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March Student of the Month

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Wyoming EOC Coordinator, Rico Lind-Gonzalez writes,

“The March Educational Opportunity Center Participant of the Month is Tony. He started this semester at Laramie County Community College (LCCC) majoring in Engineering. His future educational goal is to transfer to the University of Wyoming to finish a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering. He is also a United States Navy veteran who is involved in the Student Veterans of America group on LCCC campus. One of the ways Tony plans on using his degree is to enhance his hobby of building and racing drag cars at the speedway. It has been a pleasure working with Tony because of his positivity and extra effort in applying for scholarships.”
 

Wyoming December Participant of the Month

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Hello all! Hope you all had a wonderful Holiday break and ready for 2018!! I am happy to announce Maggie as the EOC Participant of the Month for December! Maggie is a current student at the Rock Springs Learning Center at Western Wyoming Community College. I had the pleasure of meeting Maggie last spring at a community presentation. When I met her, Maggie asked lots of questions about EOC services, possible future opportunities through higher education at WWCC and was super enthusiastic about becoming a participant of EOC. After my presentation Maggie confidently stated she would be in contact with me in the fall when she was ready to move forward in her educational goals. When October rolled around I got the call from Maggie- she was ready to move forward with the help of EOC! Since that initial meeting Maggie has enrolled & regularly attends HiSET classes, taken several tests, completed her FAFSA, and applied to Western Wyoming Community College with plans to attend classes this coming fall. Maggie plans to pursue a degree in Social Work or Criminal Justice with her ultimate career goal to become a Counselor.  I am beyond excited to see where Maggie will go with her career- she is a true go-getter and a hard worker that will have tons of success!! It has truly been my pleasure to work with Maggie on her higher educational journey!

October Student of the Month

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Wyoming Educational Opportunity Center is proud of our highlighted Student of the Month for October!

In November of 2016, Mark Recchia took a huge chance, packed up his dog and a few of his belongings and took off for Wyoming, leaving behind family and friends. He needed a change and Wyoming offered exciting challenges and opportunities. He had been in biotech pharmaceuticals for many years, but he wanted to go back to school to finish his education. And, given his background, a degree in the medical field looked like a good fit.

 

Mark went to Workforce Services to look for employment and it was there that he learned about the Educational Opportunity Center at Gillette College. When I first met Mark, he was anxious to get back into school, but it had been a few years since he last took college classes.  At EOC, he found help navigating through the increasingly complicated process of college and financial aid applications. He started taking classes this fall and is applying to the Medical Assistant Program in the fall of 2018.

 

Mark has quickly embraced student life: he joined the Gillette College Science Association and got a work-study position in the College’s student help zone. Of Gillette College, he says, “It’s a great education and very affordable. The people here are super helpful and everyone is so nice.”  Today, he continues to tackle challenges with optimism and commitment.  If you run in to Mark, be sure to congratulate him on his efforts so far and wish him the best on what may be his greatest challenge yet: he and his girlfriend Amber are expecting their first child in May of 2018!