LCCC Collegian

Minority entrepreneurs showcase their ventures

Mark Poalson JRNM 151 Known as the month of love, February boasts popular holidays such as Groundhogs Day and Super Bowl Sunday. February also kicks off Black History Month, a time to celebrate Black Culture, heritage, and African American history….

LCCC strives to recruit athletes, expand programs

Mark Poalson JRNM 151 LCCC’s Athletic Department strives to excel in recruiting and expanding it programs. For the past 35 years, Jim Powers has made it his mission to keep this tradition alive. Powers wears many hats. He is the…

Electric charging stations planned as part of sustainability plan

Sharayah Goodwin A Correspondent Tucked away on the eastern end of the North Parking Lot-6, the unimposing Plant Services building could be easily overlooked. Inside the building, Leo Mahoney, director of Physical Plant and Construction Management, has been hard…

Grappling with school post Columbine

Destiny Torres Executive Director Generation Z have never known a world without the fear and anxieties of a shooting happening at their school. They were born into an era shaped by Columbine and Sandy Hook, and have grown up wincing…

Ringing in the holidays, even overseas

Destiny Torres Executive Editor Every year, people all over the world celebrate the spirit of the season by sending holiday cards to family and friends alike. But at Lorain County Community College, students and staff spread the cheer a little…

Stressed? You are not alone

Destiny Torres Executive Editor For most students, college is viewed as a time of liberation, a time to find themselves and learn what they want to do with the rest of their lives. But for others, college is filled with…

Silent halls full of ghosts: The story of the Silent Witness Exhibit at LCCC

Lauren Hoffman Editor-In-Chief Robin Nelson and her family of boys Gavin and Liam, and daughter, Brianna, of Elyria, had big plans for the summer. Having just celebrated July 4, Nelson and her children planned on finishing out the summer before…

Minority entrepreneurs showcase their ventures

News, Top Stories

Mark Poalson
JRNM 151

A minority entrepreneur displays her products at the event. Photo: Mark Poalson

Known as the month of love, February boasts popular holidays such as Groundhogs Day and Super Bowl Sunday.
February also kicks off Black History Month, a time to celebrate Black Culture, heritage, and African American history. As part of Black History Month celebrations, Lorain County Community College put together an African American Pop-Up Shop to support Minority Entrepreneurs and jumpstart their careers and businesses.
The event was organized by NEO LaunchNET and took place in the Campana Center.
“This is the second time we have done a pop-shop in honor of Black History Month. We reach out to our businesses we have helped and other NEO LaunchNET in the region,” Janice Lapina, program director for NEO LaunchNET.
Lapina, who has a doctorate in Education, said, “Under-represented populations are overlooked in all industries. However, access and awareness are helping to shed light and open opportunities to them.”
Matthew Poyle the Program Coordinator of NEO LaunchNET said, “I am very happy for this great turnout and to be able to help showcase the different businesses as they start their journey.”
Eleven minority entrepreneurs got the opportunity to show their products to the college community.
The creativity factor was not an issue as there were many unique products to gaze upon and purchase. The Covid 19 pandemic played a huge role in the jumpstart to most of the entrepreneurs at the event.
Deana Sutton, the owner of Design Passion & Purpose, was one of many people who were affected by the pandemic. Sutton who previously worked for Cleveland City Schools was laid off. She needed something to keep herself occupied during these tough times. Sutton got the idea from her son who was making t-shirts at the time. Sutton said, “I was so intrigued by my son who was making t-shirts at the time that I decided to get my own machine.”
Sutton’s business makes clothing and other miscellaneous items with empowering and inspirational messages displayed on them. Sutton’s main goal of her business is to “motivate and inspire” African Americans to be culturally aware of who they are.
Like Sutton most of the entrepreneurs wanted to encourage African Americans to feel strongly about who they are.
Secunda Starr, the owner of Thoughtful Reflections, is making it her mission to encourage African American Women of all ages to practice positive self-talk. Self-Talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through our heads every day.
Starr said, “I want to empower women to be confident throughout their daily lives”. A member of the entrepreneurship program at Kent State University, Starr has been making decorative mirrors and glass mugs with motivational messages such as “Black Girl Magic” and “Love Yourself.” Starr feels “very strong and compassionate” about her business and is confident that she will succeed in the future.

