Texan Mosaic

by STACY JOHNSON//Editorial Assistant

The Student Life Center has a new director who plans to bridge the gap between community and community college.

Miranda English officially began her new role as director of student life on Sept. 11.

A Levelland native, English worked as an advisor at South Plains College for two years before becoming the director of student life. She fills a void created by the departure of Ann Epps during the summer.

English earned an associate degree from SPC before attending West Texas A&M University, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education.

“My favorite part of being an advisor has been to help a student that has fallen onto probation or suspension, and provide resources, and watch them come out of that, and watch them grow and understand that we all fall, but what really matters is how we rise,” English said.

She said she believes her previous job as resident coordinator at Portfolio Resident Services Inc. prepared her for her work at SPC. The nonprofit organization operates community centers. There, she ran a center that helped Levelland students prepare for college.

Though she is no longer an advisor, English expressed plans to work actively with the Advising Center to bring beneficial college preparation activities to students through the Student Life Center.

“We say we meet students where we’re at, and we have to do that literally as well,” she said.

“I’m hoping that I can pull that collaboration together so that we can bring advisors to meet students in the dorms for a workshop, or in the Student Life Center, so we can host some more of those events from this office,” she explained.

According to English, one of her primary goals is to hold more weekly activities and events on campus.

“We’re hoping to bring about some exciting things like art walks, and concerts, and things that we can get coming up on a regular basis,” she said.

Awareness and support of cultural diversity on campus is something that English expresses as an important goal, which she plans to make a reality.

“We’re hoping to expand and bring some activities that really help students immerse in activities that allow them to experience different cultures and come to understand a lot more cultural diversity,” she said.

English discussed upcoming plans for Student Life, including a Hurricane Harvey relief benefit concert.

“We just want to make sure that we’re providing exciting, safe, culturally diverse activities for students to be a part of,” said English. She emphasized the importance of student interaction and community involvement.

According to English, developing and maintaining a strong sense of community is central to the aim of Student Life.

“We want students that are living on and off campus to know that this is a community here, and we want them to interact not only with other students, but within the Levelland and Hockley County communities as well,” she said.

Another priority for Student Life will be showcasing the talents of SPC students within the larger community.

“We want to have the community exposed to what our students are doing here as well,” English said.

English expressed a desire to get students involved by supporting causes such as Child Abuse Awareness Month, back-to-school supply drives, and Hurricane Harvey relief efforts around town.

“Community is my favorite part about Levelland,” she said, “and we want to bring that back to South Plains College.”

[Photo by STACY JOHNSON/PLAINSMAN PRESS]