White Mountains Community College Welcomes Spring
Katharine Eneguess, President of White Mountains Community College 
This is the time of year when all of us are looking forward to spring. Even if you're a winter sports enthusiast, you're still looking forward to those longer days, when you can get out on the trails and ride/ski/snowboard without being quite so bundled up. I know for me and many of my friends there's nothing better than a sunny day of spring skiing on the upper trails at one of the North Country's ski areas. Before you know it, the parking lot at the AMC Visitor Center will be packed with skiers motivated enough to hike with their skis up to Tuckerman Ravine. Have you done Hillman's Highway?
It's already spring here at White Mountains Community College. Our spring began January 19, when the classes started up for our Spring 2010 semester. Even though it was chilly outside when classes began, it felt like spring at our main building on our Berlin campus. With the renovations that were completed last year, our brighter hallways seem to brighten everything.
We are very pleased with the number of students who brighten those hallways, too. Our enrollment figures continue to grow as students see all the offerings that we have. We are happy to see so many northern New England residents recognize the value of getting a White Mountains Community college education. We are not just an affordable alternative for a college education, we are, more and more, the first choice for a college education. We are a comprehensive community college and all our credits transfer.
The renovations that have taken place over the last couple of years look great and have brightened the building. I thought about this when I took a walk through the our main campus building the other day. I walked down to the Student and Wellness Center, passing the Bistro, where a group had gathered for a lively discussion of class material all in their scrubs. Another student sat at one of the taller tables outside the glass walls of the bistro, a book flipped open beside her afternoon coffee. Many of the welding students had just come to take a break and their protective glasses waited for them on the Bistro tables while they looked at the new goodies the baking class had produced. To add to the great atmosphere, the smell was the best. Why? Our new bake lab was full of students making bread and selling it on the line!
The big-screen TV above the fireplace was on in the lounge. A young woman was relaxing on one of the plush couches, while behind her a group of students were making full use of the pool table. I often do a walk-about to stretch my legs after spending time at my desk. I wasn't the only one looking to get a little exercise. Every treadmill in the fitness center was in use, as were several of the other pieces of workout equipment. No doubt, the students were all getting ready for the spring hike up to Tuckerman!
Meteorologically, we are still in the dead of winter, particularly up here above the White Mountains notches. We will still get below zero nights, and the winds at times will make it feel like we are stationed at the North Pole, but enter any one of our Academic Centers, and the buzz of activity and learning will make you feel like it's the middle of March just before the sap starts running and the buzz of activity as nature wakes and begins again. If you blink we will be in May, watching students culminate their hard work! I can smell those lilacs already! Come visit and join in!
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