LIFTING OUR EICC reaches out
March of this year, a rare thing happened, the world as we know it came to an abrupt halt. One minute we were all living our lives, the next jobs were lost, schools shut down, hospitals in a rush to secure supplies.
It was, and still is, hard. As a community college, Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC) is well versed in lifting people up when they are at their most vulnerable by providing a number of resources, both educational and personal. We have, and always will be, here for you. Therefore, when COVID-19 left us all in a tailspin we did what community colleges do best: collaborated, pooled resources and provided solutions. “I think in this kind of situation what
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comes to the surface is how many roles community colleges play in the community,” said Naomi DeWinter, Muscatine Community College President and Vice Chancellor for Student Development. “We’re not just talking about providing courses; it’s the human element of all of our students. We’re trying to bring stability, bring our resources into these situations.”
Safety net for students
With stability at top of mind, EICC got to work assisting students in a number of ways. One of the first orders of business? Turn college parking lots into WiFi hotspots so those without internet access at home could still complete their classwork. Parking lots at Clinton, Muscatine and Scott Community College, as well
as the Columbus Junction Center were all equipped to provide free internet access. In addition, Muscatine’s on-campus food pantry was converted to a driveup service. Thanks to the help of local volunteers, the food was relocated to Walnut Baptist Church where students could just drive up and open their trunks to receive the items. Those living in Muscatine’s on-campus housing who were unable to return home also received assistance relocating after the campuses were shutdown. “Working with the city of Muscatine, we were able to find some longer term housing options for these students at no costs to them,” DeWinter said. “They have since moved back, but working with several different
partners to make that happen was really, really awesome.” This fall in an effort to extend more support to students, EICC even offered the choice of a free laptop or one free class to those who enrolled full-time. Part-time students received 20 percent off their tuition. The incentives helped alleviate both financial and technical barriers for hundreds of students. Grants through both college foundations and the federal government were also made available. “We tried to provide the resources students need to be successful when we’re working in this type of environment,” DeWinter said. Meanwhile at Clinton Community College, the Student Senate provided
