Building a Better World
An awareness of the world around us and how it affects our lives is an important component of the education students receive at Mesa Community College. When we educate ourselves about the plight–and successes–of those outside ourselves, we build understanding of our place in the world, and how our interconnections with others are made real. We build empathy, and our natural human curiosity takes us to the next step: we search for solutions. Whether it’s students from around the world living in our community and taking classes at MCC, the college taking tangible steps towards recycling and sustaining the planet, or raising public awareness about the plight of African women and children, MCC presents students with multiple opportunities each year to experience what it means to live in an interdependent world.
International Education
At 578 students, MCC currently has more than 50% of the F-1 visa students in the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD). MCCCD has the largest number of F-1 students among Arizona community colleges, and ranks fifth in the state out of all institutions of higher education for F-1 enrollment. The District as a whole has 1,034 F-1 students. As a District, MCCCD ranks among the top 20 community college districts in the nation for the largest amount of F-1 visa students. MCC ranks among the top 40 nationwide.
The number of international students studying at MCC on an F-1 visa(an F-1 visa is issued to qualifying international students that plan to study in the U.S. full time) increased over 200% from the Fall 2011 to the Fall 2015 semesters.
International Education’s growing numbers are due to increased international marketing efforts, F-1 student transfers from the growing ASU F-1 international student population, and a streamlined and online international admissions process for F-1 students who apply to MCC.
Adding international students to the MCC student body better prepares students to enter a global economy, job market, and the world as a whole, and improves global awareness for everyone at the institution and in the community. Growing enrollments also benefit MCC’s full time student equivalents.
U.S. State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs program
Mesa Community College is one of 17 campuses across 11 states participating the 2016-2017 Community College Initiative (CCI) Program. The CCI, a program of the U.S. State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, provides participants with quality educational study at U.S. community colleges and is designed to build technical skills, enhance leadership capabilities, and strengthen English language proficiency.
Participants pursue educational study focused on one-year certificate programs in workforce development fields. The CCI program also provides opportunities for professional internships, service learning, and community engagement activities. After completing the program, participants return home with a deeper understanding of U.S. culture and new skills to help them contribute to the economic growth and development of their countries.
“This year’s cohort of students are focused on careers in business and early childhood education,” states C.C.I. Program Coordinator, Paul Patterson. Next year MCC is seeking to add fire science to the compliment of programs it offers to these CCIP students.
Human Trafficking
MCC hosted Human Trafficking Awareness Week in 2014; the observance included a free professional development training workshop for social work professionals in the community, the screening of the film Not My Life, and the release of MCC-produced public service announcements. Panel discussions and presentations, a Reflection Showcase with students who have included human trafficking in their service learning projects, and a presence at the Arizona Summit on Volunteerism and Service-Learning were among other activities. Special presentations were made by law enforcement, social workers and a sex trafficking survivor, who told her harrowing story.
Human trafficking affects thousands in the U.S., millions worldwide, and is escalating, according to trafficking experts, though it is hard to track because of the sinister nature of the crime.
Making the Invisible Visible
MCC hosted a pair of impactful presentations concerning the plight of innocent women and children caught in the war in Congo and the children forced to fight wars in central Africa.
Portraits of War: The Democratic Republic of Congo is an international photo exhibit MCC hosted in February and March of 2011. The exhibit included presentations and film screenings designed to raise awareness of the widespread sexual violence facing women and girls in the Congo. The exhibition featured powerful life-size photos that conveyed the strength and courage of Congolese women.
In November of the same year advocates from the human rights organization Invisible Children visited MCC to talk about Uganda’s “nightwalkers” (child soldiers) and what the organization has been able to achieve in their effort to save lives in Africa.
Invisible Children uses film, creativity and social action to end the use of child soldiers in the war in Central Africa and to restore the affected communities to peace and prosperity. The event was an opportunity to inform students and the public about issues in our global community, and the positive actions individuals can take to make a difference in the lives of students in central Africa.
Environmental Awareness & Sustainability
Adhering to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) specifications has paid great dividends: between 2010 and 2014 MCC has decreased energy usage and cost by 15 percent.
By implementing LEED technology, setting temperature and lighting controls for buildings, and using energy-efficient computers and equipment, MCC has reduced its carbon footprint. Water use was reduced by removing grass and installing desert landscape with native plants, and by upgrading to low water use fixtures. MCC has three LEED certified buildings, and all of the campus remodels and new construction are built to LEED standards. LEED is a set of rating systems for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green buildings, homes, and neighborhoods.
MCC has been implementing sustainability measures for more than a decade, ensuring that activities are not just economically beneficial, but also fair and safe for students, employees, and our global and local community. MCC has a full-time staff member dedicated to awareness and activities to promote sustainability.
MCC also demonstrated a continuous and sustained improvement in trash tonnage and hauling costs over the past four years. Some 572 tons of trash were removed in 2011 at a cost of more than $38,000. By 2014, those numbers had dropped to 387 tons and just under $26,000, a 32 percent reduction.
In addition, the college instituted an Office Supply Redistribution Program, added three electric vehicle chargers for students, offer discounted bus passes to select commuters, hosts community plant sales, and offers a large variety of curriculum units on sustainability.