Covergirl

Sitting in class at AACC was the first time Kathleen Tattersall felt like she was around new people, different people. Join host Dan Baum as they explore what the experience meant for her outlook on networking, life and community. 

aacc.edu/podcast

For more, visit www.aacc.edu/podcast.

Transcript

0:00

(soft music)- Welcome to Redefine U, season five. I'm Dan Baum. Over the last few years, this podcast has been a place to share powerful stories of redefinition and lightning-strike moments and to learn and grow with one another through adversity and change, even through a global pandemic. This season, to close out the college's 60th anniversary, we invited members of the community past and present to join us in sharing their favorite AACC memories. Be sure to check out all of this season's episodes available now for your binge-listening pleasure.- Hi, I'm Kathleen Tattersall and I attended AACC from 2003 to 2005 where I received my associates in fine arts. And then I transferred over to UMCP, College Park, in 2005 and I got my degree there in dance.- Excellent. So, Kathleen, what's your favorite AACC memory?- So I actually recorded, I think I have probably, maybe I'd say three top ones. One, every semester that I was there at AACC, I was fortunate enough and had the honor of being part of the AACC Dance Company and as a fine arts major, that was pretty important to me to be able to be around those like-minded people and to learn a little bit more in that field. So every rehearsal that I had with them in that amazing studio, the amazing theater crew that we had there, and any guest choreographers or opportunities to travel with the company, were really, really important to me at a young age. Another one that I have is kinda fun. I can't remember how I got a part of it but I was able to be a part of, or be featured on AACC's course catalog one year. I can't remember, again, how I got in touch with the internal photographer, but I remember after I was on that cover and maybe even a couple other little posters just standing there holding my bag, smiling at the camera, a lot of people that I didn't know would stop me. And I think they liked the idea that it was a student being featured and not a paid model or actor or something. And then of course, another favorite memory is I think it was my last semester there at AACC and I had just finished with a performance and my mom showed up and she had my acceptance letter to College Park and that was a great moment that she was able to bring to me while I was at AACC and knowing that being able to easily transfer from the community college to a state university was a very easy process. I didn't have to worry about transferring credits or things not communicating between one university or another because I knew after high school, I wanted to continue my education but I didn't know where I wanted to go, and so being able to go from a local community college to a state university made that transition so much easier. And because I went to a community college, I had very little debt. I think I had less than$20,000 in college tuition debt after I got my degree from College Park because I went to a community college first and I think that's always been a big thing for me.- Excellent, so tell me about someone you met through AACC who made a impact on you.- I mean, I mentioned being part of the Dance Company before and Linda Fitzgerald who was the dance director there for several years and she just recently retired, she made a huge impact on me. She taught me a lot of different styles and ways to communicate and to plan and just the way to work through not only dance but also with people because it's a community college, so you're not just getting people right out of high school. You're getting some working adults or people who are trying to transition to different, a new career or a different phase in their life or something, so being able to figure out and watch her navigate all these different people was really, really inspiring. And I think I've been able to keep that with me to just kind of be humbling and ask questions of people to get to know them before just assuming that, oh, because we're in the same environment, we're all alike. That's not the case at all. So as a young adult, that was really, really helpful and she always had a positive attitude about it so I could relate to that'cause I feel like I'm a very positive person as well.- Yeah, we miss her for sure.- I bet.- So a big theme for the college for a number of years has been redefine yourself. That's what we see people coming to the college to do. So how has being part of the AACC community redefined you?- I think as a young adult going there, it expanded my contacts. So I grew up in Anne Arundel County and I had my own social group in my surrounding city, my local school, my local community group of activities. But when I was able to go to AACC, I'm now faced with interacting with people from all over the county or even outside of the county, and knowing that there's a bigger network of people and groups and clubs that all had similar interest to me, that was really, really helpful. And I always enjoyed being a part of, again, living in the county. And then you'd seeing the different campuses whether it's at, by Arundel Mills or in Glen Burnie or in Arnold, the head campus, you see the flyers and you're like, oh, okay. I recognize that, similar to going to your university when you see your alma mater on somebody's license plate, like you have that similar interest with those individuals. So I think, again, as a young adult, that first awareness of being able to expand my contacts was really, really helpful to me.- Excellent. Well, thank you for your time, Kathleen. Really appreciate you doing this from Phoenix.- Yeah, no problem.(cheerful music)- Thank you for joining us for this special season of Redefine U, celebrating AACC's 60th anniversary. We hope this season inspires you to think about your own favorite AACC moments. How has being a part of this community near or abroad as a student, faculty or staff member, parent, or friend redefined you?(cheerful guitar music)(upbeat music) Redefine U is a production of Anne Arundel Community College. Our executive producer is Allison Baumbusch and our producer is Jeremiah Prevatte. Others who helped with this podcast include Amanda Behrens, Angie Hamlet, Ben Pierce, and Alicia Renehan. Special thanks to all our guests for sharing their stories. Subscribe, find show notes, and other extras on our website, aacc.edu/podcast. I'm your host and creator of this podcast, Dan Baum. Thanks for listening.(cheerful music)