Bettendorf native reflects on community college life

The mix of collegiate soccer and academics made her fall 2022 semester a busy one, but 18-year-old Sydney Zabel enjoyed the balancing act. 

“It just gave me a lot of meaning throughout the semester; It wasn’t like I got bored halfway through the semester or burnt out,” the Scott Community College sophomore said. 

Due to a slim 15-player roster, soccer was especially challenging and rewarding, she said. 

“We’d usually have two or three girls injured, so most of our games we’d have the exact number or we’d play short, which is difficult when you’re playing other college teams or playing the full 90 minutes and it’s blazing hot out there,” she said. “But I would say it really brought our team chemistry. We all became very close, and it was a good community.”

Zabel understands that some attending community college can feel “distant” from their peers. 

“So it was very helpful, having that team to rely on,” she said. “We all support each other; we had classes together. I think that’s what really helped me this (fall) semester. I think clubs kind of offer that in the same way.”

Though she didn’t join any extra-curricular clubs at SCC, Zabel is active in her church choir. She said her favorite fall semester class, World Religions, brought her closer to her Christian faith. 

“There were students in there from all different backgrounds, countries, ethnicities and religions,” she said. “Our teacher was great throughout the whole thing. He was answering questions and it was very informative. I’d say my biggest takeaway from it was just getting that extra curriculum and depth of knowledge.” 

She found Native American and Indigenous religions particularly interesting. 

“It was really a look at all of these different religions, but they’re all interconnected in ways,” she said. “They all tend to have the same goals or same being of having this higher presence.” 

On impactful fall 2022 events, President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan stood out for Zabel. 

“I do feel strongly about that not passing,” she said. “The way I chose to do college is go to community college first. I took a lot of dual credits before I graduated and had over a year of college already done by the time I graduated high school. Then just planning ahead; I applied for scholarships at my high school and here at Scott.” 

She aims to graduate college debt-free, and is on track to do so. 

“That was one big issue a lot of college kids had to think about, because paying for college is difficult,” she said. “So, when the politics are trying to say, ‘Oh, we’re going to say you have your student loans forgiven,’ that doesn’t mean anything for me … when the reason I did college the way I did was so I didn’t have to pay loans and could stay out of debt.” 

Though it’s still unclear whether Biden’s program would be funded through spending cuts or by taxing certain groups, Zabel doesn’t feel she should “pay for someone else’s college” when they could have explored other, less costly routes. 

Increasing instances in politics dipping into curriculum are another concern for Zabel. She thinks politicians’ efforts to set standards on what can and cannot be taught may be a factor in teacher shortages. 

“It’s almost making them scared of the job,” she said. “Sometimes, a student wants to just ask a question, and the teacher would have to be careful in how they respond or they could get in big trouble. I think we just need to trust the education system that the teachers are going through at their colleges — that they’ll kind of know what to teach and how to teach it.” 

Making curriculum standards too strict also could negatively impact student learning, she said. To that point, if she could change one thing in higher education, it would be to “let teachers teach” and for more instructors to take the time to “really learn their students.”

“I think that’s a big thing, knowing your students and how they learn best in the classroom,” Zabel said, adding she’d like to see more engagement on the student end, too. “That really helps me in my classes, building that relationship with professors, because it’s just another human being. As a student, you shouldn’t be scared of your teacher.

“Some might be a little scary but most of the time, I think they appreciate the feedback from students and having that respect go both ways.” 

At SCC specifically, “It would be good to see more people getting involved here on campus,” she said. 

Despite enjoying her experience so far, she said, some people have misconceptions about community colleges. 

“They think it’s a ‘dumbed down’ version of college. I don’t think that’s true whatsoever,” Zabel said. “However much effort you put into college, that’s how much you’re going to get out of it. I also think it’s (community college) a good stepping stone to those higher universities, because you kind of learn a system and what professors expect, because it’s way different than high school; I’ll tell you that.” 

Living at home has helped.

“I’m glad I stayed home this extra year, because it really kind of helped me learn from my parents,” she said. “I definitely couldn’t have done college debt-free without my parents being like, ‘Yeah, you can live here another year. Just help around the house.'”

Upon completing her general credits from SCC this May, Zabel will transfer to Iowa State University to pursue her bachelor’s degree in Family and Consumer Sciences Education.