Amanda Covitt, second from left, teaches a physical therapy class at River Valley Community College in Claremont this month. Jill Godsoe of Merrimack is third from right in blue shirt.
Students Melanie Carignan of Claremont, Bowen Mather of Grafton and Kirkland Schramm of Claremont work at their desks during a functions and modeling mathematics class at River Valley Community College in Claremont .
Student Bowen Mather of Grafton, left speaks with mathematics professor Rich Andrusiak following class at River Valley Community College in Claremont. Their math class is one of many offered in hybrid format, with students participating in person or via Zoom.
Jill Godsoe of Merrimack, facing camera, works with fellow student Julia Dugas of Portsmouth in a physical therapy class at River Valley Community College this month. Many students commute significant distances to attend classes at the Claremont college.
Student Bowen Mather of Grafton listens to professor Rich Andrusiak in his mathematics class at River Valley Community College in Claremont this month.
Student Bowen Mather of Grafton, left speaks with mathematics professor Rich Andrusiak following class at River Valley Community College in Claremont. Their math class is one of many offered in hybrid format, with students participating in person or via Zoom.
Jill Godsoe of Merrimack, facing camera, works with fellow student Julia Dugas of Portsmouth in a physical therapy class at River Valley Community College this month. Many students commute significant distances to attend classes at the Claremont college.
Student Bowen Mather of Grafton listens to professor Rich Andrusiak in his mathematics class at River Valley Community College in Claremont this month.
CLAREMONT - One student resumed studying for a career she abandoned decades ago.
Others used the jolt of the pandemic to reassess what they wanted to do with their remaining working years.
And one hadn’t even graduated high school yet.
Seven students — ages 17 to 46 — shared how their career goals led them to attend college in a city on the Vermont border trying to reinvent itself.
Many students drive more than two hours round trip to attend classes at River Valley Community College in Claremont in a building with less square footage than some Market Basket supermarkets.
They are part of a trend of people who are starting careers or contemplating new ones taking a closer look at community colleges, which offer shorter career paths and lower tuition bills than traditional four-year schools.
Of New Hampshire’s seven community colleges, River Valley, north of downtown, on average had the oldest students as well as the highest percentage of women.
By one measure, 57% of River Valley’s students were at least 25 years old in fall 2021, compared with 2% of undergraduates at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, 3% at Plymouth State University and 1% at Dartmouth College, according to federal figures.
Three of every four River Valley students are female compared with 61% in the community college system.
Kelly Smith, of Northfield, Mass., takes notes in a pathology class at River Valley Community College in Claremont this month.
DAVID LANE/UNION LEADER
River Valley students range from just out of high school to age 65, “so it’s all over the place,” River Valley President Alfred Williams said during a recent interview.
About half the students are pursuing careers in health care, which traditionally attracts a higher percentage of women, officials said.
Statewide, women were hit harder by pandemic layoffs than men.
“The gender split during the pandemic was 60% female and 40% male, which is attributed to the industries most impacted during the pandemic being sectors with a majority of female workers, such as health care, retail and hospitality,” said Rich Lavers, deputy commissioner at New Hampshire Employment Security.
“In contrast, the gender breakdown was 60% male back during the Great Recession, as the impact was largely felt in construction and manufacturing,” Lavers said.
Students Melanie Carignan of Claremont, Bowen Mather of Grafton and Kirkland Schramm of Claremont work at their desks during a functions and modeling mathematics class at River Valley Community College in Claremont .
DAVID LANE/UNION LEADER
During the second half of 2022, those collecting unemployment were evenly split by gender, he said.
Enrollment at the state’s community colleges fell nearly 5% in 2021-2022, to 12,860 students, compared to two years earlier. River Valley bucked that trend, growing by 1% to 1,027 students, according to college system numbers.
Only students in credit-bearing associate degree and certificate courses were counted.
The seven colleges served around 21,000 students overall last year, including non-credit/business training center enrollment and high school students enrolled in dual- and concurrent-credit courses.
At River Valley, the pandemic led officials to recalibrate schedules, so students would need to come to campus fewer days a week.
Amanda Covitt, second from left, teaches a physical therapy class at River Valley Community College in Claremont this month. Jill Godsoe of Merrimack is third from right in blue shirt.
DAVID LANE/UNION LEADER
“We serve a very wide area, so driving to campus is often a time burden to them,” Williams said.
Attending a community college, he said, allows students to learn a skill and find a job “at a fraction of the cost of a four-year school.”
Even if students want to attend a four-year school, “doing the first two years at a community college and saving those costs, all those credits you take are going to transfer, and you’ve just cut the price of college almost in half,” Williams said.
What’s Working, a series exploring solutions for New Hampshire’s workforce needs, is sponsored by the New Hampshire Solutions Journalism Lab at the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications, with funding by Eversource, Northeast Delta Dental, Fidelity Investments, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Contact reporter Michael Cousineau at mcousineau@unionleader.com. To read stories in the series, visit unionleader.com/whatsworking.
