After leaving high school following the loss of his father and spending six years away from academics, Patrick Meyers wasn\u2019t sure how it would feel to return to the classroom. But GCC offered a space where he could regroup and thrive.<\/p>\n
Patrick chose GCC because of its strong chemistry program, its affordability and its proximity to home. Now studying chemistry and Spanish, he finds the coursework both exciting and challenging, a challenge he has risen to with determination. What he appreciates most about campus is how accepting and supportive it is. \u201cIt\u2019s very different from high school where you had to fit in somewhere,\u201d he says. \u201cEveryone is here to learn, and it\u2019s amazing to be around people with similar goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along the way, Patrick has been encouraged by faculty who recognized his strengths. Jen Simms helped him understand that perfection isn\u2019t the goal\u2014engagement and joy in learning matter just as much. Trish Basford, who first guided him into the sciences, saw his ability to help others and encouraged him to tutor.<\/p>\n
Peer Tutoring has given Patrick a powerful sense of purpose and has been one of the most transformative parts of his GCC journey. \u201cIt\u2019s been very fun, and honestly, it\u2019s made me think seriously about going into teaching,\u201d he says. Helping classmates grasp a tricky concept or work through a difficult assignment has shown him how meaningful and enjoyable supporting others can be. Through tutoring, he has grown not only academically, but personally, gaining confidence, leadership experience and a deeper connection to the GCC community.<\/p>\n
Patrick isn\u2019t completely sure where the future will take him. He knows he loves chemistry and understanding how the world works, but his tutoring experience has opened the door to a possible career in education. Whether he becomes a chemist, a teacher (or both), he knows he wants to continue helping others learn.<\/p>\n
Patrick encourages new students to take the leap, even if they\u2019re uncertain:<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t overthink it. It\u2019s the first step on a long journey, and you will have plenty of time to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After leaving high school following the loss of his father and spending six years away from academics, Patrick Meyers wasn\u2019t sure how it would feel to return to the classroom. But GCC offered a space where he could regroup and thrive. Patrick chose GCC because of its strong chemistry program, its affordability and its proximity […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4307,"featured_media":4552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[72,73],"class_list":["post-4551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student","tag-che","tag-peer-tutoring"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4307"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4551"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4560,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4551\/revisions\/4560"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}