S1: E12 | Access, Community, and Opportunity: LSCO in Polk County

What happens when education meets community? In this episode of Gator Bites, host Daniel McLemore sits down with Polk County Center instructors Heidi Kelly, Vic Wheeler, and Jessica Fant to discuss the impact of bringing higher education closer to home. From nursing and history to business and Spanish, these passionate educators share how access, community, and opportunity are shaping the lives of students in Livingston and beyond.

About Lamar State College Orange:
Lamar State College Orange (LSCO) is a two-year, state-supported institution located on the banks of the Sabine River in Orange, Texas. As part of the Texas State University System, LSCO is committed to transforming lives and communities through the continual pursuit of academic, professional, and personal excellence. Serving more than 5,500 students, the College offers associate degrees and certificates in academic, technical, and workforce fields, providing new and unique opportunities for growth and success. With a focus on accessibility, affordability, and innovation, LSCO serves a diverse student population, including a high percentage of first-generation college students. Through strong community partnerships, dedicated faculty and staff, and innovative student support services, LSCO is the bridge connecting those it serves to a bright, Orange future.

Transcript

00;00;08;09 - 00;00;30;02
Daniel McLemore
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Gator Bites, the official podcast of Lamar State College Orange, where we interview faculty, staff and students to give the community an inside look into life here at LSU. Today we have with us some of our amazing instructors that teach at our Polk County Center location in Livingston. We have Heidi Kelly, who teaches, nursing program.

00;00;30;02 - 00;00;45;18
Daniel McLemore
In our nursing program, we have Vic Wheeler, who teaches in our history. And Jessica Fant, who teaches business, Spanish and maybe a few other things, some marketing, some other stuff. So I'll let them introduce themselves here. So let's start over here with Vic.

00;00;45;24 - 00;00;57;03
Vic Wheeler
Hey, I'm Vic Wheeler. Yeah, I'm the director of rural East Texas Career Academy. I do, a lot of the dual credit stuff. Adult, advising and and like you said, I teach history.

00;00;57;06 - 00;00;59;01
Daniel McLemore
Okay. Heidi.

00;00;59;03 - 00;01;13;19
Heidi Kelly
Hi, it's Heidi Kelly here. I am, one of the agent nursing instructors currently running the LVN to our in program and helping out with the dual credit LPN program. And I'm super excited to be here and have this program here.

00;01;13;21 - 00;01;33;24
Jessica Fant
Hi, I'm Jessica Fant and I teach a variation of things throughout the year and semesters. Mostly my jam is finished. One in Spanish too, but I'm also, in the business side with marketing. Have a little bit, developmental writing, educational foundations at, ESL. Call me all things word related.

00;01;33;27 - 00;01;54;17
Daniel McLemore
Okay. Thank you. I like it. So we always like to start these, podcasts with a, an icebreaker question. So the one for today is if you are stuck on a desert island, but it's not an item, and you only had one meal you could eat the rest of your life. What's the meal?

00;01;54;20 - 00;01;55;22
Heidi Kelly
Ice cream.

00;01;55;25 - 00;01;58;02
Daniel McLemore
Oh, ice cream.

00;01;58;05 - 00;01;58;29
Heidi Kelly
I love me some ice.

00;01;59;01 - 00;02;10;23
Daniel McLemore
Oh, and let's just say it doesn't. And nutrition has nothing to do with it. You're still going to get all the nutrients you need. So we're not we're not thinking sustainable here. We're just thinking pure taste.

00;02;10;25 - 00;02;14;12
Vic Wheeler
Probably a pizza a pizza. Yeah okay. Pretty versatile.

00;02;14;14 - 00;02;16;20
Daniel McLemore
Yeah. What about.

00;02;16;23 - 00;02;17;22
Jessica Fant
Barbecue?

00;02;17;25 - 00;02;19;03
Daniel McLemore
Barbecue. Oh.

00;02;19;05 - 00;02;19;17
Jessica Fant
All things.

00;02;19;17 - 00;02;23;10
Daniel McLemore
Barbecue. Okay. All right. What do you. What's your side with barbecue, though? What do you get?

00;02;23;10 - 00;02;30;26
Jessica Fant
Oh. Baked beans. Baked beans. No tater salad here. Taters are supposed to be warm and fried.

00;02;30;29 - 00;02;51;15
Daniel McLemore
I love it I love it. All right. So let's, let's kind of talk a little bit about what we're here for today. So you each of you have a teaching role here at our Polk County Center. And we want to kind of dive into that a little bit because a lot of our listeners over in orange, they may not even know what our Polk County center is and what it means to us.

00;02;51;15 - 00;03;06;01
Daniel McLemore
So, can you share, a little bit about, what it's like teaching here in Livingston? Each of you are from this area. So that's one of the other important things too. So share a little bit about what it's like teaching here in Livingston. Well, our our.

