Success through the MJC Honors Program ...

"The professors are so helpful and interested in students being successful that if someone is willing to try the Honors Program, the instructors will strive to help them get through it."

Travis Koch did not go to college after graduating from Turlock Christian High School in 1993, primarily because he was not sure what he wanted to study.  Instead, when his parents moved to Montana, he followed them, and when his parents relocated back to the Turlock area a year later, Travis stayed in Missoula.  He started his own residential remodeling business, met his wife, and started a family.  He also became friends with several University of Montana graduate students; it was discussions with them that solidified his decision to study history.  After 12 years in Montana, Travis sold his business, moved his family back to Stanislaus County, and enrolled at MJC in fall 2006.

With his sights set on transferring to a university, obtaining a graduate degree, and ultimately becoming a college history professor, Travis wasted no time in tackling his undergraduate studies. “When I came to MJC I was very focused.  I knew what I wanted to major in and the classes I wanted to take.”   He selected MJC because it was convenient, affordable, and familiar.  However, he credits MJC with fine-tuning his educational direction.  “MJC helped me refine my goals and consider how best to achieve them, and alerted me to potential career obstacles.” 

 Travis is naturally curious, and perhaps it is his inquisitive nature that drives his passion for delving into the past.  He excelled in his academic endeavors, winning an achievement award in science and becoming the first student to enroll in MJC's Honors Program.  He was also one of four MJC students selected to present an honors project at the Bay Area Honors Research Symposium, hosted by Stanford University in April 2008.  Travis became the first student to complete the Honors Program , transferring to Stanford in fall 2008 as one of only 20 transfer students admitted last year out of a pool of 1,200 applicants!

Not just a motivated student, Travis is a family man who works to balance his commitments as a husband and father alongside his studies.  With his son and third child born just four days before his first honors class, he has little time for extra-curricular activities.  However, when a free moment presents itself, he expands the collection of moths and butterflies that he has been gathering since he was five years old.  He also enjoys traditional longbow archery, roasting his own coffee beans in a vintage hot-air popcorn popper, and reading, with his favorite authors being Mark Helprin and Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Now a history major at Stanford, Travis remembers Professor Chad Redwing’s “Humanities in the Modern World” as one of the MJC classes he enjoyed most “because he’s a brilliant professor who is very engaging with students.”  Travis is enthusiastic about his experience at MJC and identifies the closer interaction with professors as the major benefit provided by Honors participation.  He is also complimentary of the diversity of programs offered at MJC.  “Because of MJC’s recognition of the diverse needs of students and the community, almost anyone can have their educational needs met at the college.”

So what is this future professor’s recipe for college success?  “Use the instructors’ office hours to talk with them and they will help you.  Then, do your work!  Don’t expect a free ride.  They will help anyone who is committed and willing to work hard.”