HCC Student Asks “What if You Can? What if You Do!”

 

Photo by Suzanna Moses. Dealing with multiple medical conditions does not hold HCC College Transfer student Alissa Holmes back. Working with the College’s Disability Services Office, her instructors and fellow students, she navigates through college to explore a world that has mostly been closed to her in the past.  

 

While knowing when to take the leap to come back to school is tricky, Haywood Community College student Alissa Holmes developed the self-confidence to do it. “I felt ready,” explains the College Transfer student. “I lost my mother, saw mortality and didn’t want life to pass me by.”

Dealing with multiple medical conditions does not hold Holmes back. Working with the College’s Disability Services Office, her instructors and fellow students, she navigates through college to explore a world that has mostly been closed to her in the past.

According to Holmes, “Education causes me to be more open-minded. Especially through my history class, I see a whole new world. These classes allow me to understand things now I might not have seen a year or two ago. I can see the world and issues from more than just my own perspective.”

While the students are always willing to help Holmes when she needs assistance, they also help her maintain her independence. “At HCC, I can be myself,” Holmes says. “I don’t have to fit into a mold.”

Holmes credits a social worker for saving her life. It has inspired her to continue her education after finishing HCC to complete a Bachelor’s degree and eventually work in psychology or social work.

Holmes knows education is the key to her future. “If I can go to this college and learn, anyone can,” she explains. “It’s stressful. If you think you can’t do this, if there’s a chance you can, it’s worth a shot. You never know until you try. What if you can? What if you do!”

 

Spring registration is now open. For more information, please visit haywood.edu or call 828-627-4500.

Haywood Community College (HCC) is part of the North Carolina Community College System and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Founded in 1965, it is an open-door institution with the mission to serve the educational needs and economic growth of our community by promoting lifelong student learning and success. This includes programs for Haywood County high school students through Career and College Promise and Haywood Early College. The college campus, a designated arboretum, boasts one of the most beautiful college campuses in the state with an iconic mill pond, a productive greenhouse, dahlia gardens, an orchard garden and a rhododendron garden.