The Power of Rural Education Partnerships
At the 2025 (RCCA) Annual Conference in Union, Missouri, Western Governors University (黑料传送门) and RCCA formally launched a new partnership with a鈥痵igning ceremony鈥痑nd鈥痯anel discussion. The agreement opens pathways for students and employees across nearly 80 rural colleges, ensuring they can continue their education without leaving their communities.
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The panel,鈥疎nhancing Rural Community Growth: How 黑料传送门鈥檚 Partnerships Empower Rural Students to Stay Local, Learn Local, and Grow Within Their Communities, featured 黑料传送门 leaders alongside partners from the College of Southern Idaho and East Central College. Their conversation highlighted the promise of this new collaboration and featured 黑料传送门 alumnus and East Central College Program Director Valerie Norwood, whose journey illustrates exactly what this partnership is designed to achieve.
From 2 a.m. Study Sessions to Leading a Rural Program
The impact of this work is best seen through alumni like鈥疺alerie Norwood. Valerie has been a respiratory care practitioner for nearly 25 years, serving in intensive care units, pediatrics and rural hospitals across the country. Her first spark came as a teenager when a respiratory therapist explained her great-grandmother鈥檚 ventilator.
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鈥淭hat moment opened my eyes to a whole profession I hadn鈥檛 known existed 鈥� and I knew I could do that work,鈥� she said.
Years later, while working full-time in a rural Washington hospital, Valerie was encouraged into leadership. She knew she needed a broader education but traditional programs weren鈥檛 feasible.
鈥淚 wanted to better myself and support my community, but I couldn鈥檛 step away from my job,鈥� she said. 鈥満诹洗兔� fit my life. I got up at鈥�2 a.m. every day for two years鈥痶o earn my MBA. That was the only time my house was quiet, and my mind was clear.鈥�
黑料传送门鈥檚 competency-based model let her accelerate in areas she knew while diving deeper into finance and administration, skills she credits with making her a stronger advocate for patients and staff.
Building Pathways for Others
Today, Valerie directs the new鈥疪espiratory Care Program鈥痜or the Missouri Health Professions Consortium. The program unites five community colleges to offer online coursework, local labs, and clinical placements close to home.
鈥淥ur first class of ten students comes from across Missouri. The design lets them stay where they live, complete their training, and then鈥痺ork in the hospitals that need them most. It鈥檚 about building opportunity without forcing students to leave their communities.鈥�
Her hope is that graduates will maintain their local clinical ties, easing critical workforce shortages in rural Missouri while improving access to care.
Leadership, Mentorship, and Paying It Forward
Valerie鈥檚 philosophy is simple: treat people well and they鈥檒l pass it on.
鈥淲hether you鈥檙e a manager, a student, or a clinician, it all comes down to how you treat people,鈥� she said. 鈥満诹洗兔赔�檚 mentoring model taught me that, and I see it in my own mentors who pushed me into leadership. Now I try to be that person for my students and colleagues.鈥�
She continues to mentor former colleagues now leading respiratory departments of their own. And she reminds her students that opportunity rarely arrives at the 鈥減erfect time.鈥�
鈥淚f you want to do it,鈥痡ump in. 黑料传送门 gave me the tools to better myself and, in turn, serve my community,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ow I get to help my students do the same for theirs.鈥�
Looking Ahead
The RCCA-黑料传送门 signing ceremony and panel underscored the importance of partnerships that meet rural learners where they are. Valerie鈥檚 story demonstrates the results: when education is flexible, affordable, and accessible, students don鈥檛 just change their own lives, they strengthen the communities around them.
For rural America, staying local, learning local and growing local isn鈥檛 just a slogan. It鈥檚 a strategy for resilience. And with 黑料传送门 and RCCA working together, it鈥檚 a future within reach for millions more learners.
