By Anderson Colemon/south news editor

TCC and the Crowley Independent School District found common ground through the Jan. 7 grand opening and the need of establishing a campus center for dual-enrolled high school students.

The newly formed Crowley South Campus Center came after Crowley and TCC leadership members sought ways to increase resources to the Crowley ISD students.

“It took a village to make this happen,” said South Campus president Peter Jordan. “This process took nine months to make this happen. It was a labor of love.”

Chancellor Erma Johnson Hadley sang, “It’s a wonderful day in the neighborhood” before establishing the goal that Crowley and TCC want to achieve for students.

“We want to provide as much of an accessible opportunity for thousands of students as well as residents in this community,” Hadley said.

The center not only took nine months to come together, but behind the scenes, leaders took a few months to come to terms on the number of attendees and public figures, such as the TCC board of trustees.

“Crowley ISD and the TCC leadership team members planned the grand opening for three months,” Crowley public information officer Anthony Kirchner said. “They wanted to have leaders across the TCC and Crowley area, so we wanted to invite TCC and Crowley family members and the community.”

The new building caters to students’ needs in various subjects such as culinary arts and media production.

One Crowley student, Braden Preston, thinks the center will benefit the students.

“The thing I like about this partnership is that unlike other high schools, there is a lot of technical work,” he said. “This school is all about technology. We have video production, IT support and graphic design. And we have classes that aren’t exactly technical but help to put you on a career path such as cosmetology and law enforcement.”

The South Campus Center caters to faculty as well, making it easier for them to focus on the dual-enrollment students.

For Tim Crump, pre-engineering teacher, the center benefits students who want to jump-start their college career.

“The partnership with Tarrant County College will be very valuable to high school students as far as the opportunity for dual credit and graduating high school with several hours of college credits.” he said. “There’s a lot to be said about that in terms of tuition savings and time savings to be able to get things done at the same time.

“I’m a believer in post-high school — whether it’s in college, anything that takes you beyond high school — because high school is the foundation skill, and these are the basic skills we want everyone in the society to have. But to go beyond that and to become a leader within the community, you need to have a higher education.”