Letter to the Editor

These hallowed halls

Friday, September 5, 2008

Dear Editor,

For many of us who were students at McCook Junior College and then completed our education at four-year institutions, MJC was our alma mater, the school for which we felt the most affection.

In my case I seriously considered transferring to UNL after my freshman year. Trenton friends were already enrolled there. Lincoln was a familiar city because I had visited it so many times with my educator parents.

My dad voiced his objections. "At the University you will have graduate students in charge of labs and a good many of your classes. At McCook you have top-drawer professors, a lot of personal attention, small classes, and a chance to develop a circle of friends among your fellow students. You've already had several of them as guests here at the farm and have described a number of others to Mother and me. You don't have to be a music major to be included in glee club and chorus. You have had good roles in the college plays without being a drama major."

As the youngest child in the family, I was used to taking my parents' advice. Dad was right on target. My sophomore year was wonderful. I sang alto in the mixed quartet which toured the area and entertained the high school students with decent music and dubious drama. I was the student council vice-president. As valedictorian I received a UNL Regents' scholarship. Most important: I met the man with whom I would spend 51 years in a joined-at-the-hip marriage.

McCook Community College and North Platte Community College are the best educational deal around for graduating seniors and non-traditional students. Tuition and dorm rates are reasonable; the instructors are student oriented; tutoring is available. Curriculum is constantly being expanded to provide training for vocations which are needed to keep our communities in step with 21st century developments.

We Southwest Nebraskans are finally fortunate enough to have the kind of Mid-Plains administrators we need -- visionary men and women. They have proposed the creation of an Events Center at the McCook campus and a Health Complex at the North Platte campus. The Board of Governors and the College Foundations are supporting this proposal financially and verbally. They urge you alumni and other friends of MPCC to join them in making this dream a reality.

All of us hope that when our short sojourn on earth is over, there will be positive recollections of us, memories of our usefulness. The Gazette reminds us that "Service is the rent we pay for the space we occupy in this world." What better service can we render than to contribute to a bricks and mortar project that will enrich lives for years to come?

Even modest contributions add up and are very welcome. And a bit of philanthropy warms the cockles of one's heart. Despite our many flaws, we Americans have the reputation of being giving people.

Mary Ellen (Marshall) Goodenberger

MJC Class of 1943

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  • The McCook Community College Event Center is a much needed facility for the college, McCook and SW Nebraska. The potential is there for increased enrollment. Events would bring new people and dollars into our area. It would bring new opportunities for additional and different events from athletic to concerts to conventions and more. I urge everyone in the area to make a contribution to this worthy project. Years ago our forefathers had the vision to go beyond the high school education and create Nebraska's first junior college-McCook Junior College-now is the time for this generation to invest once again into the future of education in SW Nebraska.

    -- Posted by dennis on Fri, Sep 5, 2008, at 11:49 AM
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