No rain, no snow ... Fall 2018 sees successful start
There were no flood waters to traverse and with temperatures hovering in a balmy 90-degree range, there wasn’t a snowflake in sight.
The first day of classes for Lamar State College Port Arthur went off without a problem on Monday as the campus welcomed students from across the region for the Fall 2018 semester.
“It’s a relief to have the first day of class start on time and without drama,” said Dr. Betty Reynard, president of LSCPA. “There were a lot of excited students ready to get to work and we were happy to see them here today.”
In back-to-back semesters, classes were delayed due to weather related issues – Hurricane Harvey in Fall 2017 and an unlikely snowstorm at the start of the Spring 2018 semester. Aside from a few rain clouds across Port Arthur on Monday, the first day of class turned out to be more about the laughter of new and continuing students as they passed between classes.
“There was a level of excitement and fun here today that a lot of students really needed in their lives,” said Kim Davison, president of the Student Government Association. “We’ve all been through so much in the past year, it’s time for us to get started in a positive direction. That’s what this week is all about at LSCPA, working on making the future better.”
The college has seen a two percent increase in its Fall 2018 enrollment over the Fall 2017 numbers. Expectations are that those numbers will improve further as students continue to register through the first week of school.
LSCPA’s students were met with a freshly renovated Madison Monroe Education Building as the final touches to a half-million dollar upgrade came together this past week. A donation by Texaco retiree Ed Hogenson and his daughter, Debbie Spittler, led to a complete overhaul of one of the oldest buildings on campus. New paint, light fixtures, carpet, furniture and computer equipment were part of the project. Hogenson intended his donation to benefit the college’s business programs, where his daughter had gotten her start as a young student.
Other improvements on campus include a new covered area adjacent to the cafeteria where students will be able to sit for meals or studying, new furniture in the Student Center and the Gates Memorial Library as well as outside the Sheila McCarthy Umphrey Industrial Technology Center.