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LCCC beefs up cyber security

News

Simon Jones
Staff Reporter

Ever since the conception of the first publicly accessible PC in 1974 by Intel Corp., the protection of data has always been a factor. On the other hand, countless data breaches have left those in the cybersecurity field at constant war with private information thieves.

At LCCC, a team of 47 full-time cyber security engineers strives to protect the college’s system from hackers. “They’re able to specialize in a variety of different departments and help run the place more smoothly,” Donald Huffman, LCCC’s chief information officer, explained.
“Think about cybersecurity like a robbery. You can always keep putting new locks on your doors and installing new security systems but these robbers are always going to look for a new way inside your house,” Hoffman said.

Sometimes the result of a cybersecurity breach may not even be triggered by someone from the outside.

“All it can take is for someone to have a bad day or they aren’t paying too close attention for them to click on a phishing email in order for a whole network to be infected,” warned Huffman, who is the chief information officer at LCCC. “If something looks untrustworthy, do some research on it and use common sense.”

To avoid the large amounts of fraudulent sites and emails that one might encounter, there are certain antiviruses and programs that can be installed.

Antiviruses like Norton, MacAfee, and Malwarebytes are safe options. However, they are not always 100% effective,” Huffman said. “If you aren’t willing to get those, then finding some with relatively high ratings should also suffice but do exercise caution.”

Even with cyber-attacks being preventable, breaches are not entirely uncommon.

According to dataprot.net, the total damage caused by cyber-attacks reached $6 trillion in 2022, and on average small businesses spend less than $500 on cybersecurity per year.

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Electric charging stations planned as part of sustainability plan

News, Top Stories

Sharayah Goodwin
A Correspondent
Tucked away on the eastern end of the North Parking Lot-6, the unimposing Plant Services building could be easily overlooked. Inside the building, Leo Mahoney, director of Physical Plant and Construction Management, has been hard at work finding ways to make the college’s main campus in Elyria more sustainable. During the five years that Mahoney has been at LCCC, numerous measures have been implemented by his office toward maintaining sustainability.

Mahoney is currently working with the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) to bring electric vehicle charging stations to the main campus. The charging stations will be funded by grants for installing charging stations at no cost to the college and to other parts of the country. Federal funds will be distributed by NOACA to fund the project, which is still up for public bidding.

This is great news for faculty and students who drive electric vehicles soon as the U.S. races toward the net-zero goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, according to https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/net-zero-coalition.

LCCC will receive two dual-port charging stations, providing charging availability to four electric vehicles simultaneously. These new charging stations would be installed in Lot 8 as soon as the Fall of 2023. At this time, no fee structure has been identified for the use of the stations.

Current plans are to offer the use of them at no cost initially, pending a review of usage and cost to the school.

Mahoney’s other recent project was an energy performance contract of $16 million. This contract brought about many of the recent changes on campus, saving a lot of energy and money. The COVID-19 pandemic brought about unique challenges as well as advantages during implementation. Empty buildings and classrooms allowed crews nearly easy access, and upgrades went quickly and smoothly. Some energy-saving measures included upgrading to LED lighting, low-flow toilet fixtures, and efficient HVAC systems. Electric consumption plummeted from approximately 2.3 million kWh to 1.5 million kWh.

Over two years following the implementation of these measures, LCCC saved over $1 million in energy costs, about 40% over the energy-saving guarantee of the contract. These numbers might further improve as more students return to campus. One reason for this is that the 28 buildings on campus rely heavily on body heat to maintain temperature during winter. Fewer students on campus translate to additional stress on HVAC systems and greater energy consumption.

LCCC has also been working on sustainable approaches to maintaining its buildings and grounds.

Four of the more recently constructed buildings on campus were awarded LEED Silver status (Leadership in Energy Efficient Design): Bass Library, Lab Sciences, and the Richard Desich SMART Commercialization Center (DEC and SMART).

The Plant Services does its construction cleanup, sorting materials for recycling. They also compost yard waste for use in other areas of campus and ceased cutting the grass to allow a meadow to grow, supporting plant and animal life.

There are several easy ways students can help with sustainability at LCCC.

It can be as simple as being conscientious, respecting school property so that it must be replaced less often, and by throwing garbage or recyclables into any of the 500-plus receptacles around the campus.

