Stacey Smith

While Stacey Smith’s first stint at Kansas City Kansas Community College didn’t last long, she knew she would one day return. The Wyandotte County native started taking classes in 1999 and even in those early days, the college and the people made an impact. After becoming pregnant with her first child, she knew college would have to wait, but she was determined to finish her education.

“When I first came here, I remember meeting a gentleman at the front door who gave me some help. I then met another girl, who walked me where I needed to go,” she said. “This is why I love this school. It is exactly how I remember it from 20 years ago. That’s why people need to come to KCKCC. You are not just a number - everyone is so kind.”

Smith, who graduated from Shawnee Mission East in 1999, returned to KCKCC in 2006. At first, she was interested in the nursing program and started completing the necessary pre-requisite courses. She became a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), and then began to realize that with a growing family, nursing may not be the right direction for her. So, Smith decided to pivot and start taking computer science courses. She graduated magna cum laude in 2010 with an associate degree in computer science.

“I did a lot of those classes online,” she said. “All of the students were so nice and genuinely helpful. The teachers were also phenomenal. They knew my name, they knew my daughter’s name and cared about me as a person. They were always willing to work with me.”

But Smith’s quest for learning didn’t stop there. She continued taking continuing education classes at KCKCC because at the time, she was a licensed childcare provider and had a business out of her home. She then went onto earn a bachelor’s of business management degree from Park University. She now works in the marketing department for a local business, Ball’s Foods, where she has been for almost 10 years. The family-owned company has operated in Kansas City, Kan. Since 1923.

“I think that by doing classes both online and on campus gave me a taste of both worlds,” she said. “Coming to campus taught me how to come to work and to work with a schedule. Online classes taught me so much about self-motivation. That was the biggest thing, I think, that I gained coming to school here - being pushed enough, but that I had to do a lot of it on my own. The teachers are there, but you have to get up and get online to do this.”

But Smith was not the only member of her family to come to KCKCC. Her daughter completed the CNA program at the Dr. Thomas R. Burke Technical Education Center, and she continues to encourage everyone she can to utilize the resources KCKCC has to offer.

“This was such a good experience. I know how important community college is. Even if you do nothing else, the education you get at a community college is beneficial,” she said. “It is a community here, and I am so happy that we have a good place to go to school in our own community. KCKCC is awesome. There is a feeling of comfort here, even when life isn’t comfortable. It’s a perfect place. It’s a perfect school. It is better than all the rest.”