Beacon of Hope Newsletter Archive
Beacon of Hope - A Message from the President
February 13, 2020
Welcome to the first Beacon of Hope weekly newsletter.
As ships navigate, dangerous and complicated oceans during the nighttime there are great challenges. The darkness of night is an obstacle for ships navigating the ocean. Ships can get turned around and confused and can easily get lost at sea. There also are dangers for ships that don’t understand their surroundings.
They cannot see everything around them…this could lead to their demise. What guides ships through the night are lighthouses.
Lighthouses help ships navigate the sea and avoid potential dangers. The lighthouse serves as a Beacon of Hope for the ships and guides them on their journey. As many of you know, our students are often like ships traveling the dangerous seas. Our students know they want to move forward and have a safe journey, but are often unaware of the direction they must go and the dangers they must avoid.
Modesto Junior College is that lighthouse for our students…we are their Beacon of Hope! In my second full semester, I continue to be inspired by the compassion, empathy, and overall commitment that so many of you show to our students. Our students cannot just “pull themselves up by the bootstraps” like students in previous decades. The obstacles our students face just to make it to the front door of our campus would be crippling too many.
Our students deserve the very best our college has to offer and they are depending on us not just to help them graduate but also to change their lives. Our students persevere and we need to be that Beacon of Hope to continue to ensure they reach their destinations. Today, MJC is almost 100 years old and at the same time MJC must prepare to be 100 years new. How do we do this you might ask?
Over the coming weeks I will share with you all MJC’s Strategic Priorities. These five priorities were vetted through the Academic Senate, Associated Students, and College Council. Our five priorities will focus on the areas of Access, Affordability, Building Community, Transformative and Innovative Practices and Stewardship of Resources.
Thank you for all that you do,
Jim