Leo LeMarcus Newman graduated from Houston Community College (HCC) 15 years ago, but still credits HCC for helping him be the person he is today. “My advice for students is to get to know your advisor on a personal level. That way your advisor knows everything that’s going on in your life and then he or she will be able to guide you in obtaining your degree,” Newman said.
Both Newman and his wife Amber recently graduated with master’s degrees in public administration from Texas Southern University. To this day, he still feels a connection to the faculty and staff at HCC. He recognizes that took they took the time to get to know him first as a person and then as a student.
Houston Community College (HCC) is composed of 13 Centers of Excellence and numerous satellite centers that serve the diverse communities in the Greater Houston area by preparing individuals to live and work in an increasingly international and technological society. HCC is one of the country’s largest singly-accredited, open-admission, community colleges offering associate degrees, certificates, workforce training, and lifelong learning opportunities.
“Houston Community College has instilled in me hardworking values,” said Newman. “I had an opportunity to learn about different cultures and that has helped get me to where I am today.”
Newman’s past life experience paved the way for academic success. At one point, he played for the San Francisco 49ers and served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a government contractor. Nevertheless, his years at Houston Community College were the foundation to tackle the hardest thing he and his wife have faced.
“The biggest challenge was time management. During the time we were getting our degrees, we really didn’t have any time for us. We were in school and raising the kids, who are 7, 9 and 21. We were stretched thin.”
To keep each other motivated the coupled achieved their academic goals through loving competition.
“My husband is really competitive so we would turn in our papers and then he would wait to see how he made out. If I got a higher grade than him, then he would set as a goal to do better next time,” said Amber Newman.
While she cooked for the family, he helped the kids with homework. While he studied, she got the kids ready for bed.
The Newman family schedule is filled with school, work, and extracurricular activities.
“Our 9 year old is actually really good at organizing. She essentially has mapped her whole life out. She has a vision board of what type of house she wants, what school she wants to go to. She’ll come and look at the calendar to see what things they need to do,” said the proud mom.
The couple is now set to pursue their doctorates in public administration next spring.
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