NWACC Tour Targets Alternative Graduates

BENTONVILLE -- Getting through college can be a challenge for any student.

It's a challenge Erin Hollingsworth knows well. Hollingsworth, an admissions recruiter for NorthWest Arkansas Community College, returned to school as a 22-year-old single parent, finishing her college degree in six years.

"School is always an option," she said. "As long as you have the motivation and time management, you can do school."

That was the message she shared Tuesday with students from Crossroads Alternative High School Program in Rogers who toured the college.

Students in alternative education programs in Arkansas can be at risk of not graduating high school because they are behind schedule when they come to the program. Some of the group at the college on Tuesday were single mothers themselves.

Many of her students don't have parents pushing them to apply to colleges, said Cindy Ford, Crossroads principal. Sometimes the students set limits for themselves because they don't know what's available.

Eight students will graduate from the Crossroads on Dec. 18. Another 19 graduate from the Extended Day Alternative High School Program. Classes meet in the evenings for the extended day program, and many of the students work.

Campus visits can demystify the idea of college, Ford said.

"We want our kids to know that the sky is the limit for them," Ford said.

The campus may have been unfamiliar, but there were a lot of familiar faces for Luis Hurtado, a senior. He plans to get a job in networking, and is considering the community college, but he's been on a trip to Crowder College in Missouri, too.

This year at Crossroads, students were required to be working toward the admission requirements of any school they wanted to visit, Ford said. Hurtado took the ACT Compass test last week. The test went well, but Hurtado didn't realize it wasn't timed and rushed through. He plans to retake it, but the experience was good, he said.

"It kind of gave me a little boost of confidence," Hurtado said.

Amira Vazquez, a junior, plans to be a psychology major. After the tour, she said she was getting excited about a future at the college, although the independence of keeping her own schedule and paying for school was intimidating.

"I think it's just part of growing up," she said.

The idea of paying for school is nerve-wracking, said Jasmine Sanchez, a senior.

Some students said they are still looking at programs not provided by NorthWest Arkansas Community College, such as aviation or welding.

Jaquelin Ramirez, a senior, wanted to become a certified nursing assistant before the trip. Walking into the faux emergency room at the school sold her on the idea, she said.

"I'm excited now," she said as she left.

His students have to be introduced to opportunities, said Jon Sallings, a teacher at Crossroads.

"This kind of thing isn't real to them until you bring them here," he said.

Many of the employees at the community college have success stories such as hers, Hollingsworth said.

Hollingsworth told students she went straight to college when she left high school, but she didn't really have a reason.

"It's what you're supposed to do," she said.

A semester later she dropped out.

She had her son. She waited tables, and the restaurant closed. She worked in logistics. It wasn't a bad job, she said, but one day she walked out the door and realized it wasn't what she wanted to do with her life. She went back to school. As soon as she stopped making excuses for herself, she was able to finish school, Hollingsworth said.

There's two events Hollingsworth is proud of in life, she said. She's proud she graduated, and she's proud of her son.

"Now I get to do something I love," Hollingsworth said.