Jalen

When Jalen Bowie started looking at colleges, he was more interested in basketball than any academic program. He later expanded his search criteria, prioritizing schools that offered hands-on learning experiences. His high school coach recommended Howard Community College (HCC).

“Once I took the tour, I saw that HCC had hands-on technology, STEM labs, and nursing labs,” he said. “I met with my family, and we said Howard Community College is the place to go.” Choosing HCC also allowed Jalen to continue playing basketball for HCC’s Dragons.

Now entering his second semester, Jalen advises HCC students to take advantage of the academic support services available to them. The Learning Assistance Center provided him with tutoring, workshops, and math reviews to help him achieve his academic success, “The resources in the writing lab and the one-on-one tutoring have helped me a lot in my English class. They tell you what you need to work on and how you can make your paper better,” he said. “They're going to help you step by step through the process.”

Jalen feels the campus experience HCC offers is comparable to a four-year university. In the fall, HCC students organized the college’s first Homecoming week, “Student Life plans so many events for the students every week. They planned midnight madness for all the winter sports and Homecoming the same week. Student Life gets all the students to interact with each other.”

Jalen is pursuing an associate degree in general studies. After graduating from HCC, he plans to transfer to a four-year university, continue playing college basketball, and major in exercise science. His goal is to become an athletic trainer, “I've played sports all my life. I’ve always wanted to learn how to recover a body, how to treat athletes and learn how athletes can become physically stronger and get better on the field and on the court.”