Growing up and attending private schools on a scholarship for low-income students has provided me with an amazing education. Many students in my high school were academically and socioeconomically blessed and college was a big focus of our high school.

Colleges visiting the schools often, college tours encouraged, and at least a few Ivy League school acceptances from each graduating class. For those of us not as socioeconomically fortunate, local community colleges and state schools like Valencia are good alternatives.

But at larger schools like UCF, there is a stigma around community colleges. It's thought to be the easy way out of applying to schools with lower acceptance rates. In reality, some people just cannot afford this type of education.

Additionally, many professors at Valencia double as professors at UCF. So, this idea that the professors at Valencia are less equipped to teach well is hypocritical and invalid. Graduating from Valencia in December 2018 with my Associate of Arts has made me realize that I really enjoy small class sizes. All of this for about half of the price of UCF.

UCF has extremely large lecture halls. With the second largest student population of any university in the United States, UCF definitely has its cons, too.

This article is not being written to bash one school over the other. I want people, especially more affluent people, to take into account that community colleges are a way for low-income students to lift themselves out of poverty. A guaranteed admission low-cost school creates a new world of opportunities for advancement in the workplace.

Community colleges are just as reputable as State schools like UCF, FSU, and USF.

Because of the stigma around Valencia, I have felt embarrassed to talk about my classes or school to friends, family, and employers.

People have told me things like, "well it's a good place to start I guess," or "you gotta start somewhere!"

This obviously heavily implies that Valencia should never be the end-all for education. People tend to forget that these schools offer four-year degrees that offer just as many, if not more, opportunities for academic growth.

For potential employers reading this article:

Please do not discriminate against somebody based on which school they went to! While academic performance is a big indicator of performance in a work environment, a job applicant shouldn't be disqualified from the application process because their academic history isn't filled with ivy league schools.

I know a handful of students from my community college experience that were just there for a simple degree. They had the "Cs get degrees" type of mentality. A vast majority of the students at Valencia are incredibly driven students working on their way to UCF.

In the coming years, Orlando residents will be seeing a larger partnership with UCF and Valencia. I believe that people will start thinking of these two schools as two parts of a whole instead of competition. I hope you, my reader, are part of this change!