with my family and incur fewer expenses. Then as soon as I began classes in a two-year college it was like having another large family at school. At the two-year college, I found students who had been in high school with me. Other classmates I did not know already but we became friends in a short time, since all our classes were scheduled together. Because the classrooms were small, the number of students en-
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rolled in a course could not be high, and we got to know each other well. Student–teacher interaction was extensive because there were small groups and the professor was able to promote one-to-one mentoring. So if you, or your child, or someone you know, wants to get a quality, moderately priced education close to home, consider a two-year college. I highly recommend it. It worked for me; I fulfilled my dream. I not only majored in chemistry, but I now teach chemistry in a four-year college in Puerto Rico.3 Notes 1. Puerto Rico has many qualified and established two-year colleges and four-year institutions. There are more than ten twoyear colleges throughout the island. Four offer an Associate in Science Degree, fully accredited by the Council of Higher Education. All of our two-year colleges arrange transfers to four-year institutions so that students may pursue a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in chemistry. There are ten fully accredited, four-year institutions on the island; three of these offer a master’s degree in chemistry and one offers a doctoral degree in chemistry. 2. At the New Orleans ACS meeting, I learned about the TwoYear College Chemistry Consortium, 2YC3, and I hope to introduce my chemistry colleagues at two-year colleges in Puerto Rico to the benefits of the organization. 3. As many people are not familiar with Puerto Rico, I wanted to include some information about our Island. It is the easternmost island of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean Sea, approximately a thousand miles southeast of Florida and just east of the Dominican Republic and west from the U.S. Virgin Islands. The island is comparatively small, with 8959 square km (3459 square miles) and approximately 3.6 million in population. Puerto Rico enjoys year-round summer temperatures. Knowledge of Spanish is useful, although English is widely spoken.
Carmen Collazo teaches at Pontifical Catholic University, Ponce, Puerto Rico;
[email protected].
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 77 No. 10 October 2000 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
