Passion, Experience, Leadership

Monica Morrison didn’t always see herself as an educator. While she was in college, she had dreams of becoming a corporate trainer and traveling around the country working in big city high-rises with all of the other corporate suits. On the advice of her grandmother, Morrison took a few teaching and education classes, mostly to assure her grandmother that she had a fallback plan.

“I was certain grandma couldn’t see my vision. I’d never dreamed of teaching!” Morrison said. Now, more than 20 years later, she’s glad she followed her grandmother’s advice.

With a community college degree in business, marketing and management, a bachelor’s degree in social science and a master’s in psychology, Morrison has been every type of student. She’s taken courses on a traditional campus, online and even night classes. A veteran of the Navy, Morrison began her career in education as a secretary in the Federal TRIO Student Support Services before becoming a counselor, and ultimately a director, within 5 years. She was then asked to assume the role of assistant dean nearly 2 years later. Her stellar rise is a testament to her work ethic and her commitment to seeing her students, faculty and staff succeed.

As the new River Parishes Community College (RPCC) Reserve Campus Director, Morrison brings her passion for learning and sharing new and useful information to serve the faculty and students of her newfound home. Her experience gives her the ability to meet people from all walks of life and work with them to carve out a unique and specialized plan of action for their success.

“I believe that my greatest success comes if a person feels better in some small or large way after meeting me,” Morrison said.

RPCC has been instrumental in providing workforce development solutions and resources to help support the growth and retention of businesses in the region. They offer associate degrees, technical diplomas and certificates in thirteen technical programs across their campuses. Working with specific industry groups and individual companies in the region to clarify and provide their true workforce needs so they can educate and train their students, RPCC has developed a partnership with local industry where everybody wins.

With more than one hundred and fifty business and industry partners, RPCC is able to provide high-level guest speakers, scholarships, internships, customized contract training and other services that lead to students graduating and getting hired in their chosen fields. They also provide education and training processes and services to assist graduates with workforce preparation, entry, onboarding, advancement and overall success in their careers.

To many businesses and industries along the lower Mississippi River, RPCC has become an invaluable asset, providing an affordable but complete education that prepares graduates with the knowledge and hands-on training they need in order to be competitive in today’s highly skilled workforce.

“My highest priority is to serve our students in a manner that promotes personal excellence, helps them achieve the balance of well-honed technical training and business etiquette needed for workplace success, and to align their unique passions with successful graduation outcomes,” Morrison said.

And they don’t show any signs of slowing down. With a St. Charles Parish location slated to start accepting students in August of 2020, RPCC has a bright future that will continue to benefit local industry and the individual companies that they partner with. Their Process Equipment Trainer (PET Plant), which is due to be operational by the fall of 2020, will help provide the best plant operations, maintenance, and troubleshooting training available in the region. The future of RPCC will be characterized by a strong alignment with the needs and requirements of the workforce along the Mississippi River.

“We will be at the forefront of the practical application and training required to embrace the evolving needs of the region,” said Morrison.

Managing the complicated bureaucracy of a professional college that is constantly evolving to meet the changing needs of the industries, companies and students in the region is no small feat. It’s a job that requires passion and a commitment to meeting those needs, as well as the leadership skills that can only be gained from experience. Fortunately, Monica Morrison possesses all of these traits.

It seems that, yet again, grandma was right.