Rose State College (Feature Story)

Feature Story

A girl is sitting in the mall reading a book. A person walks by carrying a bag and talking on a cell phone. The girl looks up at a tower that stands in three pieces with lights that illuminate it at night. All around are trees and concrete that contribute to an atmosphere of learning.

Two people come to sit down on a bench. Opening their bags, they pull out textbooks to study for their test. They begin to converse with questions and answers about their upcoming test.

Out of the doors comes a family guided by an ambassador on a tour of the campus. Students have been dismissed from class and are walking around either leaving, heading to another class, or going to lunch. People are helping others find their way around.

This is all a part of the atmosphere of a community college.

Rose State College in Midwest City, Okla. Is a two-year community college where a student can earn an Associate degree in arts, sciences or applied sciences. Founded in 1970, it had an initial enrollment of 1,700 students and has since grown to 8,900 students.

Francis Grant said the admissions office is where prospective students begin their application and enrollment process-either in person or online. Anyone who has graduated from high school or has transferred from another college is eligible to enroll. Students can also enroll for classes while they are still in high school. Juniors and seniors are eligible to enroll.

The student success office has one mission. The mission is “helping students achieve their goals,” Carla Robison, student success director said. This office is centrally located and students can come in for guidance, assistance or advice on an individual basis.

The education provided at Rose State also makes an important contribution to the community. The Training Center trains Tinker Air Force Base employees and water and wastewater city employees. It provides classes for employees in leadership development, human relations and communications, along with different levels of water classes. The water employees have to be certified in levels of A, B, C and D.

Along with the Training Center, the Tom Steed Center also contributes to the success of the community by providing continuing education to adults and seniors. In addition, the summer program, Kid’s College, also provides an opportunity for children to participate in numerous camps like dance, soccer and arts and crafts.

Dr. Terry Britton, Rose State College President, said he is proud of the college’s growth. Over the past couple of years, Rose State has finished the Training Center and renovated three science labs. Also, the college is in the process of finishing its new Health Sciences Center and it’s building new cyber security programs. Additionally, Rose has completely renovated the Tom Steed Center.

Walking out of the Humanities building were two students who just finished up the semester. Now they walk to their cars to leave, all with the hopes to come back next semester and continue their path towards a better education.