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Welcome to In Focus. I'm Dr. Kate Hetherington. With the rising cost of higher education is
it really worth the investment? At Howard Community College we offer affordable education
thats a sound investment. Joining me is HCC Alumnus Marcus Bryant, a computer software
engineer at Clarity Business Solutions. Welcome Marcus and thanks so much for being here today.
Its great to be here.
Well we want to hear all about you and your connection with HCC, but lets first start
off with what your current job is.
Um so right now I'm working for Clarity Business Solutions and we're an engineering company
and we build software solutions for the United States government. And I'm a software engineer
so I write programs and build webpages and basically build systems that help the government
take a lot of data and make sense of it; visualize the information so that people can make important
decisions about what to do with the information.
How did you get interested in computer engineering? I mean and when did you get interested in
that?
I had a really really early start. It was back in elementary school, I think second
grade. The teacher took the class into the computer lab and we were o- we were on a system
called an Apple 2. We were using a program called Mogo, which is basically like a maze
and you had a turtle that you had to navigate through the maze and you would program different
instructions about which way to turn and how many steps to take in order to get the turtle
out of the maze.
So you had that kind of background and then you knew that you wanted to go to college,
so how did you learn about Howard Community College?
Uh so I was in, I think it was my junior year of high school um and I was speaking with
my guidance counselor to kind of survey some of the different options, and she's actually
the one who told me about the Rouse Scholars Program at HCC and said that this was something
that could be a good fit for me.
Um tell us a little bit about the Rouse Scholars Program.
Well to me its an awesome program cause you have a lot of great faculty here that are
giving.. that-that are teaching really cool classes of a variety of different subjects
and then you also have these bright students that are coming from all the different high
schools in the area and they get all the-- they get the students together and we do not
only things in the school, but we do like extra-curricular activities outside the school.
Like um for example we went to an old folks home and help entertain the people there and
different community service activities around the community. So it sort of helped forge
a- a friendship amongst- among all the- amongst all the scholars- the scholars in the program.
So um what are some of the additional benefits of coming to HCC?
The teachers are excellent and the people that teach here I can tell they really care
about what they're teaching and they also care about the students and the community.
And I just think having that positive energy really makes a big difference. And the other
thing I found out that I didn't really necessarily anticipate or appreciate so much while I was
here, but after going to a four year university I realized that the small class sizes here
at uh HCC really help out cause you have a lot more interaction with the uh professor
and you can also interact with the students in the class, and sort of get that synergy
of- of energy and- and brainstorming going on where it kind of takes the class to the
next level.
Right. So how did HCC prepare you to continue your education?
Well it was great. I had a lot of support here.. uh through the faculty and also the
administration, as far making sure that I was applying to different schools and- and
seeking different programs that would be applicable to my interests. Um I um I ended up applying
to Georgia Tech, uh College Park, UMBC, and Johns Hopkins University and I was accepted
to all schools.
Wow. [chuckles] Thats impressive.
Um also I was given scholarships. Uh at College Park I was given a full- full scholarship,
uh at UMBC I was offered a full scholarship in the Meyerhoff Program, and that was actually
a program that I-I had applied to out of high school and I was- I was denied the scholarship,
um and then I was offered acceptance into Georgia Tech, and um and Johns Hopkins University..
and Johns Hopkins were- was providing me with about 50% tuition support. So a lot of- a
lot of financial help was coming out of the process also.
So that says something certainly about you and your skills, but also something about
having a degree from Howard Community College. That it really established that pathway for
you to go on to other schools and um transfer credits um to your next school.
Yeah thats exactly right.
But you selected Hopkins right?
Yes. Yes.
And um why did you select Hopkins?
Well I uh.. it was another hard decision cause here we are still young with our future ahead
of us.. And um I was really balancing a-a couple issues. One thing was I wanted to go
to a good school with a good reputation and Johns Hopkins has a pretty good reputation.
Also it was close to home um cause my family's here in Columbia. And it was sort of difficult
because College Park was also offering a full scholarship so that was the tricky part for
me, but um but I went with Johns Hopkins and I think it was a good decision for me in the
long run. After getting my bachelors degree I sort of um.. I sort of went ahead and stayed
for graduate school kind of by accident.
Right.
Because you know in that point in life you're- you're finishing up with school and you're-
you're eager to go out in the workforce. And um and I had found that I was missing one-
one credit for like a chemistry lab that sort of slipped through the cracks and I needed
to complete that class before I um before I could get my bachelors degree. Uh so I go
to register for that class, its still early in the semester, but unfortunately that chemistry
lab isn't offered that semester, it's not offered 'til the very next semester. And that
completely throws off my whole plans of graduating for that- in that semester, in that year.
Mmhm.
So I decided let me- let me uh go ahead and take the class next semester uh which is going
to push my graduation date to the next year and while I'm- while I'm here, while I'm taking
that one class, why not just start taking graduate classes because whats the point of
going to the school for one class. So I started taking all my graduating computer science
classes that semester and then continued for another- another year and then went on to
get the uh graduate degree.
