Student Spotlights

Jessica Hall, Class of 2024 Valedictorian, had worked in both the corporate world and in family childcare for many years when the realization came to her: It was time to get back to school. "I've gotten lots of training, but I wanted something more ... I didn't have a degree in early education. I wanted to feel more qualified."

On the surface, it might not be surprising that BCC salutatorian Kaitlyn Barry got an A in the first class she ever took at the College, followed by an A in the next class. And the next. But it was surprising to Kaitlyn. "I thought, this is insane! I had never gotten higher than a C in any of my high school classes," Kaitlyn recalls.

Ashton Bird, BCC Class of 2023 Valedictorian, didn't want to go to college. Born and raised in Dalton, Ashton graduated from Waconah High School and hadn't particularly enjoyed his high school experience, especially during the pandemic. College was something he didn't think had much merit.

When BCC student Rosa López Moritz sets her mind to something, she's unstoppable. Case in point: Rosa once had a debilitating fear of math, enough to make her push aside her interest in engineering and instead earn a degree in nutrition in her home country of Mexico.

You might not guess that a systems engineer at General Dynamics has a passion for art. But for Mike Kusek, making paintings is second nature. Currently enrolled at BCC as a fine arts/visual arts major, Mike is well on his way to an associate degree - a degree that complements a bachelor of science degree he earned almost 20 years ago at Central State Connecticut University. There, he was a computer science major with a minor in mathematics.