(Ford City, PA) Butler County Community College’s Class of 2022 included more than 500 graduates and a 20-year-old Little League baseball coach who followed 20 consecutive distinguished honor roll recognitions in junior and senior high school with a 4.0 grade-point average at BC3 @ Armstrong.
Wyatt Miller, of Kittanning, graduated in 2020 from West Shamokin Junior-Senior High School, where he was named to the distinguished honor roll in each nine-week marking period from Grade 8 to Grade 12.
He earned an associate degree in general studies from BC3 @ Armstrong near Ford City, and was among 83 BC3 graduates to achieve the summa cum laude distinction for those with a final grade-point average of 3.75 to 4.0.
“I just wanted to get good grades so that when I transferred, I didn’t have to worry about whether or not I would be accepted,” Miller said.
Miller intends to transfer this fall to Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he will pursue a bachelor’s degree in pre-athletic training, physical education and sport.
“I’ve always gotten good grades,” Miller said. … “After my first full year, I saw that I had a 4.0. I was surprised because I had some tough classes. And I realized I could get a 4.0 if I just kept that up.”
There was a speech class.
“Considering it was in my first semester,” he said, “that did add a little pressure.”
And in his second semester, a research writing class.
“That one was tough, doing four- or six- or eight-page papers that were due every week or every other week,” Miller said. “That added up after a while.”
As did his accomplishments. Miller was also a member of Rho Phi, BC3’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, an international academic honor society.
Choice of BC3 @ Armstrong “worked incredibly”
Miller played baseball for four years at West Shamokin, where he benefited from athletic trainers after pulling muscles and injuring fingers during games or practices, then chose to begin his goal of becoming an athletic trainer at BC3 @ Armstrong.
“I wanted a place that was close,” Miller said. “I wanted a place that was more affordable. And I wanted to go to a place that was more personal in the classroom. I wanted to be more personal with my teachers. I wanted them to be close with me. I wanted them to know about me instead of my just being a number.”
“It worked incredibly.”
“If I ever see a teacher at BC3, they know me by my first name and always talk to me. It makes me feel like I am part of the college. It makes me feel like I am part of the community instead of just being a person who attends.”
“I wanted a place that was close. I wanted a place that was more affordable. And I wanted to go to a place that was more personal in the classroom. I wanted to be more personal with my teachers. I wanted them to be close with me. I wanted them to know about me instead of my just being a number."
BC3 @ Armstrong “doesn’t hurt the wallet”
Students who attend a community college for their first two years can save an estimated $20,000 on the cost of higher education, according to the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges.
Tuition and fees for face-to-face classes this spring for BC3 students from Armstrong County cost $275 per credit.
Tuition and fees for face-to-face classes this spring for Pennsylvania residents at regional public four-year universities cost between $437 and $504 per credit, and at regional state-related universities between $572 and $1,170 per credit.
BC3 @ Armstrong, Miller said, “doesn’t hurt the wallet after you graduate.”
General studies joins business administration and psychology among transfer programs available at BC3 @ Armstrong.
Approximately 60 percent of BC3 students this spring were enrolled in transfer programs, according to Sharla Anke, the college’s assistant dean of institutional research and planning.
BC3 students can apply credits earned toward a bachelor’s degree at public, private and online four-year colleges and universities.
“If I ever see a teacher at BC3, they know me by my first name and always talk to me. It makes me feel like I am part of the college. It makes me feel like I am part of the community instead of just being a person who attends.”
“I wouldn’t have wanted to go anywhere else”
BC3’s second consecutive outdoor walk-thru commencement was held May 18 on the college’s main campus in Butler Township. Its Class of 2022 included 503 graduates.
General studies was second among the top five programs in which BC3 conferred associate degrees during its 54th commencement and psychology was fifth.
BC3’s Class of 2022 included a 75-year-old as its most-senior female graduate ever, an 18-year-old as its youngest graduate, 77 members of Rho Phi, 12 student-veterans, four reverse-transfers, two presidential scholars and one student receiving three associate degrees.
Margaret Shutak, of Cranberry Township, earned an associate degree in psychology and became the most-senior female graduate in BC3 history. Joseph Hamilton, of Greenville, was the youngest graduate in BC3’s Class of 2022 and earned an associate degree in computer information systems-networking and cybersecurity. Matthew Lerner, of Ford City, received associate degrees in history, psychology and general studies.
Students who complete a BC3 @ Armstrong degree in business administration or in psychology can transfer all credits to a parallel program and with junior standing to any Pennsylvania public four-year institution.
Students who complete a BC3 @ Armstrong degree in business administration, general studies and psychology can transfer all credits to a parallel program at any Penn State University commonwealth campus.
Students can also take many health care science courses at BC3 @ Armstrong and finish their associate degrees in medical assistant; Nursing, R.N.; physical therapist assistant; or in technical trades-massage therapy management option on BC3’s main campus. They can also finish their certificates in medical assistant or in practical nursing on BC3’s main campus.
BC3 @ Armstrong, Miller said, “was fantastic. I wouldn’t have wanted to go anywhere else. The teachers are very caring and focused on making you succeed.”
As is Miller, who has begun his second season as volunteer head coach of a team of 9- and 10-year-olds in the West Shamokin Little League.
“I’m doing it for the community, but mostly I am doing it for the little kids,” Miller said, “so they can have a good experience.”
