I believe that many of these great achievements are at times overlooked by the media, public, and politicians, in favor of looking at out deficiencies. We are an open enrollment institution; that is, our mission is to serve any and all who wish to pursue an education. When we read about UF or FSU having nationally ranked teams or individuals being offered professional contracts with sports teams or going on to national celebrity status as politicians, we sometimes forget that those students have gone through a very long and difficult vetting process to get to those schools. Thus, we expect those students to do well.
Whereas, the students in our State College System come from very diverse backgrounds and many were rejected by those same institutions. Yet, these students still show that they have tremendous aptitude and drive, as evidenced by their awards. When you further consider that some of IRSC’s students were in fact accepted to these prestigious universities, but have decided to stay and learn with their local State College, it is an even more impressive testament to the quality of our students and the education they earn.