1. Intriguing - arousing curiosity or interest; fascinating.
2. Integrate- bring (people or groups with particular needs or characteristics) into equal participation in or membership of a social group or institution.
3. Tuition- a sum of money charged for teaching or instruction by a school, college, or university.
4. Accommodations- a room, group of rooms, or building in which someone may live or stay.
5. Dormitories- a large bedroom for a number of people in a school or institution.
6. Communal- shared by all members of the community; for common use.
7. Robust- strong and healthy; vigorous
8. Components- a part or element of a larger whole
Miami Dade College (MDC) is a public college that has been functioning since 1959. Currently MDC has eight campuses throughout the greater Miami area and is the largest college in the Florida college system with over 165,000 students and the second largest college in the United States. The history of Miami Dade College is very rich with intriguing facts such as it was Florida's first integrated junior college, the famous actor Sylvester Stallone attended MDC and also a former president of Panama, Mireya Moscoso attended.
However another interesting fact is that Miami Dade College has not always been the name of the educational institution. The former names of the school have been Dade Junior College, Miami Dade Junior College and also Miami Dade Community College. In 2003, MDC was granted permission to award baccalaureate degrees which is why they changed their name from community college to simply just college. The difference between a community college and a college has many variances in the United States which are important to understand.
When most foreign or native U.S. students think about going to college many of them first think about attending a university. This makes sense because unlike community colleges, universities tend to be much larger and have more visible advertisements and marketing campaigns circulating through the media. Public universities have an average student population of nearly 45,283 students which is considerably larger in comparison to the student population of public community colleges which is 6.443 students.
Equally just as public universities have a higher amount of students than community colleges, they also have a much higher tuition cost. The average cost per year for in state tuition at public universities is $9,970 , which is $6,535 more than community colleges. However the average cost for out of state tuition is even higher than $9,970, at $25,620 per year.
One of the reasons the cost of public universities is so much higher than community colleges is because of the typical housing accommodations for students. At universities, a majority of the students live in residence halls, also known as dormitories or dorms, which can be the epicenter of activity and provides students a chance to interact with each other everyday. On the contrary, students at community colleges typically live either in their parent's home or own apartment. Foreign students of community colleges typically live with a host family or share an apartment with other foreign students.
Due to the communal environment of public universities, they tend to have a more robust and distinct culture compared to community colleges. For example, sports is a major aspect of culture on university campuses because it brings the community together and creates a sense of pride amongst the students. The average attendance of women's volleyball matches at Division 1 public universities is approximately 1,231 people. However at community college there typically isn't the same lively spirit that surrounds the campus. The MDC women's volleyball team has won ten championships in their league, but still have an official average attendance of 0 students according to the National Junior College Athletic Association.
When deciding between a public university or community college, there are many factors to take into account. Even though a public university may have a stronger culture and more communal atmosphere, I still would choose to attend a community college. The affordable tuition costs and smaller class sizes are major components to this decision. Fortunately, Miami Dade College has community college prices and offers baccalaureate degrees just like any university.
In the summer of 2016 I decided to leave my father’s apartment and go to Costa Rica to live near my girlfriend. I haven’t seen my father since which when I left I was expecting, but almost everything else took an unexpected turn. I broke up with my girlfriend, decided to leave Costa Rica and live in Miami, ended up being broke in Miami and almost on the verge of having nothing.
Fast forward to today and I am still in Miami, but living much more comfortably under the wing of my parents, taking film classes at Miami Dade College and working as an English teacher online. Even though I am not necessarily satisfied with my position or status in life at this point, but I can say that I am content from learning the lessons I have as I look forward at my life. More importantly from all of the drama and pain I caused myself for trying to leave the nest too soon I’ve learned to really appreciate and love my father for who he is.
Some fathers are very affectionate with their children always speaking glowingly of them and comforting them with hugs. My father is definitely not like this at all, but he does show how much he cares for me and also my brother all the time. By leading through example of working everyday, always providing for us and finding solutions in difficult times.
My most fond memory of my father is when I was in Kansas during the dead of winter and my car had gotten stuck in some snow and ice. I wasn’t in panic mode because I was in the area of my suburb, but I was befuddled as to what I should do with my car that was not moving in the snow and ice. Fortunately my dad knew exactly what to do. Due to the ice the car couldn’t be driven forward but it could be driven in reverse, so my dad drove the car all the way back home in reverse.
Through my adolescent years I felt a lot of resentment and anger for my father for various reasons. At that time I was not really able to express myself in a genuine and authentic way. However as I’ve matured and have been humbled from my mistakes I am able to understand and appreciate everything my father did for me in the past and still does for me today.
