President Paul Sechrist recently told a class of students, “Oklahoma City Community College is one of the largest single campus community colleges in the na­tion.” Statistics show he’s right. OCCC is one of 992 public community colleges across the U.S.

According to community­collegereview.com, OCCC’s student headcount averages around 14,000, with 36 percent enrolled as full-time students and 64 percent as part-time students. The national average is around 1,300 students, 45 percent of them full-time and 55 percent part-time.

OCCC has one of the best Emergency Medi­cal Science departments in the state, said Zach Davis, who graduated from the program in December as a paramedic.

He said those interested in becoming a fire­fighter, paramedic, or anything else in the EMS field should look into the program.

Davis said the training was “very good.” Although he did not have a job in the EMS field prior to graduation, he now works for an ambulance service.

It has been shown time and time again that the human capacity for compassion can — even in times of extreme duress — save a life, said Janey Wheeler in a suicide preven­tion and awareness workshop on campus Feb.19.

Wheeler is a licensed mental health counselor on campus. She spoke to about 20 people.

Wheeler outlined the QPR strategy in helping someone who voices thoughts of suicide or speaks of hopelessness that might indicate life is not worth living. QPR stands for Ques­tion, Persuade, Refer.

Wheeler said people some­times avoid questioning some­one who might be having trouble for fear of saying the wrong thing or not knowing what to say.

President Paul Sechrist brought two of his most prized possessions, books signed by Dr. Maya Angelou, to a tribute event in the poet’s honor on campus March 6.

Sechrist opened the event, sharing his personal experi­ence with Angelou.

He said he was was among a group of about 25 students who attended a class taught by Angelou at the University of Oklahoma.