A new streamlined process for recycling has recently taken the guesswork out of recycling on campus. Recently, all receptacles on campus have been replaced with a single blue recycling bin. These new blue receptacles provide a single stream of recyclables that will be sorted off-campus.

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Bomb threat closes LCCC campuses

News

Officers from Elyria Police Department and sheriff's department arrive at LCCC following the bomb threat. Photo: Destiny Torres. — Officers from Elyria Police Department and sheriff’s department arrive at LCCC following the bomb threat. Photo: Destiny Torres.

Destiny Torres
Associate Editor
All LCCC campuses were closed Thursday afternoon following a bomb threat on an LCCC online chatroom.
“We take campus safety very seriously and are allowing the Elyria Police Department to do their job. All campuses and outreach centers are closed till further notice,” Tracy Green, vice president of Strategic and institutional Development, said. “We have no proof that this threat is credible, but out of an abundance of caution we are keeping the campuses closed as the Elyria Police department and bomb squad continue to search the campuses.”
The college received the threat Thursday at about 2:50 p.m., according to Green.
All students and staff were sent Rave alerts, email and text messages, urging them to evacuate the campus immediately. The campuses were closed immediately.
An Early College student, Malac Naser, said, “I honestly feel a little nervous about the whole situation but I feel safe that they evacuated us so quickly.”

LCCC strives to recruit athletes, expand programs

Sports, Top Stories

Mark Poalson
JRNM 151

LCCC’s Athletic Department strives to excel in recruiting and expanding it programs.

For the past 35 years, Jim Powers has made it his mission to keep this tradition alive. Powers wears many hats. He is the assistant athletic director and head cross country coach, club sports coordinator, and associate professor in the Health and Science Division.

LCCC offers many sports and club activities to students and is always trying to look for new programs. However, Powers said, “Nothing new has been in the works just yet. We are going to stick with what we have until we get our numbers up from the Corona Virus.”

Fortunately, LCCC was one of the few colleges that was able to bounce back quickly and bring the sports programs back, according to Powers.

“Recruitment is always at the top of our minds, and we are doing everything we can to bring in athletes to LCCC,” Powers said, noting he and his team are trying to find new ways for recruitment, whether it be getting involved with local high school athletic directors, going to high school events, or even hosting sports camps at the college.

Powers, who graduated with his Bachelor of Science in Recreation Education from The Ohio State University and also graduated from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania with a Master of Education in Physical Education Administration.

Participating in college-level sports offers many benefits and advantages.

College sports provide opportunities to compete, succeed and learn at a higher level of play. Even though LCCC competes at the Division=3 level, Powers believes playing a sport while attending LCCC is a must.

“Here at LCCC, playing a sport will benefit you (students) in the long run,” Powers said. “It’s a great added value to yourself and your resume, and we have a great reputation as a college.”

To learn more about the sport or club activities, contact Powers at 440-366-7662.

Grappling with school post Columbine

Features, Top Stories

Destiny Torres
Executive Director

Generation Z have never known a world without the fear and anxieties of a shooting happening at their school. They were born into an era shaped by Columbine and Sandy Hook, and have grown up wincing at loud noises in the halls and practicing active shooter drills.

“No one should have to worry”

“I remember doing drills in the third grade,” Said Savannah Holder. “My teacher told us ‘Alright guys, get into your hiding space’ and I hid behind her desk. No kid should have to worry about that.”

A school shooter drill takes place at Amherst middle School. Drills like these have become common place to practice in preparation for a threat. (Lauren Hoffman|The Collegian

They are all too familiar with the stinging pain as another school shooting is announced in the news and are used to the debates of gun control that follow. In the past decade alone there has been roughly fifteen mass school shootings that have taken the lives of innocent students and teachers.

“The first big school shooting I remember hearing about was in Parkland,” Said Hannah Liddy, referencing the shooting that took the lives of seventeen students and teachers in Florida in 2018. “My school had a walkout in support of gun control.”

Inducing anxiety

According to The American Psychological Association, 90% of Generation Z have experienced some form of anxiety in their lifetime and for some that has been because of the attacks in schools.

“After the Parkland shooting, I was afraid of going to school,” Said Liddy. “I remember a chip bag popped in the lunchroom and everyone freaked out. We were all terrified we were next.”

Facing reality

For some students, the terrors of school shootings are more than a fear but almost a reality.

