Walking the halls of the State Capitol Building in Richmond, Sean Nealon and Keith Canales, students at Eastern Shore Community College, got a VIP tour of the House Chambers from Delegate Lynwood Lewis, who showed the students his seat on the floor and the process each delegate uses to vote.

“This is a great opportunity for the students to see the democratic process at work and to tell their legislators the story of community colleges and its’ value in their lives,” says Eve Belote, Director of Development at ESCC, who brought the students to the Richmond for the “Every Day is Community College Day” program.

In Del. Lewis’ office, Sean and Keith take turns sharing their experience at community college.

Sean began taking classes at ESCC through dual enrollment at his high school. He is following in the footsteps of his mother, an immigrant from Germany, who graduated from ESCC and became a history teacher. Sean hopes to take advantage of the guaranteed transfer agreement to attend the University of Virginia this fall.

For Keith, who is one of eight children, community college was the affordable choice. His eldest sister is currently enrolled at ESCC and he predicts that many of his other siblings will follow their lead. After years of home-schooling, he feels that entering a community college was an excellent way to transition to public education. He now plans to pursue a four-year degree at Virginia Tech.

“These students represent our college so well. They are smart, articulate and they demonstrate what ESCC has to offer. They make us proud,” says Lisa Russell, Student Activities Coordinator at ESCC.

They are also great students.

After sharing their experiences at Eastern Shore and stressing the need to preserve funding for Virginia’s Community Colleges, Delegate Lewis asks the students what they will do after their meetings with several other legislators that day. “We have to get back to school. We have class at five,” they say.

Posted by Lauren Von Herbulis