00;03;06;01 - 00;03;24;28
Vic Wheeler
Class sizes are small. I've had a couple classes that it's me and just one student. And while it's a little bit challenging, you know, I'm able to to relate directly to them and ask them specific questions and they feel a little bit more open versus, you know, some, some of the students who might be a little afraid to ask questions in a, in a group.

00;03;25;01 - 00;03;29;12
Vic Wheeler
So we do have smaller class sizes and I absolutely love it.

00;03;29;14 - 00;03;33;25
Daniel McLemore
Yeah. So what about what about you for nursing Heidi? What's what's your experience?

00;03;33;25 - 00;03;56;07
Heidi Kelly
So what I'm excited about is a new program here in Polk County. And it's really awesome that I'm just like a ten minute drive away. But I'm working with fellow community members, people that I will see in my profession at some point or another, working with them, seeing them succeed, it's amazing. And the the students here are awesome.

00;03;56;07 - 00;04;11;10
Heidi Kelly
They're so motivated and innovative. So I am just every day is, a new challenge. But also it's inspiring to see everybody come together to get this, to get this going.

00;04;11;13 - 00;04;35;18
Jessica Fant
I really love the idea of Polk County, the Polk County Center, being here in Livingston to offer accessibility to our very, very rural student students. I was that student growing up who, going as far as Lufkin, was a big deal. It was an all day trip. It wasn't just run over to class and then run home or, you know, like I couldn't just tool around town.

00;04;35;18 - 00;05;00;26
Jessica Fant
I had it was all a commitment. And so having this center here gives rural students an opportunity to be able to not have to spend so much money and gas and going far, not have to put brand new tires on their vehicle every single semester to not have to worry about that much, wear and tear on my vehicle because it barely gets down the road to Walmart as it is.

00;05;01;03 - 00;05;08;06
Jessica Fant
So I understand that lifestyle, and I'm really grateful. The fact that that we have this accessibility to higher education.

00;05;08;09 - 00;05;24;01
Daniel McLemore
Yeah, I love it. It's so important for an area like this, to, to be accessible right here in the region and be close. What do you think students value most about having faculty like you guys that are living and working right here in the community?

00;05;24;03 - 00;05;53;01
Vic Wheeler
So we understand our demographics? Yeah. Right. You know, we know our students and kind of some of their backgrounds and maybe some of their challenges that, that their, their facing, you know, sun single family incomes or just, just some of those types of factors that they have to face. So having instructors here who are living in the area knowing what their outside situation is and able to, you know, just some of our classes to to help make sure that they are successful in the classroom too.

00;05;53;04 - 00;05;54;10
Daniel McLemore
Yeah.

00;05;54;12 - 00;06;32;26
Heidi Kelly
I've had several of my students share, a sense of gratitude for the opportunity to complete get their RN program here in Livingston. More locally, it's easier for them to access. It's easier for them to manage their family life, their work life and school on top of that, because they're not having to do those long drives. And, again, having community members that are around them, helping them get through the process, it's neighbor helping neighbor, which, has it's been a phenomenal, opportunity for sure.

00;06;32;28 - 00;06;36;17
Daniel McLemore
Yeah, I like that. Neighbors helping neighbors. That's exactly what it is. Yeah.

00;06;36;19 - 00;06;53;29
Jessica Fant
Giving the students an opportunity to. And for example, I teach a lot of adult students and so they can come to class and still make it to the homecoming parade, you know, they can that that was a real thing. They came all dressed up in their two class, all dressed up in their, their gear to get to the homecoming parade.

00;06;53;29 - 00;07;16;15
Jessica Fant
And they, you know, scooted out just a few minutes early so they could get a good parking spot. And that's important like that. We want our local community to stay here in our community. And so in order to do that, we need to be able to bring the services here to them. So that they can access that, to be able to, give back to their community once they've gotten a certification or degree or whatever education they're looking for.

00;07;16;22 - 00;07;33;21
Daniel McLemore
Yeah, I think that's incredible. I love it. So, you know, education is it's constantly changing and evolving. What trends are you seeing that are kind of changing and shaping the way students are learning right now? And really the the way that you're teaching to.

00;07;33;23 - 00;08;12;12
Heidi Kelly
I've seen a lot more leverage of technology, which is really exciting. We have simulation mannequins and we're getting more. I'm super excited about that, that are easier to work with. And they don't break down every other. So that's super cool. And then, a lot more hybrid education, a lot more resources. Within, YouTube and other other, resources are available for the students, to complement the, the, the learning material that they, are being exposed to.

00;08;12;12 - 00;08;21;17
Heidi Kelly
So I think that's an amazing, step forward. I was paper pencil girl and when I was going through these programs, so.

