Amarillo College Being Honored And Could Win One Million Dollars

Back when I graduated high school in the nineties I needed to figure out my next step. We have all been there. I toured the campus of Arizona State University. That was where I thought I wanted to go. After spending summers in Phoenix I thought that was my next step.

I decided as it got closer to decision time that I wanted to stay close. When it was all said and done I wanted to get into radio. To do that Amarillo College was the smartest decision for me. Heck they had an award winning radio station, FM90. So yes, I got my start at Amarillo College. That was their slogan back in those days.

I made a lot of lifelong friends there oh and they had the best radio program. They had all the newest technology. Oh, they still had a record player so I could learn how to slip a record on the air. We would end up with one record per couple of shifts. We also had everything else that you could want.

So when I happened on Russell Lowery-Harts Facebook page yesterday, he is the president of Amarillo College, this came as no surprise. They are a Top 10 Finalist for the Aspen Prize. They are recognized for being a top community college of excellence. Coming in the top 10 is great but when they announce the overall winner this next spring the winner will win $1 million. This is a huge accomplishment and would be a huge win for the college.

Out of the whole top ten list there are a total of four colleges from Texas. So we are a lot to be reckoned with.

The colleges that are up for the Aspen Award this spring are as follows:

• Amarillo College, Amarillo, TX
• Borough of Manhattan Community College, New York, NY
• Broward College, Fort Lauderdale, FL
• Odessa College, Odessa, TX
• Pasadena City College, Pasadena, CA
• Pierce College, Pierce County, WA
• San Antonio College, San Antonio, TX
• San Jacinto College, Pasadena, TX
• Tallahassee Community College, Tallahassee, FL
• West Kentucky Community and Technical College, Paducah, KY

I can't wait to do a follow up where Amarillo College wins the overall prize. They really are an excellent community college. Oh and heck I am a product of their greatness. I got my degree in Mass Communications in 1995. So yeah I will sing their praises all day.