Alexandria Kovack is currently working on her Business Management degree from the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC), and has a goal to open a nonprofit organization that helps to rehabilitate Veterans in the future. 

How did you choose your major in college? How did you choose CCAC? Did you have a mentor or person who helped guide you through that process? 
When I first started at CCAC, I was actually going for a different degree; about two semesters in, I realized that I wanted to change my major to something I truly wanted to do and where my heart truly was in terms of a career. I chose CCAC because of the great things I heard about it. In the beginning, I went through an extremely hard time, where through no one’s fault but my own, I procrastinated so badly on figuring out my payments for my upcoming semester that I had no option but to take that semester off. I look at that break as a blessing in disguise, because I met my VA Representative, Stephanie Green, who has guided and helped me through getting back into CCAC after my semester break, along with continuing to support me now. 

What student activities were you involved in, while attending college? Were you involved with any activities or work experience outside of school? Any advice for current students about getting involved to gain relevant skills and experience? 
I am currently a member of PTK Honors Society, and I am also a Student Ambassador. To any current students thinking about getting involved in any organizations, clubs, sports, and honor societies, I would say to go for it. There is so much good that comes with getting involved, like making connections, gaining important skills, and exploring new possibilities.

What skills did you gain from being involved and/or working?
I gained more problem-solving skills, business etiquette, more responsibility…and even self-confidence.

What special memories, if any, can you share from your time at CCAC? 
When I started at CCAC, I had all in person classes; it was my first time being in college, so I wanted to actually be there. Well, that didn't even last an entire semester before everything switched to remote [due to the pandemic]. It was hard for everyone to go through that change, and it lasted for what felt like forever. Now we have options to take in-person classes again, and we are allowed back on campus; being a student ambassador, I get to tour new students around campus. So my special memory that was very recent is having the joy and opportunity to tour new students around campus after a long stressful time away…and it was awesome to see how many people came to tour. 

Read more stories, and why community college is so important, on #CommunityCollegeBecause:

Stasia Lopez is the Global Education Editor for Wandering Educators and is Director of Student Life and Engagement at the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC), as well as an Instructor for a class on "The Job Search" at CCAC. She graduated with her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Western Michigan University in 2013 and earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management from Robert Morris University. Stasia is passionate about international education, travel, college to career topics and loves working on a college campus. She’s lived in four different U.S. states (Florida, Michigan, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania) and also studied and lived abroad in Rome, Italy. Stasia lives in the Pittsburgh area with her husband, Fernando, precious daughter, Maya, and playful kitty-cat Zorro.