Hello Pioneers, and welcome to 2023! Every time I get a chance to step away and reflect on this college and its mission, I get excited all over again. All of us are keenly aware of how damaging negativity and bad attitudes can be to our mental and physical health. Anxiety, assuming negative intent, and mistrust hides the many things we have to be grateful for at PSC. I commit to leaving that energy in 2022, and I invite you to do the same!

Enrollment is on the rise! Don't forget the darker days of the pandemic. Treat every student in class and in the halls like a gift, because they are. Say hello to every one, smile every time, escort them to where they are going, ask them what they need, and give grace when they make mistakes. Make students feel like they belong, and they will stay. This is also great advice that you should use for each other!

Here is a list of other things that are front of mind for me as I enter the spring 2023 semester. Keep this message as a reminder of why you should be excited to be a Pioneer, and think about how you can be a part of what is to come:

Coming soon in 2023...

• New opportunities to professionally connect, play, and grow at PSC;

• New modern and cutting-edge website;

• New opportunities to recognize great work and showcase pioneering practices;

• Increased focus on and outreach to adult learners;

• Celebrating the retirement of people who have made PSC all it is today;

• Opening and staffing the P.E.A.C.E. Center, a first of its kind space at PSC. PEACE stands for Pride, Equity, Access & Cultural Exchange;

• New full-time faculty, staff, managers, and administrators joining our ranks;

• Exploration and/or expansion of academic programs to address emerging workforce needs (Electric Vehicles, Semiconductor/chip technology);

• Major campus upgrades, including a new Fire Science and EMT Facility, new Police station, installation of PSC's first smart lighting and signage, breaking ground on the atrium and main entrance renovations, scholar garden expansion, and other improvements to the exterior grounds, signage and interior of the building;

• Increased revenue through alumni activities, new fundraising events, major donor campaigns, and securing multi-million dollar grants;

• Expansion and improvement of the food pantries, mental health offerings, and fitness center offerings to improve student overall wellbeing.

Wrapping all of this together is our brand new shiny Strategic Plan! More to come about this in a separate communication, but wow, what a great future ahead of us!

How can you not be excited about where you work? How can you not feel hopeful for what is to come? We won't ignore the inevitable challenges ahead of us, but we will not let those challenges dictate how we show up every day for our community. In 2023, we will choose hope, teamwork, and positivity over fear, cynicism, and despair.

Thank you for all you do for our students and for each other. Stay positive, stay solutions-oriented, and stay focused on being the change you want to see at PSC. I appreciate you all, and am genuinely excited about what's to come!

#WeArePSC