Chris Gray, Ph.D.
Founding President, Erie County Community College of Pennsylvania
Occasionally, I suffer through small bouts of insomnia. Usually, this happens when I'm so excited about the future that I just can't turn my brain off. Sometimes, it's existential angst, but that's far less frequent — fortunately. Here's what those thoughts were tonight.
I recently had the opportunity to visit a local employer. For me, this is part of what makes a community college such a magical place; we are truly in, for, and of the community. It's what makes our mission different from other types of higher ed institutions, and I think it's what makes our work most exciting.
At any rate, I visited this local employer because they had expressed an interest in pursuing training programs in quality assurance. This is a fairly common occurrence for us, actually. Community colleges like EC3 are deeply connected to local businesses and industry, so we develop training and education to fill their needs. But to do that, it takes truly dynamic conversations to understand what the real needs actually are. This visit was one of the many visits that my staff and I make as we continue to connect throughout Erie County.
On this visit, Jennifer Kline, our new Associate Dean of Academics, joined me. What's so cool about Dean Kline, and what is also part of EC3's amazing story, is that she's a local person who moved away some years back because of her employment. Now with the existence of EC3, she is able to return and share her talents and experience with future generations of students right here at home.
Dean Kline grew up in the Titusville area and worked in healthcare. Her career then took her out west to the desert, where she rose through the ranks of the paramedic and healthcare fields, eventually becoming a healthcare educator at a community college in Arizona. We often lament the brain drain in Erie County as people move away after pursuing their education, but EC3 offers a counter to that by providing jobs that will help keep people here in Erie County. Win-win!
Finally—and this was undoubtedly the most memorable moment for me—we ran into an EC3 grad just as we walked through the door. I've shared his story before, but it's worth repeating. This man had worked in the operations department at the company but completed our IT degree to upskill and advance his career. He's now a true champion of the College and even attended our recent graduation because he's genuinely enthusiastic about the opportunities our students are receiving. When the staff saw how thrilled Dean Kline and I were to reconnect with one of our graduates, they called over a few more to say hello. Do I even need to say how proud that made me? I can't help myself, it's incredibly rewarding to see our students making an impact within local businesses. It gets me every time.
Visits like this remind me why I love what we do at EC3. Our work isn't just about degrees. It's about so much more. It's about people, possibility, and building stronger roots in our community. Even on a sleepless night, that thought keeps me energized and deeply hopeful, not to mention grateful.
Our community: your college.
