Chris Gray, Ph.D.
Founding President, Erie County Community College of Pennsylvania
Here at EC3, the Fall 2025 semester is off to a great start! The number of students we are serving is growing every day. One of the things that I like to do every semester is to host a Pizza with the President event. Pizza with the President is exactly what it sounds like: we provide pizza for the students along with a bottle of water, and in exchange, I get to meet them and hear their stories. I can't tell you how much I enjoy these opportunities to sit down with our students and learn about them.
Recently, we held Pizza with the President at our Erie East side location, EC3 @ YLI. Our partnership with the Youth Leadership Institute allows us to expand our reach and offer classes on the lower east side of Erie. During this event, I had the opportunity to interact with a number of students, and I wanted to share some of their stories so that you, our readers, can get a glimpse of just who they are.
First, I met a young man who is a press operator at a local manufacturing plant. He graduated from an area high school in 2018 and has had a number of jobs since then. He shared that he recently applied to another area manufacturer because he wanted to increase his salary. During the interview for this new company, he shared that he was an EC3 student studying information technology. The company offered him the job but also told him to be on the lookout for a paid internship in IT. They are growing their IT presence and identified this young man — and his grit and determination to earn his IT degree — as a potential candidate for an even better career opportunity with a higher salary.
Soon after I heard this young man's story, another student rode up on his e-bike. This student, wearing his US Navy veteran hat, just enrolled in classes for the first time. This gentleman is probably in his 60s and has been working with the VA to find options to make his life even better. That search led him to us. Serving students of all ages is core to the community college mission, and the way in which this man's life experiences will enrich his classes cannot be overstated. His life will be better because of this decision, and so will his fellow students' lives.
As we were wrapping up the event, another woman came in. She immediately struck up a conversation with some of our staff, who had clearly been working with her previously. She graciously shared her story with me: She's been working in the healthcare industry for twenty-five years in direct patient care. She has attended over four universities during that time and has not been able to complete the degree. She is nearing the limit of her financial aid as well. When she heard about EC3 and our free tuition, she came to us to help her figure out how to combine all of her credits from various different institutions together to eventually earn a master's degree so that she can move out of direct care into healthcare management. We are working with her to make this happen.
Interspersed with these students were lots of other students as well. Many of them look like the traditional college-aged students, fresh out of high school, earning credits to transfer for a four-year degree. They, too, have their stories, and we are committed to helping them on their journey.
And that richness is the true fabric of the EC3 student. Our students are reflective of our region. They bring different levels of education, life experiences, and dreams. What unites them is a yearning to make their lives better, and E3 is honored to be a part of that.
Our community: your college.