So Bachelors and Masters from Hopkins?
Yes. Masters degree, yeah.
And a degree from HCC?
Yes.
Very impressive credentials.
Yeah. Its fantastic.
Good for you.
So would you recommend HCC to perspective students?
Yes, I would definitely recommend HCC. I think its a very smart decision, smart route to
take especially in this day and age with uh college expens-expenses rising so drastically.
Cause I was- I was here in 2001-2003 and I know that the tuition- tuition has been rising
uh since then. So I think it even more so in this time and- time and day it makes- makes
it- makes it a smart decision. Um and then also because of the great faculty, the Rouse
Scholars Program, you have a great community of people here at this school so I would definitely
r-recommend it to all the youngsters that are deciding on the next step.
So you think investing in a college education changed your life and its good value?
Oh definitely! I know some people kind of debate between uh should they possibly go
straight into the work force out of high school or should they go to college and for me going
to college was-was important because the.. its really the experience you get that gives
you uh a sense of confidence about what you're doing and it also gives you a well rounded
um.. it-it rounds your capabilities pretty well. Um for me I'm in computer science, but
we do a lot of math and we do a lot of engineering and a lot of computers, but it turns out that
the communication, the writing, the research, and the um the ability to speak clearly all
really come together when- when you're doing your job and when your career and you're at
that higher level.. all those facets of-of your-of your skill set need to come together
to be effective and that what the college experience has given me.
Mmhmm. I do appreciate you coming in today and sharing your story with me and all the
folks that are listening, so thank you so much.
Its been great thank you.
To learn more about the Science, Engineering, and Technology opportunities at HCC go to
our website. If you want to learn more about the Rouse Scholars Program then stay tuned.
I'm Dr. Kate Hetherington.
I was kind of intimidated at first.
But to my surprise I find a group of people.
People who are about passionate about learning and do well.
And its been awesome.
So I was kind of lost on what to do, where to go, how to pursue my path and career. So
I heard about the Rouse Program and I was thinking, you know its just a program for
a whole bunch of smart students, and you have to do this, and its very structured and all,
but once I got into the program it turned out to be really good.
Going to a two year institution is really a great idea because it helps you with those
core courses that you have to take anywhere. Then Rouse provides a little extra because
it gives you a little more challenging courses when you have the honors courses and then
it provides that one on one with instructors, as well as advisors that really help make
sure you transfer to where you want to transfer so I definitely recommend it for that.
Actually during the first year you really focus on where you to want to go and also
what you want to pursue.
And then you figure out career wise so in the spring you're able to get a mentorship.
Yeah. I went to uh Howard County General um and I shadowed a Physician Assistant and I
came in a little undecided, knowing I wanted to help people. I thought about nursing and
I said y-you know what I think I can do- I can do doctor and that just- that just, it
felt good saying it.
I was expecting, honestly I was expecting tons of Einstein's, but I was like wait everyone
else is kind of.. like me.
It makes you bond. Like I said you start school, you have a huge group of friends with.. Like
you think- you think 50 kids is not a lot but then you see them everywhere. You see
them at the library and- and because you have classes that are specific for us students
you already get into classes with kids you know so.. y-you're always- you always have
friends. I mean you can't be alone in Rouse, you know its awesome.
And uh we do all this cool stuff like go on this retreat and uh broadway. I went zip lining,
people went paint balling, some people went out to go play field sports, and their was
a really epic game of water basketball that I participated in.. it was awesome.
To be honest, no I thought it was going to be a very academic driven honors program.
I was kind of intimidated at first about it, but it doesn't just go by getting the good
grades its also being involved with your community and it helped me realize that there is more
than just getting a job out of college its an opportunity to extend a helping hand to
the community.
I did study abroad this summer and I went to Turkey for two and a half weeks. It was
really cool to see the culture shock. It was kind of cool to see um my fellow classmates
and how they reacted to a lot of the culture there that I'm already used to, but they weren't.
So it was kind of cool to see their reaction compared to America and that also really helped
me grow as a person as well. Its definitely a life changing experience.
Something as simple as sitting in a pub or riding in a taxi with somebody really could
change the perspective that you had on the world and your own national politics.
With Rouse I was surrounded by people of different faith, people of different backgrounds, and
different um beliefs.
I never would've guess that different cultures were that diverse from myself. You have to
really get in there to really realize it.
I just want to say that I already think that Rouse is a great program, definitely exceeded
my expectations. Everyones been having so much fun.
The connection that I was able to keep with my professors and my fellow students even
after I left Howard Community College has really been valuable to me and the Rouse staff
has really been there for us.
The opportunities that they offer you, the platforms that they put you on for you to
then reach the rest of your life's goals is.. second to none.
I would suggest, if you're thinking about joining Rouse, I would say that if you're
doubting yourself at all as an individual or intellectually, career wise, if you're
just a little lost, but you have that passion for learning or you want that passion for
learning Rouse would be the perfect program to join.