00;08;21;19 - 00;08;42;12
Vic Wheeler
One of the last Gator growth days, we had, someone come in and give us instructions on, on AI, you know, and, I was very open and receptive to it. And I started integrating a lot of the things she was discussing and into my own, setting up, prepping for classes and teaching, you know, and I'm also in the high schools all the local ones, a couple times throughout the week.

00;08;42;12 - 00;08;58;04
Vic Wheeler
And, you know, I'm very, reactive to to all of their needs as well. You know, I try not to be reactive. I try to be proactive and make make sure they have what they need. But being able to go to the school and say, hey, this, this is what we want to try new can you help? And being able to be in that classroom or in the on the campus?

00;08;58;07 - 00;09;01;29
Vic Wheeler
Yeah, I'm able to to to quickly respond to to their needs.

00;09;02;02 - 00;09;23;25
Daniel McLemore
Yeah. It's and that's incredibly important being able to you know yes you want to be proactive but with with education the way things are changing and the rapid speed of it, you've got to be quick to react and quick to integrate new concepts and new technologies. And, I think that's one of the important things about having, a larger system that we're, we're able to be a part of, too.

00;09;23;26 - 00;09;25;19
Daniel McLemore
So.

00;09;25;21 - 00;09;52;21
Jessica Fant
I like the fact that speaking of that larger system that we can, leverage us as instructors, can utilize a lot of resources that some of the other, members of the our larger. For those of you who are listening, Texas State University system is, a coalition of several universities and junior colleges. And so we can leverage some of the things that they offer for our students here at Lamar State College, orange, for example, from Sam Houston State University.

00;09;52;24 - 00;10;15;16
Jessica Fant
Our students here have the opportunity to do a study abroad. So we're joining them, with a study abroad. And because they are taking the lead on that and we're just joining it, our students have access to be able to one get other credits that they wouldn't have access to at Lamar State College, orange. And to have the opportunity to be able to travel like that.

00;10;15;18 - 00;10;28;20
Daniel McLemore
Yeah, it's collaborative learning at its best, isn't it? Yeah, I love it. What? You're kind of speaking towards that. What do you think are some skills and qualities? The graduates today absolutely must have. When they walked that stage.

00;10;28;23 - 00;10;59;08
Jessica Fant
Oh. Soft skills. We I feel like we are, really good at creating students who have some really hard skills so that labor market, welding, maritime, that's what we do best. I mean, we do that. Excellent. But considering that many of the students have gone through our students now, where the is going through Covid and a lot of digital learning and a lot of isolation when it comes to education.

00;10;59;11 - 00;11;17;00
Jessica Fant
They're in school and out of school and in school and out of school. And so there was a lot of that transition for them. And so I think that soft skills are still as valuable as those hard skills, but they just haven't had the opportunity to employ them as much as we used to back in the 1900s. For those of us who.

00;11;17;00 - 00;11;18;14
Heidi Kelly
Were coming to school.

00;11;18;14 - 00;11;20;17
Jessica Fant
Back then.

00;11;20;19 - 00;11;21;02
Heidi Kelly
Actually, where.

00;11;21;06 - 00;11;26;19
Daniel McLemore
You actually had a student say that to me the other day, they said you, you were driving back in the 1900s, right?

00;11;26;22 - 00;11;27;10
Jessica Fant
Oh.

00;11;27;12 - 00;11;30;22
Heidi Kelly
Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

00;11;30;25 - 00;11;36;12
Daniel McLemore
So, yeah, I think that's really great. Are there any other skills that you think are incredibly important for these graduates?

00;11;36;14 - 00;11;51;14
Vic Wheeler
So dealing mostly with the high school students, you know, I, I speak to them often and ask them and, you know, my my first leading question, what is it you want to do after high school? And for the most part, it's, they either have, you know, a plan. I want to go play sports. That's the big one.

00;11;51;16 - 00;12;09;01
Vic Wheeler
Or they have. I want this or this or this, but a good majority will come back and say, I don't know. And so I still offer them, hey, look, we can go down the, I don't know, avenue. We can get your course completed because that's, that's just going to open some doors, and just give you the foundations of, of learning how to learn.

00;12;09;01 - 00;12;22;26
Vic Wheeler
Right. That's one of the big problems our students have this. They don't know how to learn, right? We tell them, hey, you need to read this and understand it, but they're they're really not grasping that information. So I think we're coming in and trying to push those types of initiatives. They don't they don't have to know. Yeah, right.

00;12;23;00 - 00;12;37;16
Vic Wheeler
We're having eighth graders, saying being told, hey, what's your career path going to be? You know, it's hard for a 13 or 14 year old to say, I want to be this when I grow up, but we can still develop you so you can have a better pathway when once you get older.

