Over the Moon, to Under the Bus

Before I enrolled at Mt. Hood Community College, I knew I needed to find a major that would yield me a good-paying job. I have a career background in IT and Web Development, so when I discovered that MHCC has a Cybersecurity program I did not hesitate to enroll and choose that as my major. One morning, while sitting and waiting for a class, I happened to see Jeff Sperley, who is a Cybersecurity & Networking Instructor, walking on campus. Out of excitement, I called out, “Jeff!” He and I walked and chatted about the program as he gave me a tour of the Electronics Engineering department; it was like walking through the best techie toy store ever!

Jeff told me that the Cybersecurity program was going to be the first four-year degree program in MHCC history, and I was so excited to be apart of it. Keyword… WAS!

I enrolled in four in-person classes this semester. I have been out of school for a while and thought since COVID is, for the most part, in the rear-view mirror, why not take full advantage? I am a person with many learning and mental challenges, so in-person classes with one-on-one time with the teacher would do me good. It has! The two classes that ended up being in-person, Math 60 and Digital Drawing, are classes I am excelling in.

However, sadly, the two classes I was most excited for, Networking, and Introduction Cyber Security, both ended up “in-person-ish”: They are hybrid. This, on the surface, it seemed fine but as time went on and the confusion of what to turn in, when or how, began to make me back away from the classes and eventually, heartbreaking as it was, I withdrew from those classes. While I do not blame the teachers, as they tried the best they could to help me, I can’t help think that I was cheated.

I did not get FASFA and have so far not heard about scholarship money. I had to accept a subsidized loan to pay for my classes. Now, I have no idea what will happen.

I went from over the moon, to under the bus.