LBCC Student Success!

My college runs a new "student success" advertising campaign every spring. The public relations people work with the president's office to identify and promote our most outstanding students. A couple of years ago, Ashlee Redden, a political science major now at UCLA, was featured on the college home page (see, "Political Science at LBCC: Training the Next Generation of Leaders"). And on Friday I noticed that Barbara, pictured below, is featured in the latest campaign on LBCC student success:

Barbara took my course in World Politics last semester. She was a standout, and we've kept in touch since then. In fact I saw her last week and she's already gotten an acceptance letter from one of the UC campuses, but she's waiting to hear back from the "biggies," UC Berkeley and UCLA. I'm pretty sure she'll have the pick of the litter, so to speak. Barbara's a confident young woman, super smart, and a fabulous writer. She's also busier than the dickens with all kinds of internships and what not. The college is also featuring at least three other students in the ad campaign, although I haven't met them: Daniel, Michelle, and Steven. No doubt they all have spectacular stories of academic excellence to share. Working with folks like this is the most rewarding thing about teaching. And the really outstanding successes don't happen as often as I'd like, although I'm thankful for the examples these students set for so many others who are struggling.

More later ...