Durango Site on remote status Tuesday, Nov. 3. Mancos Campus open with regular classes. ... Learn More

Due to flooding, the PCC Durango Site will be on remote status Tuesday, Nov. 3. Mancos Campus will be open with regular classes. Don't travel if unsafe. Durango Site students should check D2L for specific class instructions.

Mancos Campus will be open: If you live in La Plata or Archuleta counties, you are not expected to come to the Mancos campus for either work or class even though the campus is open. You are encouraged to attend remotely, if possible. You will not be penalized when travel is potentially unsafe.

Durango Site remote status day: Classes will be held remotely. Classes that cannot be held remotely are canceled. Student services are offered remotely where possible. On-site services are closed.

  • Students: Do not report to campus. Check MyCourses (D2L) prior to scheduled class times. Attend classes remotely at the regularly scheduled time. Lab or studio material may be offered online or canceled and made up at a later date. Internships and clinicals may be required to report; check with the instructor, clinical coordinator or field work supervisor.
  • Faculty and instructors: Do not report to campus. Instructors will teach class from home or offer content asynchronously. Classes that cannot be taught remotely will be canceled and made up later. Direct supervisors will reach out to their staff.
  • Staff: Do not report to campus. Work remotely as directed by supervisors. Essential staff will report as directed by their supervisor. Admin leave may apply if job duties must be performed on campus and the employee cannot work.


For further information go to: www.pueblocc.edu/weather

Paul Link

“I like to tell people that PCC has given me two second chances,”

Paul Link
AM
By: Amy Matthew

Paul Link
First-generation student
Psychology program, Fremont Campus

“I like to tell people that PCC has given me two second chances,” said Paul Link.

The first came when he was a senior at Cañon City High School. He loved learning, but didn’t do well in that environment. Faced with the prospect of needing extra time to meet his graduation requirements, Link switched to PCC’s alternative high school diploma program and managed to graduate on time in 2009.

He tried to start college classes right after graduation but didn’t know what he wanted to do, so he spent the next decade working and dealing with personal hurdles.

“I was blessed with a great family who would do anything for me, but I (always) needed to find a rush,” he said. “I got mixed up with a dangerous group and was going down a bad path. There was a lot of violent trauma, an addiction problem, and mental health issues.

“The addiction and the situations I found myself in only exacerbated (my) panic disorder and led to two extreme depressive episodes. I was practically paralyzed and couldn’t leave the house from roughly 27 to 30 years old,” Link said. “I did seek out help and it took roughly two years to get back into a place where I could go out and start making myself proud by meeting myself where I was and making small steps.”

Through those challenges, he recognized what inspired him: people and psychology. Once that realization came, Link decided to go back to PCC – the first in his family to attend college.

“When I got (there), I was met with the friendliest staff and they made me feel comfortable right away,” he said. “The low cost and guaranteed transfer to many different four-year universities made it a no-brainer for me.”

The transition wasn’t ideal.

“I felt pretty lost and overwhelmed during my first semester and a half,” he said. “But the teachers here are great and will go above and beyond to make sure you succeed. That was the most helpful thing for me. My focus was to better myself by pushing myself and not self-sabotaging like I had been for most of my life.”

As he worked to mitigate a fear of public speaking, opportunities for campus involvement proved helpful. He’s now the vice president of Associated Student Government and a work-study at the front desk.

Link will graduate in May with his psychology degree and plans to transfer to UCCS next fall. He’s interested in pursuing social psychology or criminology.

“I want to learn as much as I can about what drives people and help in whatever capacity I’d be best suited for, and PCC set me up for success,” he said. “The rest is up to me.”

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