“We kind of get lost in the shuffle, and there are a lot of people that do not know we are here,” said Emmitt Carter, assistant dean of student success at LSC-Creekside Center. “We want the community to know we are here for them and we have resources for them.”
The LSC-Creekside Center opened in 2016 and is renovating as it prepares to launch several new programs to reintroduce the facility.
Among the changes available on the campus is a grab-and-go station with free snacks and toiletries. Carter said the station was added in May, and it is there to help students and community members.
Along with existing Associate of Arts and Science degrees as well as workforce, business administration and English Speakers of Other Languages programs, the LSC-Creekside Center is adding a dental assistant program this fall and expanding its library services as part of the Harris County Public Library network.
“I just confirmed that on Dec. 7, we are bringing back Santa for our children’s resource library,” Carter said. “With COVID[-19], it has been a long time since they have been able to have that event. It helps bring back a sense of normalcy.”
As of June 22, the event space for the library had begun renovations in preparation for the grand reopening date.Carter said the dental assistant program is being added due to the high demand from the surrounding community. The college’s technology systems are also being revamped to include education on virtual reality, and the center has seen an increased demand for the ESOL program, Carter said.
“We just want to provide a service for anyone who needs assistance in getting over that hump with their career or if they want a program that gets them into the workforce upon graduation,” Carter said.
When the coronavirus pandemic started, LSCS shifted to a hybrid model of in-person and virtual classes. Going virtual had been a detriment to the center, Carter said.
“Our biggest thing is to create an extraordinary experience for students and community members,” he said. “Sometimes virtual things are good to meet needs, but it does not fulfill the full [needs] of a student.”
LSC-Creekside Center’s grand reopening is anticipated to be the first in a series of annual community-based events, he said.
“We want to ... kick off in the community to continue to service the community,” Carter said. “New things come every year, and as things come available, we want the community to stay abreast.”
