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Kaedon Smith began attending Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ in the Fall of 2021 and graduated in August 2023 with an Associate of Arts in Criminal Justice. While at Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­, Kaedon was involved in a variety of extracurricular activities, such as the City of Waco’s- Police Law Enforcement Explorers Program, City of Waco’s Police Victim Services Volunteer Crisis Interventionist, and Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­’s The Stone Circle magazine, where he was awarded second place in visual arts photography for the 2021-2022 edition.

Kaedon spoke about his motivation to attend Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­, “Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ provided me with a great entry-point into higher education with a department that had fantastic faculty. It was also affordable, allowing me to complete my associates degree debt-free.” He spoke about what he enjoyed about the campus community saying, “I appreciated my professors allowing me to be on-call for crisis intervention services in McLennan County through the Waco PD Victim Services program while in class. They understood that when I got a call, I would need to respond. They not only allowed this but encouraged it!,” Kaedon said.

Kaedon’s advice for current students is to fully engage in all the opportunities that Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ provides, prioritize an active lifestyle, and embrace criticism. Kaedon said, “If someone talks you down or if life throws you stones, accept it as a challenge and confront it with everything you have—you only have one life.” Kaedon spoke briefly about how he was prepared for the next step in his educational journey, “Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ prepared me for TCU by showing me I  can accomplish educational goals and objectives.”

Today Kaedon is enrolled at Texas Christian University, where he is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice. “I plan to enter into my long-term career with the heart to serve others, either in law enforcement, emergency medicine, or victim services,” Kaedon said.

Sabrina Moore began taking classes at Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ during her junior year at Waco High School. After leaving high school and earning her GED, Sabrina was searching for an inexpensive, accessible way to continue her education.

“Because of its affordability, scheduling flexibility, and supportive community, Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ made it possible for me to stay on track toward earning my degree, even with major challenges in my life.”

Sabrina enjoyed the small class sizes, high level academics, and the practical, hands-on opportunities Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ provided.

“One of the things that always stood out to me was the dedicated faculty who genuinely wanted to see students succeed. The support and guidance I received at Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ gave me the foundation I needed to complete my Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics.”

Today, Sabrina serves as the Senior Fiduciary Advisor at Disciplined Investors, working directly with clients to help them prepare a successful financial future and also serves on the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ Foundation Board of Directors.