News

FRCC Student a ‘Rising Star’

By Rhema Muncy
Longmont FYI
May 28, 2007

LONGMONT — At the front desk of the administration building of Front Range Community College, Andrea Bridges greets harried visitors with a smile.

As students rush in with registration questions, she keeps her cool and guides each student or parent through the tricky process of applying for college admission and funds.

Even when she is off work and studying in the computer labs, students ask her for registration help.

“They remember me as the face of Front Range Community College,” said Bridges, 27.

Over the past two years, this single mother and first-generation, full-time college student progressed from taking basic college classes to serving as the president of the Phi Kappa Theta honor society. She also works as an administrative assistant for the admissions and records department.

“Andrea is very reliable and efficient,” said supervisor Janet Duff, who has worked with Bridges throughout her college career. “I am going to hate losing her when she graduates (next year).”

A Longmont native, Bridges returned home after graduating from high school in Kentucky, where her family relocated to when she was 13. She came back to Colorado at age 18 to get away from small-town life. But when she found herself at Front Range, it was the small-community feeling of the school that made her feel right at home.

She worked many jobs, but after a high-risk pregnancy at age 23 put her on bed rest for one year, Bridges decided she wanted to go back to school. She was encouraged to do so by Lisa Waugh and Tenney Thomas, the two nurses from Nurse Family Partnership who took care of her during the pregnancy.

She hopes to earn an accounting degree from Regis University and to help her 3-year-old daughter, Lillian, be successful.

“Everything I try to do here, I want to show (her) that she can do that and more,” Bridges said.

This spring, she was awarded the Rising Star award from the Colorado Student Advisory Council, which honors Colorado community college students who exhibit high levels of leadership and bring their campuses together to make a difference in public service.

Bridges has been involved in several community projects at the school. Last fall, she initiated a campaign to write letters to soldiers. The school took on 40 overseas soldiers originally from Colorado. FRCC students drew names of soldiers and then sent them each a message.

She also organized the annual holiday tree program, an event in which students donate gifts to four families.

“Every child got everything on their wish list, and there was enough money left over to buy several small gifts for the parents,” Bridges said. “You can’t change anything if you aren’t involved.”