The primary purpose of the community college today is to provide higher education opportunities to a broader range of people in the community. I have had the opportunity to teach both at a community college and at a university and I have noticed that the make-up of the student populations at each institution is quite different. At Pitt Community College, I came across students from a variety of backgrounds. The main reason for this unique makeup is the affordability and convenience of location that makes community colleges appealing to all students. The community college itself provides a diverse environment in which our students are able to step out of their comfort zones and become better prepared for a growing global economy. Additionally, community colleges contribute to the community and to the state as it provides our students with vocational training for varied occupational fields. 

Besides affordability, community college programs require less time for a student to complete them than a comparable program at a university. In the past, I had students that were laid off from work and as a result were pursuing an Associate's Degree or technical training in preparation for another job. They were generally older than traditional university-students, and the shorter program length was beneficial because it allowed them to get back into the workplace quickly. Therefore, community colleges offer technical and professional training that assists the community as well as the state because it provides our workers with the vocational skills they need for job entry, retraining, and certification.

Community colleges, on top of providing educational opportunities to anybody in the community seeking higher education, also introduce many students to the international community. When I was at PCC, they had Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Scholar on staff. PCC, like many other institutions, realize the importance of having international faculty as a part of global education. Cultural education will need to become a priority in the community-college setting as students, upon graduating, will find themselves in a globally competitive economy. In order to contribute to the cultural and linguistic development of our students, I held two workshops at PCC, one on the Thai New Year celebration and another on the importance of proper pronunciation of Spanish to help with oral proficiency. As a Thai-American and a Spanish Instructor, I understand the importance of contributing to the international connections found at my institution – connections that span the globe.