00;12;37;16 - 00;12;57;05
Daniel McLemore
You having that agility, to to not necessarily pick a path that's not going to give you options to do is what's really incredible for, especially for a two year college, having that ability to, to get the basics and do those things. And like you said, open in doors. I think about it sometimes, you know, you go into a new place, in education for, for the students is something new.

00;12;57;05 - 00;13;13;07
Daniel McLemore
And, with higher education, you go into a new place and there's doors everywhere. What's the first thing you're doing? You're going to go open the doors and figure out what's behind this one, what's behind this door. That's what you do when you go searching and you go looking for things. And I think that's what's incredibly important about a school like, Lamar Orange that we're able to do.

00;13;13;07 - 00;13;31;26
Daniel McLemore
So, Vic, you and Heidi, you guys are veterans, correct? Yes. Okay. So how do you how do you feel that that, being being veterans in our courses, how do you feel that that gives you another leg up, in a sense, to identifying with some of our students,

00;13;31;29 - 00;13;54;25
Vic Wheeler
Teaching history, especially going into modern history when we get, oh, you know, Iraq one and Iraq two, we can have, you know, the primary source right here telling you exactly what was going on, having having lived through it. So I'm able to relate a lot of that to, to it. And, I think sometimes I have to roll back because like, okay, I'm going way too into the weeds here for, for a history.

00;13;54;25 - 00;14;11;10
Vic Wheeler
1301 1302 class. Right. But, no, I it gives me a different perspective. And one of the things about being a vet here, we have a whole lot of vets that live in Livingston. Yeah. And they will come in and they say, hey, I hear there's a vet here that can talk to me about financial aid and GI Bill and that type of stuff.

00;14;11;10 - 00;14;16;28
Vic Wheeler
And having used all those resources, you know, I'm able to here be here to and assist those those students.

00;14;17;06 - 00;14;21;22
Daniel McLemore
Yeah. That's incredible.

00;14;21;25 - 00;14;49;07
Heidi Kelly
I think that I, I agree 100% on the history part. I'm not doing this. I'm doing this. But I did nursing nursing side of things and I think it, it, it really helped me, with, being very, flexible. And so what's really cool with the current group we have is they're innovative, they're flexible. You see a problem, you figure out a way how to fix it.

00;14;49;09 - 00;15;09;07
Heidi Kelly
And then also having the context of I am a vet. So I actually helped with a student yesterday. In regards to, health care stuff, they were having issues with getting connections. So, no matter where we're at, we do tend to find each other and help each other out because that's that's what we're that's worried about taking care of one another.

00;15;09;09 - 00;15;12;11
Daniel McLemore
And I will say to thank you both for your service to their support.

00;15;12;14 - 00;15;13;14
Heidi Kelly
Yeah.

00;15;13;16 - 00;15;27;04
Daniel McLemore
And just kind of let you kind of finish this out with this question because I hear you answer it all the time. If a listener is considering enrolling here at Polk County Center but feels a little intimidated, what advice would you give them?

00;15;27;06 - 00;15;30;12
Jessica Fant
Oh, how long do I have?

00;15;30;14 - 00;15;31;14
Heidi Kelly
You got a.

00;15;31;16 - 00;16;01;22
Jessica Fant
You got a call? You got a call? No. That, we are here for you. There's so many services, so many resources. There's so much out there. You there's a lot of, misconceptions when it comes to college. Frequently, people who have not had the experience or exposure to college, a higher education or university life before have this mental image that it's you just go and you have to buckle down and do it, or you get kicked out and it's going to be really hard.

00;16;01;25 - 00;16;26;24
Jessica Fant
And while those are true facts, there are other resources to help a student get enrolled, stay the course and help them achieve the ultimate goal. And so there's so I mean, we could say here, I could I could do an entire podcast on all the resources that we have, here at Lamar State College, orange, and within our Texas State University system.

00;16;26;26 - 00;16;58;06
Jessica Fant
That will help financially. It will help students with things like uniforms or childcare or, accommodations, things that will help with almost every campus you go to has a food pantry. And so if you're interested in going to college, talk to someone about it. Come up here, visit, just chat, rub elbows with someone. Just bring your chick fil A and it's in our office, and we'll we'll chit chat and talk about all the things that, you don't have to only get a degree.

00;16;58;06 - 00;17;09;14
Jessica Fant
You can get a certification. You can get a license. Yeah. There are so many options. And, for people who just don't know what they don't know, the only way you can do it, like you said before, is open all those doors and peek behind them.

00;17;09;17 - 00;17;27;06
Daniel McLemore
Yep, 100%. Love it. Well, thank you guys for joining us for Gator Bites. Be sure to keep up with our latest episodes on the AE website, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts. Thanks for tuning in and we look forward to bringing you another conversation soon.

00;17;27;08 - 00;17;29;10
Heidi Kelly
That's it. Okay.

00;17;29;10 - 00;17;30;21
Daniel McLemore
Thank you. Thank you all. So.