There is a flurry of activity happening at River Parishes Community College, Reserve Campus. Fall Semester has begun, and we are filled with well over 900 students.

More students are attending from the local high schools and taking advantage of Dual Enrollment credits. High School students can get college and high school credit at the same time.

This is especially helpful as they graduate; some of their college coursework is completed. A fair number of local students have started working on their Louisiana Transfer Degree. They have begun working towards their Associates Degree that will transfer to any state university in Louisiana.

There are many new faces on campus. Along with the new the freshman class, several faculty members from our Gonzales Campus are on site teaching many of the general education courses.

We extend a warm welcome to each of them as they make the extra effort to bring their special talents of teaching to the local students.

In the coming weeks, you will see more construction on campus as we add an additional parking lot, new signage and landscaping. The additional parking will be on the Airline side and will bring even more functionality to the new building.

The landscaping was the last segment of the new building. The long entrance leading to the building will be lined with azaleas and blooming trees. The college will take on a more traditional look, while accentuating the modern building style.

The monument sign is going to get a face-lift with the new name and logo. The front of the building on the Airline side will also have a new sign designating it as the “Reserve Campus.”

In the next 60 days, the bidding begins for the new Welding Building.

The groundbreaking should be scheduled sometime late October. We expect completion of that 5,000-square-feet building to be early Spring. All will depend greatly on the weather. Welding classes will be moved beginning Fall 2019.

The new Welding Building will host 30 welding booths and feature new welding technology for student training.

Our current welding students are looking forward to the new space and updated equipment.

All in all, it is looking to be a very busy and fruitful Fall at River Parishes (your local) Community College. 

Penelope Shumaker is Campus Director for the Reserve Campus of River Parishes Community College. Email her at pshumaker@rpcc.edu.