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Tough many activities must take place on a Saturday because evaluate their diverse populations, seek solutions to barriers
of the length and location of the activity, the club does have an to club participation, and be receptive to making changes that
on-campus project that provides engagement opportunities for will facilitate both social and academic integration through
students who have other weekend obligations. Te club designs, community college club participation and enhance student
constructs, and maintains a series of gardens. Te eXtreme persistence. Beyond the students’ need for access, community
science club advisors ofen comment that many things grow and colleges should exhaust every means to enhance student
blossom in the gardens that are not plants. A frst-generation persistence through student engagement opportunities.
student named Melissa lived all her life in Jones County. Her
entire family lived in Jones County with many of the family References
members having never lef the county. Melissa began at Coastal
by having a family member provide transportation to the college Comprehensive Articulation Agreement Between the University of
before driving to work for the day. At the end of the day, Melissa North Carolina and the North Carolina Community College System.
received a ride home with a diferent family member. Melissa (February 21, 2014). Retrieved from http://www.nccommunitycolleges.
was a talented student and ofen completed her homework edu/sites/default/fles/basic-pages/academic- programs/attachments/
caa_fnal_04-25-13.pdf
before she could depart for home. Melissa approached a club
advisor who, along with other students, was pulling weeds in the Hankin, J. N. (2003). Address. Vital Speeches of the Day, 70(4), 121-128.
garden. Tat conversation yielded a new club member. Melissa Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.
convinced her family to bring her to school on the weekends to Hurtado, S., Carter, D. F., & Spuler, A. (1996). Latino student transition
participate in the club events and activities. Te next semester to college: Assessing difculties and facters in successful college
she became the Student Government Representative for the adjustment. Research in Higher Education, 37(2), 135-157. Retrieved
club. Te following year she became the Student Government from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40196170
Association (SGA) Secretary and eventually the President of the Kuh, G. D. (2003). What we’re learning about student engagement from
SGA. Melissa changed from a quiet, reserved student to a young NSSE. Change, 35(2), 24-32. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.
woman who was comfortable attending committee and board com.proxy. lib.odu.edu/login.aspx? direct=true&db=ehh&AN=9156615
meetings with the faculty and senior administrators. Melissa was &site=ehost-live
an active participant in all of the club events and surprised the McClenney, K. M., & Greene, T. (2005). A tale of two students: Building
club advisors during a visit to the Natural Science Museum in a culture of engagement in the community college. About Campus,
Raleigh. Family and friends were invited to participate. Melissa 10(3), 2-7. doi: 10.1002/abc.129
rented a large van and flled the van with her mom, her younger Schmid, C., & Abell, P. (2003). Demographic risk factors, study
brother, and many of her extended family members that had patterns, and campus involvement as related to student success among
never lef the county. She drove the van and, once at the museum, Guilford Technical Community College students. Community College
divided her family among the faculty members, instructing Review, 31(1), 1-16. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.
them if they had any question all they had to do was ask. Melissa lib.odu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=10732589&site=eh
ost-live
wanted to share her college experiences and encourage others to
follow in her footsteps. Melissa is now attending North Carolina Schuetz, P. (2008). A theory-driven model of community college student
Central University and expects to graduate in 2016. Tis is an engagement. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 32(4),
excellent example of how faculty-student interaction through 305-324. doi:10.1080/10668920701884349
club activities can enhance student persistence. Saunders, M. & Serna, I. (2004). Making college happen: Te college
experiences of frst- generation Latino students. Journal of Hispanic
Students who make the efort to overcome impediments to their Higher Education, 3(2), 146-163. doi:10.1177/1538192703262515
participation in club events and activities rate the same level of Songer, C. J. (2011). Community college student persistence: A focus on
energy invested by the club advisors and other faculty and staf occupational and academic clubs. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.
associated with club activities. Students are ofen surprised to see com/docview/916768299?accountid=12967. (916768299)
many members of the faculty participating in the events. Tese
faculty members ride in the van, sit with the students, answer Sorey, K. C., & Duggan, M. H. (2008). Diferential predictors of
persistence between community college adult and traditional-aged
questions, and ofen come prepared with articles, books, or students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 32(2),
topics to discuss with the students. 75-100. doi: 10.1080/10668920701380967
Overcoming impediments to participation is not solely the Vaughan, G. B. (2006). Te community college story (3rd ed.).
responsibility of the student. Institutions need to continually Washington, DC: Community College Press

Catherine J. Songer is the Division Chair of Mitchell R. Williams is an Associate Professor
Natural Science at Coastal Carolina Community afliated with the Department of Educational
College. She has over 30 years of community college Foundations and Leadership at Old Dominion
education experience and has been a member of University. His research interests include the
the CCCC faculty for 19 years. She has served as a role of community colleges in rural economic
co-advisor for the eXtreme science club since it was development and collaboration between two-
established in 2002. and four-year institutions of higher education.

12 LEADERSHIP Vol. 20.2 Fall 2014

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