Gordon Gates for LLCC Trustee

that LLCC is an extremely valuable asset of our community and I want to do what I can to preserve, grow and promote that asset for the benefit of all of my neighbors, whether they are recent high school graduates, people looking to improve their vocational skills or start a new career, or older adults who want to expand their horizons and gain new experiences. While I am not a politician, and have no political aspirations, I have been deeply involved in my town and its people and believe that my experience and training and dedication will be a useful addition to the board of trustees of LLCC. My Thoughts On Lincoln Land Community College

Everyone talks about the disappearance of the middle class, but the heart of that problem is actually the ever-widening income and wealth gap. We all know that for the last 20 years the rich have gotten richer, the poor have stagnated and the middle class has been pushed to the edges. The American dream of upward mobility is in serious peril. History tells us that such a scenario is unsustainable. I believe that a robust community college system is our best hope for a solution to this far-reaching problem. First, LLCC can and does provide high quality, efficient and inexpensive vocational training. Our country needs skilled tradespeople more than it needs more lawyers. Unfortunately, it seems that a vocational education has been reduced to something that a person pursues only if they believe that they are not qualified for or cannot afford a 4 year college degree. I strongly disagree. I see a vocational education as an excellent road towards upward economic mobility. Truck drivers, welders, electricians, nurses and health care technicians are in high demand and will be for decades to come. These skilled workers can earn middle class and better incomes and they provide valuable services for all of us. A vocational education should not be viewed as less than a college degree but rather as an attractive and viable alternative career plan. LLCC has a long and distinguished history of providing top-notch vocational training and I want to see that continued and grown. More importantly, I want to convince our community, our young adults and our high school administrators and teachers that they need to value such an education and value LLCC’s contribution. I also want to see such an education be the solution for the older worker who has been displaced by the modern economy. Second, LLCC can be, and is, a solution to the skyrocketing costs of a college degree. Too many young adults are either scared away from a college degree due to the cost, or are incurring smothering debt to get that degree. This is also unsustainable in the long run. LLCC provides a fantastic 2 year start to a 4 year (or more) degree. The quality and variety of the course work rivals that of most 4 year colleges. And that education is provided at a fraction of the cost. With a bit of creativity and hard work, most students can complete those two years without student loans and without the help of their parents. Those students then enter a 4 year degree college with some certainty as to their chosen field of study and with the financial resources to complete the degree without the burden of school loans. For reasons that vary from ego to social pressures, not enough graduating high school seniors fully grasp the obvious benefit of an LLCC preparation. Certainly not enough guidance counselors advocate for such a college plan as a first choice. I want to do what I can to convince all of the players in the college decision that 2 years at LLCC not only makes sense economically, but will ultimately result in a graduate with a well rounded world view and with broad and attractive career prospects.