Vicki Curry’s roots at Allen Community College run deep.
“I have a special place in my heart for Allen,” Curry told the Register. “I went there as a student. My husband went there. All three of my kids attended. I worked there for 27 years. It’s ingrained in me. There’s nothing I want more than for it to be successful.”
Curry, 65, who retired from Allen as the director of financial aid for the college, is one of four registered candidates vying for three seats on the Allen Community College Board of Trustees. Voters will choose between Curry, Alana Cloutier, Gena Clounch, and Corey Schinstock on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Roger Campbell is also running a write-in campaign.
In her time at the financial aid office, Curry’s job was often making the impossible possible for students. “The best day in the office was when someone came in thinking there was no way they could go to college and finding out there was a possibility,” said Curry. “It was very rewarding in that respect.”
And while a lot has changed over the years, Curry still believes attending Allen is both a smart investment and an affordable one. She counts the college’s staff as one of its biggest strengths.
“Allen’s staff makes all the difference in the world,” said Curry. “We have people who are willing to go above and beyond, who have fed students in their homes, even done their laundry. Allen has a team that’s dedicated to helping students and who find great joy in helping students succeed. That’s what makes Allen exceptional.”
YET CURRY also knows not everyone is as familiar with the college as she is. That’s something she’d like to address while on the board.
“I think there are now very few people in the community who feel attached to the college. We used to have night classes, personal enrichment classes,” Curry remembered. But those days are gone, and it seems to Curry that now students on campus largely live apart from the Iola community.
How to change that? Curry looks back a few short years for a solution. In early 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything, the college was developing plans for a new community activities building. A public forum held that February featured discussion on how the college could partner with the city, county, and more to build a space that would tick several items off everyone’s lists, including an indoor pool.
Something like that, Curry argues, would help intertwine the college and the surrounding community. “I’d like to see the college offer more to the community than it currently offers. I think people would feel a lot better about their taxes if there was a more tangible benefit for them, especially those of us who don’t have kids in college. If people could come out for activities, or even a pool, kind of like what Burlington has, it would be so nice.
“That’s my dream,” Curry said, laughing. “I don’t know if it will happen.”
THAT SAID, Curry knows the board has a lot on its plate. Two dorms in “sad, sad shape” need to be replaced, and the college is developing a plan to build a new CTE center on the 34 acres of land immediately north of the campus, which the college purchased for $325,000 last spring.
The college also has a huge opportunity as an educational partner with EMP Shield, which is set to build a $1.9 billion microchip processing plant in rural Coffey County.
Plenty to build on, noted Curry. And that fits with her vision of the college.
“Allen has a lot going for it. It’s just a matter of enhancing things. When I see parents bringing their kids to Allen, that says the most about a school. I saw that in my time there. And when you see that, you know it’s been a positive experience for them.”
