Sharing Stories and Building Community, My Experience at the Summit of Dual Credit Programs

I had never been to Texas prior to my visit for the Summit of Dual Credit Programs, and I am so glad my first trip involved this event and meeting so many wonderful practitioners eager to gain knowledge and connect with others in the field. If you know me or have heard me speak, you know I love my home state of West Virginia, and shout it out any chance I get. Wouldn’t you know that even at the summit, there were a few West Virginia connections, and as I like to say, “you can find us anywhere.”

The atmosphere at the summit reminded me of the community environment I feel when I’m at home. Though many at the summit were from Texas, I noted a commonality – we loved our work, our states, and building community. Much of my work and research is attached to building community, and it was so great to see and feel that at the Summit of Dual Credit Programs. Events like this help to energize and motivate, and we were not disappointed with Dr. Brad C. Phillips and Shayla Rivera – both encouraging us to connect in our work by telling our story and recognizing that with every step we take to increase equity and access, we are doing nothing short of life-changing work. Hearing things like that help to reaffirm why I work in education and why telling our story is so important to building community. It is through our strengths and struggles that we both can understand and connect with one another, and by doing so, we help contribute to student success every single day.