Chris Gray, Ph.D.
Founding President, Erie County Community College
When I was just out of college, the band Semisonic released a song called "Closing Time." I think it's on every '90s playlist, and it highlighted the quintessential sounds of the late 1990s. It was a post-grunge masterpiece with a mix of alternative and party rock that earned a Grammy nomination and is punctuated at intervals with notes from a wonderfully out-of-tune old piano, found in an antique shop next door to the recording studio. It's a song that always makes me think about endings, and it feels fitting given that we're just wrapping up the Fall semester as 2024 winds down.
Now that exams are done and grades submitted, I have been reflecting on the journey we have shared here at EC3 over the past few months. There's something special about this time of year; our halls, recently bustling with activity and laughter, have settled into a quieter rhythm as the days grow shorter.
As we get ready to turn the page on 2024, I am very appreciative and want to express my heartfelt thanks to our amazing faculty and staff who have once again poured their hearts into teaching and helping our students succeed. As ever, I am so grateful to the students who trust us to help them build their future; they inspire me every day with their strength and determination. They have faced challenge after challenge head on, and they have done so successfully. And of course, we are on the path to accreditation with MSCHE, which will help more students follow in their footsteps.
As we get ready to close up our campuses for the winter holiday break, I'm hoping that our students take the time to stop for a moment and reflect on how far they've come. It's a time to celebrate big victories and small victories alike. This takes courage and hard work in equal measure, and they've been working so hard. But now, it's a time to rest.
The future is bright here at EC3, and I remain honored to be a part of this incredible journey. Thank you, readers, for sticking with me here and making this community what it is. I have every confidence that this next chapter will be even better than the last.
To return to the Semisonic song, the shortest day of the year is all but upon us, and when the solstice passes, we'll welcome the return of the light. For now, though, here we are:
Closing time, every new beginning
Comes from some other beginning's end.
It's closing time for 2024 as 2025 rounds the bend. Happy Holidays to you and yours, and may 2025 bring you a wonderful new beginning!
Our community: your college.