“There was a real threat my senior year,” Said Kieira White. “My best friend and I were walking in the hall after school and were dragged into a classroom by a teacher. No one told us what was going on, I thought we were going to die.”

According to White, the threat was a false alarm but she still remembers the fear she felt as she held her best friend in that dark classroom.

“Whenever I’m in a room on campus, I make sure I know where each and every exit is,” said Holder. “So that I know exactly where the attacker can come in and where I can get out. That is the sad reality of our lives.”

Taking its toll

The everyday threat of going to school has even taken its toll on future teachers. Xander Taylor, an education major at LCCC, says that school threats are becoming a hardship in his career choice.

“I am afraid it’s going to get to the point with us talking about these events that paranoia is going to take over,” he said. Taylor fears that soon homeschooling will become more prevalent as a way to avoid these shootings. “These shootings are going to put a damper on my career and although I am not a teacher yet, I am already worried about my future students.”

“Not enough”

As for some of Generation Z, they feel as if America is not doing enough to keep them safe in their schools.

“I get that the Second Amendment is a thing,” said Liddy, “But when that was made, they didn’t have automatic assault rifles. They didn’t have to fear that one day someone would finally snap and that would be the end.”

“These drills are so common place and its ridiculous,” said Taylor. “No one should have to worry about sending their kid to elementary school and be afraid they will get shot. It’s terrifying.”

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Music for the troubled mind

Features

Caitlyn Ujvari
JRNM 151

Meyers, standing, conducts his jazz band students during practice at LCCC. (Caitlyn Ujvari|The Collegian)

Listening to music is one thing most college students can bond over.

However, students may be unaware of the several benefits of including music into their curriculum, especially at a young age.

“I don’t know so much about this age, but I know fifth-graders are better readers, better at math,” said Jeffrey Meyers, jazz band instructor at Lorain County Community College.

An introduction to music at a young age helps people to support their left-to-right reading development, as well as helping in math when they have to break down notes and rhythms.

Students learn the value of sustained effort to achieve excellence and the concrete rewards of hard work throughout music study, according to an article written by Carolyn Phillips, former executive director of the Norwalk Youth Symphony, Connecticut.

Phillips added that students involved in music education also earn higher grades in school and perform better on standardized testing.

Music students, on average, scored about 31 points higher than average in reading, 23 points higher than average in math, and another 31 points higher than average in writing, according to several studies conducted on the topic.

“Music comprehension is extremely important, even at a young age and can lead to much more,” says Meyers. Music also evokes feelings and emotions, whether that be positive or negative, and involving oneself in music classes also produces that same effect.

“If I have a crappy day at work, the first thing I do is get my horn out,” said Meyers. For him, among many other instrumentalists, music offers an outlet for stress. There is also the excitement of hearing certain famous composers and being able to play difficult passages or pieces.

According to former music student, Landen Maderia, “I noticed I felt a lot better when I was in band. I loved making music of course, but I also loved being with my friends.”

“There’s a social aspect, being a part of a team, and paying attention to detail,” said Meyers, “You can do this for the rest of your life.”

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The troubles with Thanksgiving prices

News

Gregory Visnyai
A Correspondent

You can expect to pay more this Thanksgiving for food—turkey in particular—as the price for fresh, boneless, skinless turkey breast has risen from last year’s price of $3.16 per pound to $6.70 per pound this year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The price increase, according to fb.com, is due to the bird flu as well as inflation in general. Not only Turkey prices have risen, but other retail foods as well have seen an 11.4% increase in price in August.

Rising Prices

Bennett Sulen, a student at LCCC studying communications, said that he hasn’t noticed the higher price for turkey yet. “But I do know that like a lot of like goods around Thanksgiving are definitely inflated…I can imagine it’s probably gone up just based on how much everything else has,” said Sulen.

For himself, Sulen said the price increase won’t affect him; yet, he said, “If I was in a situation where I was like literally on my own, and not really celebrating with my family, or if I was in charge of like cooking for a large group of people, I would probably get a different type of bird.”

Money squeeze

Reegan Anthony, a student at LCCC pursuing an Associate of Arts degree with a focus on social work, said that she has heard about the increased price.

She too said that the higher price won’t affect her personally, but she said, “If it were me doing it, it probably would change things.”

