BC3, Clarion offer path to success
Teamwork: It's something most people learn at a young age, whether it's on the T-ball field or in art class.
Teamwork gets us through hardship and around obstacles and out of trouble. It helps us set goals and meet challenges and chase dreams.
In education, teamwork cracks the world of possibility wide open. Teachers team up with teachers. Students team up with students. And sometimes — like Butler County Community College and Clarion University of Pennsylvania — schools team up with schools.
Working together is the key to many successes.
“You are not going to build a bridge by yourself,” is what Cheryl Cavaliero, an associate STEM professor at BC3, often tells engineering students.
BC3 and Clarion are among the institutions that have identified the gap some students face when they pursue higher education: They have too many options and not enough money. In the field of math, at least, both institutions have worked to bridge that gap.
Marcella McConnell, a professor of mathematics at Clarion University, is an example of a student who crossed that bridge. In the 1990s, she was the mother of three children and living in Karns City.
“I was just a mom,” McConnell said.
She didn't plan to return to school. But when her kids reached school age, she got bored. BC3 was close to home. It was affordable. McConnell decided to enroll. “When I went, the only thing I remembered was math,” she said.
McConnell was on track for a career in metrology, the science of measurement. But she did well in calculus and began adding more math classes.
Eventually, she took a calculus class taught by Bessie Jeffries. Her classmates, about a quarter of whom were engineers, liked to ask each other for help — specifically, during class. Their confusion got loud enough McConnell began helping them so she could focus on Jeffries' lessons.
“I just loved learning. I was consumed with it,” McConnell said. “They were effecting my learning.”
One day after class, Jeffries asked McConnell if she knew she was holding her own “class” in the back.
McConnell apologized for the disruption. Jeffries asked if she considered becoming a teacher.
When it comes to class, Cavaliero says there's “good talk” and there's “bad talk.” Bad talk is disruptive. Good talk is constructive. McConnell's talk was definitely good, in Jeffries's eyes.McConnell began tutoring at BC3 and eventually shifted her focus to a secondary math education track. With an associate degree, she began looking into university options. On one hand, there was Slippery Rock University. On the other, there was Clarion.SRU requires that math education majors complete a four-year undergraduate degree and then take at least another year for teaching.At Clarion, students can get a full degree and certification in four years. That combined with the fact BC3 associate degree credits transfer to all PASSHE schools helped to make McConnell's decision.From the BC3 perspective, the transition for math majors to Clarion is nearly “seamless.”“We have such wonderful agreements,” Cavaliero said.Over the years, Cavaliero has looked at the math programs offered by Clarion and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She's worked with her colleagues to create a complimentary model at BC3: building that bridge from community college to university. “You have that foundation,” she said.
Jeffries has retired since McConnell graduated, but Cavaliero is still teaching. The duo was instrumental in McConnell's career.“I don't think I would be here if I didn't have either one of them,” she said.Both women taught McConnell the importance of education and building future teachers.McConnell now has students of her own. Some of them, like Jacob Slagle and Jordan Popolis, have followed her path.Slagle graduated from Butler Area High School and knew where he needed to go. “BC3 was just like the normal next step,” he said.Slagle hated math until his junior year, when he realized he was actually pretty good at it. He entered the BC3 math program, transferred to Clarion in 2016 and graduated in 2018. Now, he teaches math in the Seaford School District in Delaware.For Slagle, starting at a community college was a good “segue” into a university. He lived at home those first two years and saved money.Popolis, who is from Kittanning, also thought going to BC3 was a good opportunity. He took a placement test in high school and enrolled.“I was also able to get a lot of my prerequisite classes done,” Popolis said. “And the scheduling was very convenient.”Slagle's long-term plan always included transferring. Cavaliero's guidance helped him choose Clarion.BC3's small class size and community prepared Slagle for the walkability of Clarion's campus and town.“They had roots in each other,” Slagle said. “It felt homey.”
Cavaliero has found most students entering BC3 aren't sure which path to take. Because of lower costs, community colleges can let students try different options while getting the necessary classes out of the way.“You start at BC3 and you start exploring,” Cavaliero said. “We try to get the students to commit to something a little more specific.”“Part of the reason I chose to start my education at BC3 was that I wasn't sure what I wanted to do,” Popolis said. “My thought was I could try out some classes.”McConnell also didn't enroll in BC3 with any plans to move into academia or even graduate. She became a student simply because she wanted to learn.“That's all I was there for,” McConnell said. “It became addictive.”
