Joe C.

"In the winter of 1998 I was a young soldier serving on the DMZ in South Korea. On a field exercise one night I found myself bedded down without so much as a poncho to protect me from the elements. I woke for guard duty at about 3 am stiff and shivering to find that the sky had opened up and was snowing on my face. There I was an 18 year old kid from Bradenton, and at that moment I couldn't possibly have wanted to be back here more. The last 3 years we've seen an enormous amount of change in our lives and in our institutions but we're still here. The world we are reentering or for some of us entering the first time is one filled with uncertainty but even more so with opportunity and hope for a brighter future. At this school we've learned not just to tolerate not just to accept  but to embrace differences in others. We're not just smarter people or more accomplished people by now we're better people, and we leave this school as better people embarked on better lives. It's not often that something you have dreamed of for so long meets your expectations. I dreamt of MCC for a very long time, but the school has exceeded every one of mine. In the army I learned how to fight and perhaps die for my country, at Manatee Community College I have learned what its like to live for it, and for that I thank you."