Stories of Success
Share a Story
Do you know of a Mesa Community College student or alum doing great work? Are you one of them? Please let us know.
For more than half a century, thousands of students have charted their path to success at Mesa Community College. Here we feature a compendium of their inspiring stories and reflections. Check back occasionally to see new stories featuring the impact MCC has had on lives and the communities we serve.
Mesa Community College Spring 2018 graduate Dawson Weiss, 18, is including a very special Denver Broncos necklace when she packs her bags this fall to pursue a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. The necklace was made by two elementary school boys who Weiss mentored in the Future for KIDS program for at-risk youth, part of the 300 service hours... Read more about Dawson Weiss
The Girl Scouts-Arizona Cactus-Pine Council recently honored MCC alumna Kelley Stewart with the Women of Distinction World of Courage award. Honorees are chosen for their exceptional community service and leadership.
Stewart is a 2004 graduate of the MCC Red Mountain campus and is currently double majoring in applied psychology and multimedia writing and technical communication at Arizona... Read more about Kelley Stewart
The Wayne Balmer learning affair with Mesa Community College began in the early 90s when he was community development manager for the City of Mesa. He says he studied to refresh his mind and focus on something besides his job, choosing those classes of interest that could fit into his work and life schedule.
Named Williams Gateway Area Manager in 2001, Balmer became the project manager for the... Read more about Wayne Balmer
Rebecca Roberts’ journey to Mesa Community College started earlier than most students, right in the MCC Children’s Center while her mother was pursuing her nursing degree. Fifteen years later, she is about to graduate with her associate’s degree and transfer to Arizona State University to continue her studies of secondary education and biological sciences.
An Arizonan all her life, Roberts was... Read more about Rebecca Roberts
Granville Carroll never considered pursuing art as a career path until a coworker encouraged him to take a photography class after seeing some landscape photos he took on his cell phone. Granville kept that thought in the back of his mind until he began classes at Mesa Community College (MCC) in pursuit of a psychology degree.
Today, Granville is a visual artist and recent Masters of Fine Art... Read more about Granville Carroll
Believing that music has the power to change lives, Marvin Scott has focused his career on connecting kids to the joy and magic of making music, which was his student experience in the Mesa Community College Music Department. Prior to attending MCC, Marvin was enrolled at Arizona State University. In the fall of his freshman year studying in the ASU College of Music, some friends recommended the... Read more about Marvin Scott
As Zona Bailey looks out at the faces of the nursing students she teaches at Scottsdale Community College, she feels as though she has come full circle, sharing nursing knowledge with students of the next generation.
It wasn’t long ago that Bailey, looking to improve herself and her employment opportunities, returned to college in her late 20s, taking general studies classes at Mesa Community... Read more about Zona Bailey
Motivation comes naturally for this teen who began his academic career at Mesa Community College when he was just 13 years old, while attending middle school at Sequoia Charter School in Mesa. At first the eighth-grader was unsure about attending college at such a young age but he quickly realized he could handle the rigorous college coursework in addition to his middle school classes and,... Read more about Omar Alaa
Mesa Community College (MCC) was just the place for Charlotte Fornasiero, 22, of Mesa, to try out higher education when she was not quite ready to jump directly into college after high school graduation. After a tumultuous childhood, she took a few years off to decide what she wanted to do next.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today without MCC,” Fornasiero said. “I highly recommend the college to... Read more about Charlotte Fornasiero
On any given day, Mesa Community College alumnus Ron Colburn may brief Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, or the White House, or Congress, about the issues of the day as he fulfills his duties as Deputy Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol.
Ron, who graduated from MCC in 1977, went on to graduate from the U.S. Border Patrol Academy and never looked back. He has served through six... Read more about Ron Colburn