When thinking about how it will affect other people, Anthony said, “I think it can make it harder for people who have to do more budgeting, as far as Thanksgiving, because if you’re spending more money on one thing, you know, you have less to spend on another.”

“More expensive this year”

“You can find a butterball turkey still at a reasonable, budget-friendly price…if you wanted to buy organic—you know, heirloom breeds—it’s going to be more expensive this year,” said Bradley Ball, culinary program chef at LCCC.

Every time Ball goes shopping for food, he has felt the effect of the higher prices and said, “I see it every day…and it’s more money.”

Bigger struggle

Yet, Ball said that his culinary experience has helped him absorb the price and make every dollar go further. For other people, Ball said that people “…that already struggle with food insecurity are going to have a harder time. Like, the people that have a hard time are going to have a harder time.”

Turkey alternatives that are still appropriate for Thanksgiving he suggested were Cornish hens, ham, and the vegetarian option of a stuffed, whole-roasted pumpkin. “Thanksgiving is really about the sides, so you can skip the turkey all together and just have more sides,” said Ball.

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Dreaming Big post college: college students talk about their ambitions

Features

The Collegian Staff

Ambition. The word strikes up images of runners, teachers, soldiers and politicians, but one of the most ambitious groups on the planet is a culmination of all: students. Students, especially college and above, continuously push themselves in their everyday lives to be better, achieve their goals and ultimately cross that finish line of graduation.

None is more true than for the students of Lorain County Community College who continue to bring new insights and opportunities to the community and beyond. From the nursing program to the Star police academy, LCCC students have continued to push barriers and make history.

According to data collected by the college, nearly 52% of all students at LCCC enroll in the University Partnership program adding to the college’s goal of reaching 10,000 degrees by 2025. This push for graduation and degrees shows the ambition that many students have. But those are just the numbers, what about the students?

Mary Abfall, a first-year nursing student in LCCC’s program, had always dreamed of becoming a nurse. “I knew when I was little that I wanted to be a nurse, but life had other plans for me first.” Choosing what she deems, a “fun career” first, Abfall went into the airline industry traveling the world, but still something felt like it was missing.

“While in the career, I started a family and that kind of pushed the dream a bit farther away, but I knew I would eventually need to be making more money so I didn’t let go of it,” she says.

During the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Abfall saw firsthand the need for nurses. Working as an aide in the hospitals she recalls not being able to do much, despite seeing the desperate help they needed. “I didn’t like just sitting around, I knew I needed to do much more and so I kind of just jumped right in,” she says.

Now in her first round of clinicals this year, Abfall says the experience has been very rewarding. “I found that window of opportunity with my two daughters in high school and son in middle and knew I was ready,” she says. “It was just perfect timing.”

Abfall admits that while she has younger students in her class, she is admired for their persistence. “I don’t think I could have done this when I was 18,” she laughs. “The program is rigorous and I’m not stopping but to see these younger adults also pushing through right by me, it’s amazing.”

Abfall isn’t the only student with high ambitions at LCCC, or the country. On average 1/4 of all college students who begin at a community college go on to a four year institution with 60% of those graduating with their bachelor’s degree or higher.

Ambitious people are always striving to be more and more successful which often pushes them to work harder and be better. “On average, ambitious people attain higher levels of education and income, build more prestigious careers, and report higher overall levels of life satisfaction,” says Neel Burton, psychiatrist and author of “Heaven and Hell: The Psychology of the Emotions.” “Many of man’s greatest achievements are the products, or accidents, of their ambition.”

But what drives ambition? Well according to Burton, it tends to run in the family. “My parents were very ambitious at my age and so I knew I had to be as well and it all fell into place,” says Nasahlie Nieves, a member of the student senate.

Other factors that push ambition include birth order, ego driven, insecurity, self confidence, desire to be worthy and prove others wrong. And the hard work, even at community colleges, pays off. According to Ramseysolutions.com, “85% of millionaires in the United States graduated from college with 62% of that attending public schools including community colleges.”

“I want to prove myself and never give up,” says Alexander Ramirez, a hopeful fashion designer. “ I want to achieve my goal to be successful.”

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How Covid-19 has changed Thanksgiving

News

Hayden Lowstetter
Staff Writer

Ever since Covid-19 left its impact on the world there has been a disconnect on the connection between families. The pandemic has uniquely affected children and families by disrupting daily routines.

