Community College Month Featured Student: Will Jones

"One-on-one guidance at UACCB was the difference maker for student Will Jones"

April is Community College Month, and the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville is dedicated to preparing students for success in a variety of fields. UACCB is an affordable, valuable destination for those looking to continue their education close to home, and this month is set aside to highlight the opportunities for all.

Will Jones wasn't sure what he wanted to study in college when he graduated from Cave City High School in 2023, but he knew exactly where he wanted to do it: UACCB.

Jones took advantage of the concurrent credit program at school so that by the time he arrived on the UACCB campus, he already had a year's worth of credits. With scholarships in hand, he said it only made sense to live at home and attend somewhere close by. And, he said, he knew he would get the one-on-one guidance from a smaller school, vs. being one student in a sea of thousands at a larger school.

"I had the opportunity to talk to the staff and some of the people I knew (through the concurrent program) before to help me figure out what I wanted to do," Jones said. "You can't really connect with staff at a big four-year school and get guidance."

He said the faculty and staff at UACCB helped him narrow his choices and facilitated meetings with people in different career fields.

Jones said he would encourage other students to not be afraid to communicate with faculty and staff about initiating those meetings, which he said were instrumental in his decision to go into civil engineering.

With plans to transfer to Arkansas State University in Jonesboro this fall, Jones has no regrets about starting his college career at UACCB. He said before coming to campus, he didn't realize how much the faculty and staff care about the students and want to see them succeed.

"I was kind of afraid about reaching out, but the people at UACCB are all there to help the students. They don't think of it as just a job – they enjoy what they do and they want to help you," he said.

Story by Andrea Bruner