Articles - Fall 2006 - return to index
A chance to play college hoops while staying close to home made the decision to attend
Lane Community College a slam dunk for Cora McVey. But other unexpected benefits of attending Lane—small class sizes, individual attention from instructors and high-quality core courses—helped Cora decide where she’ll complete her bachelor’s degree and what career path she’ll follow.
"I loved the small classes at Lane," says Cora, a 2004 Pleasant Hill High School graduate. "I really got to know the teachers, which is something I couldn’t do at a big university where there are often 500 students in a lecture hall."
Cora got a head start on her post-secondary education by taking a College Now math class in high school. A partnership between Lane Community College and Lane County high schools, the College Now program offers high school students an opportunity to earn credits at Lane for coursework done during their regular school day.
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While at Lane, Cora’s hoop dreams came true...
In addition to learning from her Lane experience that she prefers a small school to a large institutional setting, Cora also came to realize that she favors communications over medicine, her initial career choice.
"I always wanted to be a doctor," she says. "But I took several speech classes at Lane and liked them and decided to do something with that instead."
While at Lane, Cora’s hoop dreams came true. She played forward on the women’s basketball team, which went 33-1 in 2006 and won the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges championship.
With both associate of science and associate of arts Oregon transfer degrees from Lane, Cora will enter the Oregon Institute for Technology in Klamath Falls as a junior this fall. She will continue to play basketball and plans to major in communications.
Cora notes that her parents, who both attended community college, were pleased with her decision to start off at Lane.
"I saved a lot of money by attending Lane my first two years of college," she explains.
Cora says her classes at Lane provided a solid foundation in basics such as writing, math and study skills that will help her succeed at OIT.
“Lane’s a great place to start,” Cora says, “especially if you don’t know which career path you’re headed toward.”
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