August is one of my favorite times of the year, because I know that means the Lamar Community College campus will soon again be filled with students. Fall classes start up again on Aug. 23 and while we have lots in store for our students, there’s one thing that I’m particularly excited about, and that is the unveiling of our new Student Union.
In the next few weeks, we will be holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Student Union in the Betz Technology Center, the very first facility of its kind on our campus since we opened our doors in 1937. This space will serve not only as a place to enhance the academic experience of our Lopes but will also give them the ability to meet, congregate and create lasting memories with their friends here at LCC. It includes plenty of seating areas inside and outside the space, a new coffee shop, quiet study areas, and an outdoor patio.
We will also give students the ability to express themselves in this space with an area to display student art, a staging area for student performances, and office space for our Student Life and Student Government Association.
What is particularly remarkable about this space (which used to house the LCC bookstore) is its genesis and what it says about our students that we have proudly served over the years. In 1999, our students voted to take on a small fee to help fund this space, and our students have continued this tradition since then. This $450,000 project has been entirely funded by our students, who each contributed a little bit so that future Lopes could enjoy this space. Most of our Lopes who have generously given to this project knew it would be unlikely that they would get to use this space themselves.
But we sincerely hope that they consider coming back and seeing what their legacy of giving has left behind for future Lopes. We hope they will be proud of their generosity and what their collective effort has created.
I think I can speak for all of the faculty, instructors, staff and administrators when I say that we are looking forward to seeing our students’ smiling faces again, especially in their brand new Student Union. This is your space, Lopes, and we cannot wait to see how you transform it to make it into the space that works best for you.
Linda Lujan, Ph.D., is the college president for Lamar Community College.