On October 5, the first Community College Summit was held at the White House, chaired by Dr. Jill Biden. One of the honored guests invited to attend was Ted Carey, president of the American Student Association of Community Colleges (ASACC), and current student at Monroe Community College in Rochester, New York.Carey, who majors in Addictions Counseling and Liberal Arts, has strong feelings about community colleges, not only about the benefits of attending them but also what is needed in order to keep them functioning in a manner that will benefit society. Carey sees community colleges as a vital part of the community, and believes that attending one is “economically feasible for anybody.” He also sees a link between community support of these institutions and the benefits reaped, citing that 80% of community college graduates remain in that same community after graduating, thereby adding their learned job skills to it and boosting its economy.

Along with lowering the cost of textbooks, which takes large amounts of money out of pocket for students, Carey feels that it is necessary to have easier credit transfers to four-year colleges, something Governor Schwarzenegger of California recently imposed in his state.

Carey finds that doing so would lessen the economic burden on the community, since a student would not have to pay for a course twice due to its non-transferability.

He also feels strongly that the recent suggestion made in our government of cutting funding for education by 20% will harm community colleges, and feels that if this happens, Obama’s 2020 Goal for improvements that will bring America into the lead in number of college graduates by the year 2020 will not be a possibility.

Carey, who was deployed to the Gulf War, also belongs to several other organization besides ASACC that support community colleges.

He aims to help get rid of the stigmas surrounding community colleges and reminds people that education is “what a student takes out of it.”

Carey thanks those who support community colleges, and sends the message that “when you support community colleges, you support your community.”

His message to students is to remember that no goal is unattainable. As far as his visit to the White House and his meetings there with people such as Dr. Jill Biden and Admiral Mike Mullen, Carey wants people to know that he was “humbled and honored to be the voice of every community college in America.