Join the Kirkwood Washington County Regional Center on January 16th, as they commemorate 10 years of educational excellence at the facility. Since opening its doors in August of 2014, WCRC has forged strong partnerships with seven area high schools, serving over 3,000 students who have collectively earned more than 42,000 college credit hours. Washington County Regional Center Director Tera Pickens reflects on the decade in their current facility, “You know it’s been such an amazing journey, and I would say it’s gone better than I expected. When I look at the program and services that we have and the opportunities that we provide for our residents and our students, it’s really just a satisfying thing. And what I love is that the college credit in high school programming that we have, levels the playing field for every single student in our county. It doesn’t matter how much money you have or if you are a first generation college student or not, if you know what you want to do, if you don’t know what you want to do. There are opportunities for every single student in our building, and these opportunities have been life-changing. I get to see firsthand that some of these students go on to do amazing things, and some of these students never thought they had the ability to enroll in college, and I remind them everyday you are in college right now.” In partnership with the Washington Chamber of Commerce, this Alive After Five event will bring together community leaders, Kirkwood staff, and stakeholders to reflect on the impact of WCRC and its role in advancing education in Washington County.