Kelvin Dagadu

Kelvin Dagadu was planning to attend UMBC after high school, but because of COVID-19 and financial challenges, he and his family decided that CCBC was the better option for him to save money while getting his Associate of Science degree in Engineering. Dagadu was already familiar with CCBC because he enrolled in English 101 during his last semester of high school. “It only cost me about a hundred dollars,” he said. “And the class gave me the experience of a college-level class and the expectations of coursework that was different from high school.”

Since then, he has found the education at CCBC to be rigorous and similar to what students receive at other universities. (He and his friends at different universities compare notes and have similar engineering course materials and lab requirements.) At CCBC, Dagadu has different professors with different styles of teaching. He appreciates how they care about their students personally and occasionally ask how students are doing and how their classes are going.

In-person classes at the CCBC Catonsville work best for Dagadu, who chose to major in engineering because he is interested in the architecture and engineering fields. While researching his career path, he decided to pursue civil engineering.

The low tuition and flexibility of courses at CCBC were also deciding factors. “I think that the affordability at CCBC is a wonderful opportunity that high school graduates can take advantage of when they do not have the resources to attend a four-year college.” Dagadu benefitted from the Baltimore County Promise Scholarship, which helped him attend CCBC at a very low cost or for free some semesters. “I have received a scholarship for at least every semester here at CCBC, and this has helped me focus on my classes and not worry about my tuition or work more hours to cover my tuition.

I received the Middle River Aerostructure Systems Engineering Scholarship, which covers my tuition for this academic year. I am very grateful for this opportunity.

The best thing about CCBC for Dagadu is the sense of belonging and forming friend groups that help him through his educational journey. He meets many of those friends in the different organizations and activities he is involved in on campus. Originally from Accra, Ghana, Dagadu is involved in the International Club and is the social media manager for the African Student Union. He is also vice president of the Photography Club, a member of the Male Student Success Initiative, Honors program, Student Ambassador and the public relations officer of the Esports Club.

“CCBC clubs have helped me cope with stress as a student by being able to participate in activities other than classwork, build my soft skills and interact with the other members in the club.”

The clubs have helped him build connections and relationships with professors and other students. Being involved on campus has also made it easier for him to benefit from the different field trips, activities and resources at CCBC, like the food lockers, tutoring and athletics facilities. He says, “CCBC can turn out to be the best choice to start your career or certification when you make use of the resources available to you.”

Dagadu can clearly see the value of receiving his associate degree before transferring those credits to a Maryland college that may even offer guaranteed admissions. With an associate degree, students like him also have the option to go into the workforce if needed. Dagadu said, “My plan after graduating at CCBC is to transfer to either Morgan State University or University of Maryland to study civil engineering.”