Richland Community College would like to welcome Courtney Carson as its new Director of Essential Skills and Community Relations.
In his new position, Carson will work with students to help them develop essential skills that they will need for work, learning, and life. “This position means that the prospective students I work with will have advanced their life in the areas of communicating more effectively, thinking critically and creatively, acting more professionally and responsibly, will be more technologically savvy; and they will be able to recognize how important they are to their community. It doesn’t matter the background of a person, when one is a better person internally, it allows them to be a better citizen externally, and they then will have the opportunity to become a huge benefit to those around them.” Carson goes on to quote Coretta Scott King who said, “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.”
Carson has worked with Richland as an instructor in the Highway Construction Training program for the past year and a half. He is an active member of the local community where he serves on the Decatur Public School Board, and as a board member for the Illinois Juvenile Justice Initiative, the United Way of Decatur, the South Side Improvement Association, and the Organized Action Council. Carson was nominated by the New York Times to represent the United States as one of 50 new, young leaders for the United States/Japan Leadership Conference. He most recently served as the Site Supervisor/Business Developer with the Springfield Urban League. In addition, he is presently the Associate Minister at the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church.
Carson says, “I’ve always challenged the status quo about how to teach life skills because the growth and development of one’s life is essential. I feel that the greatest motivator to change is employment; however, people don’t know how to change in order to exist effectively in the workforce world, so I created ‘The Detox.’ It is a technique that offers a person-centered approach to fostering change by helping a person explore and resolve ambivalence. They don’t like what they are doing, but don’t know how to change. Rather than providing directives and applying external pressure, Detoxing Life Skills and Job Readiness utilizes essential skills that help people find their own reasons for change, and helps people think differently about their choices.”
Carson earned his Master of Divinity degree from Illinois Baptist College and his Bachelor’s in Professional Communications from Aurora University. He is looking forward to his position at Richland. “I feel my purpose in life is to be actively involved in bettering the lives of others. I’m looking forward to seeing the smiles on everyone’s face; not just on the college campus, but in the community,” says Carson.