Colorado Community College System Offers Fresh Start To Those Faced With Unemployment
DENVER (CBS4) - Unemployment can present an opportunity for reinvention. That opportunity has impacted thousands of Coloradans with the coronavirus pandemic.
"I was working in retail and I think that that just got a little bit frustrating, "said David Olguin who decided to enroll in Front Range Community College in Westminster in the Spring of 2018 after moving to Colorado from New York.
"I really wanted to go back to school to kind of make some progress and prove to myself that I could be a good student," said Olguin.
He originally wanted to get a certificate in interior design, but after this semester, he will transfer to the University of Colorado Denver and major in Public Affairs.
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"My experiences in higher education have absolutely changed my life and the trajectory of my life. I've gone from potentially working a life in retail, to maybe one day working on the Senate floor," he said.
"We're at 40 locations around the state, complete courses, and then they're guaranteed to transfer to the universities," said Dr. Landon Pirus, Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs for the Colorado Community College (CCC) System.
"A one year, full-time student, if they were to attend fall and spring semester, it's about $4,500 in tuition," he said.
Dr. Pirius says 63% of students leave the CCC System without any student debt and says they have a variety of programs from certificates, to master's degrees.
"The community colleges have been here during other difficult times, and we are here today to help support our local communities as well as the state of Colorado," said Dr. Pirius.
The CCC System has counselors available for perspective students to answer questions and help plot their path forward online.