CCBC Alumnus, General Studies '21
Dev, a First Year Experience Mentor, earned his associate degree in General Studies at CCBC before transferring to UMD.
Dev Patel had always planned to attend a four-year university after high school, but he had to regroup after his top pick deferred his application. While he had gotten accepted at other universities, he made the last-minute decision to enroll at budget-friendly CCBC in the fall of 2019 instead.
“I didn’t want to put my parents under financial stress trying to pay university tuition and fees when I could get a quality education at CCBC at a fraction of the cost,” said Patel, who is a Fast Start Scholarship recipient. “And CCBC has smaller classroom sizes, making the transition from high school to college almost effortless.”
Patel decided to major in General Studies so he could take time to find his passion. Because CCBC offers a flexible schedule, he was able to become involved in a variety of extracurricular activities on campus. He was an FYE (First-Year Experience) Mentor, a part of the Mellon Scholars Program, a team leader on the CCBC Essex Cross Country team and a CCBC Fresh Faces student ambassador.
“It’s really important to get involved because the more you do, the more opportunities you will create for yourself,” he said.
The more involved I got, the more friends I made, and CCBC slowly started to feel more like home.
As an FYE Mentor, Patel helped new students at CCBC with anything they needed – scholarship information, available resources or just someone to listen: “Being a mentor allows me to turn my mission statement of helping others into a reality.”
Patel said that one thing he loves about CCBC is that it offers so many resources, such as free tutoring for all classes and the Student Life Pantry, which helps students in need with grocery items.
After earning his associate degree at CCBC, Patel transferred to the University of Maryland to earn a Bachelor of Science in Finance.