David A. Ford
PE

I chose to write about a student in my ELTE 109, Practical Electricity II, class.  I chose her because she is motivated and a hard worker.  She was not afraid to ask questions and was not intimidated by the subject material.  However, she did sometimes need a little extra explanation of some concepts and procedures but she picked it up quickly.

This student has been out of high school for about seven years.  She started at MSU in a Forestry Management program but had difficulty with the mathematics and dropped out.  She is currently delivering pizza which she does not see as a long term job.  She wants to enter the Robotics program at Lansing Community College and this course is a prerequisite.  At first, the student struggled with some of the theory and calculations.  After all you can’t see electricity, at least you’re not supposed to. However, she did all of the homework assignments and extra credit projects and scored well.

It was easy to work with this student because she wanted to do well.  I offered the entire class some review sessions to make sure they were ready for the final exam and she was the only student who accepted it.  We spent about five hours in the lab going over theory and wiring different items, including motors and resistors.  Part of the review was to take voltage and current readings at several points.  I think her grade on the final exam was nearly 90% and her overall grade for the course was about 94%.  The questions that gave her difficulty required several different calculations and were not easy; most of the rest of the class also had trouble.

As Lansing Community College emphasizes a comprehensive educational opportunity for all segments of society, I endeavor to provide the students with theory and real life examples from my own experience.  I have long been an advocate of the community college system whether for a student to enter the skilled trades or transfer to a four year school.  All of the students in the ELTE department will graduate with the skills necessary to enter a profession with little or no debt.  They will earn wages equivalent to or greater than most four year graduates.  I expect this student will excel at any company that hires her and it was a pleasure working with her.