Images of 9/11 made an indelible impression in the mind of 11-year-old Sean Cummings. Determined to serve his country, he graduated from high school and joined the military as an Airman First Class, a member of Security Forces. He suffered physical trauma, was honorably discharged and was bereft of direction.
Cummings wanted to help others, but he wasn’t sure how to do it. He used his military benefits to return to Collin College, where he took classes as a high school student. He began to serve again as the college’s Student Veteran of America Association’s historian and treasurer. When he realized that he was not the only veteran who felt lost, he helped his fellow soldiers navigate registration, taking the time to walk them to the correct offices to start their college careers. In retrospect, Cummings might say his initial efforts were a reflection of his future career, though at the time he still felt aimless.
“I saw counselors that I couldn’t relate to,” Cummings said. “Finally, I met a veteran who became a counselor. He was able to translate what everyone was telling me in military language. It wasn’t sugar coated. It was raw and to the point. ‘This is what happens to your brain on war. You understand this was done. Now, you have to change what you are doing.’ On Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013 I found my purpose in life. That counselor gave me the ability to grow from the trauma, so I could give that gift to another veteran,” said Cummings, who knew that day that he would become a counselor.
One day in class, he saw a flyer about university courses offered at the Collin Higher Education Center (CHEC) in McKinney. It was the perfect solution. He could take classes at CHEC and online and earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in counseling from Texas A&M-Commerce (TAMU-C).
“I didn’t have to move or drive an hour for classes, and I could stay with a system I was familiar with. Taking university classes at CHEC not only saves me gas money, but it also saves wear and tear on my vehicle and the frustration of traffic,” he said.
Cummings says the process was easy.
“I haven’t been to TAMU-C yet. I got information online and met with a TAMU-C advisor at CHEC. It was nice to address the whole university in just one person.”
Cummings adds there is a flow to his classes because he has some of the same professors, and he even has a cohort of students who share notes and support each other because they are earning the same degree.
“I am very glad to have this amazing opportunity. I would definitely recommend it. Come to CHEC. Don’t drive any further. Take classes with people you know semester after semester.”
University classes close to home
According to Dr. Don Weasenforth, Collin College associate provost of instruction, students can earn a variety of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Collin College’s five university partners: TAMU-C, Texas Woman’s University, The University of Texas at Dallas, The University of North Texas and Texas Tech University.
“Our five CHEC university partners offer a total of 11 complete baccalaureate programs at the college’s beautiful Collin Higher Education Center,” Weasenforth said. “With its location at the intersection of Sam Rayburn (121) and Central Expressway (75), the center brings these programs within easy reach of Collin County residents.”
Checking off the degrees one by one
Princeton elementary school teacher Kellie Hunter describes CHEC as a hub.
“If you want to take classes from area universities, you don’t have to drive far. It is an hour from my house to TAMU-C, but it is only a 15-minute drive to CHEC. When people ask me where I earned my bachelor’s and master’s degrees, I tell them I went to A&M Commerce but took classes at CHEC.”
Hunter comes from a long line of teachers. Her grandmother taught elementary school students for 25 years, her mother taught high school home economics for 35 years, and her father taught middle school English for 16 years. However, Hunter will be the first person to tell you that it took her a while to reach her goal.
A wife and mother of two, Hunter was working when she began taking Collin College night classes. She earned an associate of arts degree from the college in 2011.
“I felt well prepared for my bachelor’s classes. I had to pay for my education, and the tuition at Collin College was great. My professors didn’t treat me any differently than if I were a student straight out of high school. I could go to them with any questions.”
Hunter took classes online and also attended classes at CHEC to earn two degrees from TAMU-C: a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with an early childhood education focus, coupled with an ESL certification, in 2013 and a master’s of education degree in reading in 2017.
“All the professors at CHEC were wonderful to work with. It is difficult being a mom, a wife, working, doing all the sports stuff, but you can do it. I had a lot of support. At first, I took one class and then another and built up to two or three courses at a time,” she said.
For Hunter, the end result was worth every minute she spent studying.
“I have students who start the year saying, ‘I can’t read,’ and half way through the year they tell me, ‘I just read that by myself,’ and I say, ‘Yeah, you did.’ I love seeing their faces, watching them realize that they are successful in something that is very difficult for a five-year-old to do.”
For more information about CHEC, visit http://www.collin.edu/chec/or call 972-599-3100.
Reprinted with permission of Allen Image