AC Harrison’s mom would always say that Harrison was going to work in a profession where she could help people. Harrison’s life has been filled with full circle moments where she saw herself helping people in ways that others had helped her.
Harrison grew up in a small town called Marianna, Fla., which had a little over 6,000 residents in the town. When she looks back at her time growing up, Harrison remembers two people outside of her family who impacted her life.
Eddie Ellis was her elementary school physical education teacher and later the vice principal of her junior high school. He was always telling Harrison and her friends to be healthy, always have goals and stay active and sharp mentally and physically. Ellis looked out for the students and was constantly giving encouragement and advice to Harrison.
As she got older, another person who played a big role in her path was her volleyball coach Belinda Christopher. When Harrison started high school, Christopher asked her mom if she would be willing to let her try out for the volleyball team. Christopher promised she would see to it that Harrison had transportation to get home from volleyball practice and matches. She often drove Harrison and other players home all around town herself. Christopher created a family atmosphere through the team and when Harrison graduated, she received a scholarship Gulf Coast State College to play volleyball.
As that door opened, Harrison was not sure what path she wanted to take next. She recalls having a cousin who worked at the community college and helped her find out about TRIO. The connection with TRIO was one that would affect the rest of Harrison’s college path and eventually her career.
“I remember joining the TRIO program and not knowing much about it,” said Harrison. “Once I started taking math I needed a tutor, and I started using one through the TRIO. The tutor spent so much time and really helped me. TRIO also got me more involved, and I became more comfortable navigating the rest of the campus. It really helped me start to develop my own plan for success in college. I started to feel more independent and confident because of the resources TRIO provided.”
Harrison remembers an important moment that eventually set her path to end up at the University of Florida. When she was planning to transfer, the TRIO advisor set up a campus visit that was four hours there and back for students to visit the University of Florida.
“I don’t remember how many people signed up, but it was a scheduled trip and the van was rented,” said Harrison. “On the day of trip, I was the only person to show up. I was so scared she was going to cancel the visit, and I didn’t really have reliable transportation to make the trip. With no hesitation the advisor said if you took the time to show up, we are going to go. She was so patient and drove me there and back.
Similar to my experience with that college visit I see so many students who don’t need support in every area, but they need TRIO advisors to be there to help with some aspect of financial aid help, transportation, or transfer advice. For us doing that work for them takes the load off what they have to think about and plan for.”
After all the TRIO program and others had done for Harrison, she wanted to pay it back and help students. Harrison volunteered as a mentor with similar programs.
“Once I volunteered and worked with programs similar to TRIO, something clicked in me and I said if I ever had an opportunity to give back I would,” said Harrison. “It would be my way of paying it forward to students like me who started their college journey with a lot of potential but were unsure what they wanted to do.”
After getting a bachelor’s degree and then master’s degree in Student Personnel in Higher Education, Harrison had been trying to find a position with a TRIO program. She had moved away from Florida to Illinois for a job and was thinking about moving back closer to home when she saw the Normandale Community College TRIO position.
“I was exploring positions nationwide to get involved with TRIO,” said Harrison. “When I saw the position at Normandale, I initially hesitated because I didn’t know anyone in Minnesota. However, I decided to take a chance and it was such a great decision to work here.”
Harrison became a Student Success Coach at Normandale in 2017, and has continued to pay it forward working as part of a staff that works with around 150 TRIO students every year, helping them figure out their academic path to success.
“I see myself in a lot of the students who join the program at Normandale and have similar experiences,” said Harrison. “When they come into the TRIO offices, we want them to have a space of their own where they can spend time and feel comfortable. We meet with students, and try to be resource for whatever they need to succeed at Normandale.”
As Harrison recalls the individuals who helped her succeed, one of her favorite things is to stay connected with students and hear updates on what they are doing after Normandale. Recently, Harrison had a full circle moment as one of her former students Manuel Alanis Andrade started working with her as a TRIO Student Success Coach.
“I remember being Manuel’s advisor at Normandale and working with him to transfer to Minnesota State University, Mankato,” said Harrison. “It has been amazing to see him come back to work at Normandale and have a positive impact on so many students.”
At last year’s Commencement, Harrison was caught off guard when she received the Staff of Distinction Award, which comes from graduating students who vote for a staff member who impacted them positively during their time at Normandale.
“I am not someone who loves public recognition, but I appreciated that award,” said Harrison. “My mom used to always say, you never know who is watching to recognize you one day. That is what I do. I see the people moving in the background sending emails they think no one is reading, planning events to help things go smoothly, and doing extra work to help students. That is what I try to do, and to think people were watching me to do it was amazing.”
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