Why a Sauk education?

By Dave Hellmich

Students of all ages from across the Sauk Valley have all sorts of reasons for coming to Sauk Valley Community College.  Some have clear career goals and know classes at Sauk will prepare them to achieve these goals or will prepare them to transfer to a four-year college where they can get advanced career training.  Others are unsure of their career path and hope to gain insights while taking various introductory courses.  Still others see college as “the thing to do” at this point in their lives and hope it will lead somewhere good at some time.

SVCC’s faculty and staff are dedicated experts who take great pride in assisting students in their career exploration and preparation, and Sauk has a wonderful track record of success in preparing students to meet their career goals.

As importance as career preparation is at Sauk, there is something even more important.

Nearly every chance I get to talk with students (teaching a leadership class to Academy students or leading a student discussion during Pizza with the Pres, for example) I emphasize the importance of everyone one of us . . .  students, faculty, and staff . . . being an informed ethical citizen.  

I was in grade school during the turbulent years of the late 1960’s.  I was in high school during President Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal and his resignation from office.  I was the parent of young children when on 9/11 (Tuesday, September 11, 2001) I told my daughters in a quivering voice that something horrible had taken place in our country.  I was the parent of adult children when on 1/6 (Wednesday, January 6, 2021) my daughters and I watched in horror, commenting to each other in quivering voices, as a different something horrible took place in our country.

I am concerned something much more horrible is on the horizon for our country, something that a Sauk education can help us avoid.

This country is the most divided it has been since our Civil War 160 years ago.  Extreme voices and both ends of the political spectrum dominate the news and social media and drown out the tempered voices of informed ethical citizens.  We all have the responsibility to use the critical thinking skills taught throughout Sauk’s curriculum to help this country blunt extremism, find common ground, and build bridges to the future.  We all have the responsibility to hold true to Sauk’s ethical values of respecting the worth and dignity of all people; standing for integrity and fairness; and encouraging responsibility, accountability, and persistence in a caring, supportive environment.

When we encounter hateful rhetoric, when we hear people spreading falsehoods and partial truths, we have the ability to use our critical thinking skills to understand this rhetoric and these falsehoods for what they are and we have the responsibility to call out that this rhetoric and these falsehoods undermine integrity and fairness.

I would be beyond naïve to believe the students, faculty, and staff of Sauk Valley Community College alone can save our country, but I know preparing students to be informed ethical citizens is Sauk’s most important purpose and believe we can help lead the way to a future where our country is united in our shared ethical values.