The start of a new year is always a time of renewed hope and optimism for the future – but it’s hard to reckon with the unique challenges we are already experiencing in 2022 as a community. The rise of the Omicron variant this winter has us concerned about our community at LBCC, and not just about keeping people healthy. I’m also focused on the future. Too many people have given up investing in their future over the course of the pandemic, either because of lack of funds or in favor of short-term fixes that don’t offer economic mobility. We need to change that by connecting people to college. I’m also concerned about supporting our most important industries in the Mid-Valley that are in desperate need of workers – teachers, farmers, healthcare workers, manufacturers and more that must be in place to keep us all thriving. 

Learn more about how Linn-Benton Community College is helping students start their Real Future in Dr. Lisa Avery's "President's Corner". If you have a Real Futures story to share, email us at realfutures@linnbenton.edu and help inspire the next future Roadrunner.

Learn more about the Music Education program at LBCC!

If you're thinking that enrolling in community college might mean a life adjustment or two, you're absolutely right. "The expectations of the college environment are completely different from a high school environment, from a work environment, from a military environment, from a parenting environment," said Diana Boro-Boswell, coordinator of First-Year Experience at Linn-Benton Community College. "They are new and novel, and almost no one can be completely prepared for them."