Blog

Over the past four and a half years, EC3 has grown from a simple idea into a college that is transforming lives throughout Erie County. We found this college based on one single belief: everyone deserves affordable and accessible education. That's it.

At EC3, we believe that, if we expect students to become conversant with AI, we must model its use ourselves.

Today, I want to talk about first-generation college students, those who enter our classrooms every semester not equipped with generational knowledge about the academic system and how it works.

We are committed to embedding success coaches directly into classes such that students have immediate access to help when they need it most.

But here is the secret sauce, something we do not often share. It is the rationale and philosophy that guide how we continue to build this college...

As we prepare to close the door on what has been, for many, a tumultuous year, it feels fitting to pause and take stock of EC3 in 2025. What we see when we do that is growth, and that matters.

This year alone, we've served more than 800 Erie County residents, changed their lives. Each brought to us their goals and hopes for the future, and they trusted us to help them take the next step toward making those goals and hopes into a reality.

Scholarships don't just provide financial help to these folks. Rather, they actually act as lifelines in many cases. They are permission slips. They are a chance to exhale and recenter. They offer support when it feels impossible.

As the semester starts to wind down, I'm approximately halfway through my fifth year here at EC3. Maybe it's just this time of year as the days grow darker and colder, or maybe it's simply that five years is long enough to appreciate what a rare privilege it is to build something that matters and to watch it grow in ways we could never have scripted.

This month, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) released a powerful report titled "Resilient by Design: The Future of America's Community Colleges." ...While this report is sparking conversations across the country, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. EC3 was built for this moment. We've been doing college differently from day one.