Like many Austin Community College students, Vivian Butler attended the college as a stepping stone in her college career before transferring to Texas State University in spring 2009.
Butler graduated with a Bachelors degree from Texas State University on Dec. 4 with a major in psychology and a minor in forensic psychology after attending ACC from Fall 2007 through Fall 2008.
"I always knew I wanted to go to Texas State because it's close to home but far enough away to be on my own, San Marcos is the perfect place because it is a college town where you get a full on college experience," Butler said.
Butler focused on taking general studies courses at ACC before transferring to Texas State University.
"I went to ACC to take my basics to transfer to a university," Butler said. "It prepared me for attending Texas State, helped me figure out what college was ‘all about' and how much studying, time and effort would be needed to succeed."
As an Austin native, Butler chose to attend ACC after graduating from Bowie High School in May 2007 because she was not ready to choose what major she wanted to declare.
At ACC, Butler was given the opportunity to complete her core curriculum classes while discovering which career path she wanted to take by taking various electives.
One of those electives did eventually help Butler discover her interest in the major she has now from Texas State University.
After attending one of Adjunct Professor Elizabeth Baldwin's psychology class during her tenure at ACC, Butler says "her class motivated me to pursue my current major in psychology."
In addition to discovering her college major at ACC, Butler also met other professors who made an impact on her college path.
"Julie Kleinhans-Urrutia was my Spanish I professor," Butler said. "Spanish has never been my forte but she was a wonderful professor who was passionate about teaching us Spanish. She made Spanish ‘fun.'"
After attending ACC, Butler highly recommends that students in her situation, who don't know what major to declare and are not ready for the full fledged college experience at a four-year university, follow in her footsteps and take core curriculum classes at ACC.
"I think ACC is a great school especially for taking basic courses," Butler said. "It helped a lot because ACC helped me prepare for Texas State plus saved a ton of money on my basics."
Lower tuition rates were also one of the biggest draws for Butler's decision to attend ACC. A three-hour course plus fees at Texas State University currently costs $ 1,149. Compared to ACC's current tuition and fees for a similar course is $204. That's a difference of $945.
One word of advice Butler shares with current and future ACC students is to be careful about which courses they choose to enroll in.
"If you intend to transfer to a university you need to make sure what you are taking transfers," Butler said. "And take every class seriously because you are paying for an education."
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