These routines can be anything from school, being at work and even just everyday life. The changes have been so severe because the isolation period called for an absence from these routines.

The isolation period meant for school and work to be immediately postponed, but at the same time and most importantly among all other things the relationships you held were postponed as well. Just as the things people were doing on a daily basis were changing, naturally people and yearly routines did too.

One of the biggest holidays to have changed this due to the pandemic is that of Thanksgiving. The holiday, which is centered on coming together, took a massive hit for many from isolation to rising prices.

“Everyone was put inside and couldn’t interact which made holidays much harder for us,” says Lorain County Community College student Abe Elkammaty. “I mean we normally had small get-togethers, but it was still a struggle.”

Now in 2022, Halloween is in the past and the holidays are right around the corner once more. Though Covid-19 is mostly behind us it still has left its presence known going into these holidays. The holidays are a time viewed as spending with your loved ones, but for some those times just aren’t what they used to be.

According to Cathy Shaw from LCCC’s Advocacy Resource Center or ARC, “Despite the pandemic being over, many still struggle to come back together. Thankfully we weren’t affected too much.”

What made a difference for Shaw that led to Thanksgiving being able to still happen, is the idea of social bubbles. During the pandemic, many people started to band together in small groups. “My bubble was a few family members and then some neighbors, we did social distance, but I still got to see them which was really nice,” Shaw says.

Still while coming together wasn’t an issue for Shaw, isolation for many others added to the stress and depression. According to the World Health Organization, the world saw a 25% increase in depression cases during the first year of the pandemic, a number that has continued to grow since then.

“A lot of people lost their jobs or cut hours which led to many having to simplify Thanksgiving or cancel all together,” says Shaw. “That’s why LCCC decided to partner with Second Harvest for the mobile Thanksgiving Pantry.”

Though times have changed, they can certainly be changed again.

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Meet the women athletes of LCCC

Sports

Jaidan Comer
JRNM 151

Women’s opportunities in predominantly men’s activities have always been a heated topic, especially among citizens in America. These wide arrays of topics can include having a job or the right to vote, or it can even be as simple as wanting to play a sport.

It was just 50 years ago, in 1972 the government passed the Civil Rights law “Title IX,” which granted access for women across the country to play sports or pursue education without sexual discrimination.

This law opened up opportunities for women to make their sports activity into a career, no matter if they wanted to play the sport like Serena Williams or coach the sport like Cheryl Reeves.

Jim Powers, who coaches Cross Country at Lorain County Community College, was instrumental in creating a few female stars himself. He started coaching for LCCC in 2009. Since then, he has helped train two all-American runners, Hannah Cook and Gabrielle Post, and has led multiple successful cross country teams.

When asked if it’s harder to recruit women in sports, he said “it’s more difficult because we weren’t sure how many were coming out compared to the men’s.” This in turn would make it more of a challenge to pick up female athletes to fill an entire team at LCCC.

According to Women Sports Foundation in America, “before Title IX one in 27 women played sports.” Today that number is two in five.

Powers said that LCCC’s numbers for female athletes haven’t struggled, but have stayed the same. “We been able to maintain our sports room that we normally offer but we haven’t been able to bring in any new ones, so it’s pretty much the same.”

But if there is one sport that has had a yearly steady increase for women’s participation in high school, it’s volleyball. According to (NFHS), “In 1971 there was 17,952 participants, a number that’s grown to 452,808 in 2018.”

Powers agreed. “I would say volleyball definitely sees the most because the pipeline is so structured.” When asked about being a coach for women’s cross country, he explained, “It is fun developing the chemistry with each player and it’s essential because you’re traveling, eating and going on overnight trips together.”

He also reiterated that developing chemistry with players on the college level is different because of the work that needs to be done in a short period of time compared to high school.

Powers also said that he’s happy that in the major leagues there’s “more women assistant coaches and officials, but it needs to be normalized.” Still, as Powers and his staff continue to help female students become more prominent in sports, He is hoping that as times change more “options and avenues for women to continue participation in athletics.”

As more women are participating in sports at LCCC, Powers said there are a few challenges they face compared to men. This involves a certain attitude from society toward women that pressures females to stop playing sports at an older age for family, compared to the men where it’s encouraged by society.

“That’s the biggest hurdle,” said Powers, “If a woman really wants to keep playing a sport, she should have the same opportunities as the boys have.”

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