Administrators and community leaders picked up shovels and dug into the dirt at the groundbreaking celebration for the new NE Campus science building on Oct. 26.
Chancellor Elva LeBlanc, Board President Jeannie Deakyne and NE Interim President Kirsten Jakowitsch spoke about what the ceremony symbolized and the opportunities the new building offers.
“At Tarrant County College, our responsibility extends beyond meeting immediate needs,” LeBlanc said. “We must anticipate what our students, employers and communities will need tomorrow. This science building is an investment in that future.”
The new building is one of the projects in the $225 million districtwide renovations funded through the 2019 Bond Capital Improvements Program. The construction is estimated to be finished by fall 2028.
Tito Rodriguez, who has had leadership roles in the North Richland Hills City Council and Birdville Independent School District, talked about the benefits of the new building.
“What we’re really celebrating is what will happen inside that building for decades to come,” Rodriguez said. “Students can begin here, develop skills here, build relationships here and, ultimately, contribute their talents right here in Tarrant County. That is a powerful return on community investment.
The new three-story, 84,438-square-foot building will house labs, storage and preparation space for lab equipment and materials. The building will also feature faculty neighborhoods, individual and group study spaces and dedicated faculty and student engagement areas.
In his speech, Texas House Rep. Salman Bhojani said that when he immigrated to America, he couldn’t afford university tuition.
So, he attended community college at Brookhaven College in Farmers Branch while working the night shift at gas stations.
He mopped floors, cleaned restrooms and restocked shelves for $6 an hour.
“I’m a proud product of community college, so when I look at this site, I don’t just see a building that’s going to be raised,” Bhojani said. “I see the next student who cannot afford university tuition have the same chance that I got.”
Jakowitsch said the new building is an investment in students, and the ceremony symbolized the progression of TCC.
“Our past gives us our foundation, the present gives us this extraordinary opportunity and our future students give us the reason to keep building,” she said. “So, as Northeast Campus approaches its next 60 years, we do so with tremendous pride in where we have been and even greater excitement about where we’re going.
