Barbara George, Ed.D.
Executive Director, Institutional Advancement
“The future will belong to
those who believe in
the beauty of their dreams”
Friends,
California’s Community Colleges are designed to fulfill the goal of open access to higher education and to open doors to opportunity. The California Community College system is the largest institution of higher education in the world. It has become the linchpin for more equal participation in the educational and economic dreams of its richly diverse residents.
Bringing dreams to life is what we do at Cuesta College. It began more than four decades ago when our founders dreamed of a place that would be an important local community resource, an intellectual and cultural center, the college of choice for those who want to transfer to universities, a hub of professional opportunity for those seeking training to take their place in the workforce, and the home of lifelong learning, recreation and enrichment.
Cuesta College is a reflection of the community, created by and responsive to community needs. This partnership is the thread woven throughout our history. Together we have created this place of dreams, and together we work hard to bring these dreams to life for all who come through our doors.
Bringing dreams to life is the trademark of the Cuesta College Foundation and its Board of Directors who have raised millions of dollars to help students and educational programs, to build a scholarship program, and to support student services. Together with a compassionate community of donors, we have helped to equip classrooms, to provide important acquisitions for our libraries, to improve laboratory settings and to provide leading-edge technology. We have helped to create a new campus and new opportunities for thousands of people.
I am humbled by what this board has accomplished, by its devoted service to our students, and by its abiding friendship to me and to this college. I am humbled by the years of volunteering and giving by thousands of people in a caring San Luis Obispo County community. I tip my hat to each of you for your vision and for your enthusiastic willingness to help again and again.
My tenure at Cuesta College has taught me much about the nature of relationships and how good ones combine to bring impossible dreams to life. This is a principle that I will take with me as I begin retirement in a few days. It is part of the reflection that comes naturally with leaving. I know that anything I accomplished here was only possible because of the people--people with imagination, passion, a can-do attitude and deep commitment. Our faculty, staff and administrators, our Board of Trustees and the Foundation Board of Directors, our many volunteers and our incredible community of philanthropists are both the foundation and the future of Cuesta College.
In closing, I will paraphrase the late Senator Paul Wellstone. The future does not belong to those who are content with the present. It will belong to those who have passion, and to those who are willing to make the personal commitment to make our college better. The future will belong to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.