Ariel McClain Florida Community College, Class of 2007 A.A. Degree

Meeting the Challenge

Ariel McClain
Florida Community College, Class of 2007
Associate in Arts

Ariel McClain will graduate from Florida Community College this semester with her associate in arts degree, majoring in both elementary education and dance. She’s been interested in both subjects since childhood. A Jacksonville native, Ariel discovered a passion for teaching while helping a cousin with homework. She enjoyed it so much that she later tutored other students as well.

Her interest in dance started even earlier. Ariel was only five years old when she began dancing; by the time she was in middle school, Ariel was performing with her church group and the Ribault Middle School’s dance team. Other activities briefly sidelined dancing when she entered high school, but in her senior year, a dance instructor saw Ariel by chance practicing a dance routine for the Miss Ed White High pageant. Impressed with what she saw, the instructor urged Ariel to continue dancing.

When it came time to choose a college after graduation, Florida Community College was the obvious choice. After all, Ariel had already earned 20 credit hours from FCCJ through dual enrollment while in high school. It also helped that classes would be close to home. “Being an only child made me reluctant to leave my family,” she explains.

Ariel says Downtown Campus staff members Jacinda Legons, Clashous Witherspoon and Kurtson Boulware, as well as her instructors, have all been significant in her academic success. “They’re always encouraging and supportive; they challenge me to reach my fullest potential.”

But it was fellow student Nikita Marshall who inspired Ariel to become a student ambassador for Downtown Campus. The former ambassador told Ariel how fun and rewarding her experience had been. “Like me, she’s a creative and soft-spoken person who was looking to get involved and meet new people,” Ariel says. “I love my job; I enjoy representing the college.”

In addition to her work as a student ambassador, Ariel leads the Student Government Association’s Recruitment and Retention Team, visiting high schools and doing presentations. Outside of class, she manages to pursue her dual passions in dance and education. She volunteers in several mentoring and church programs, trains at a local dance studio and has taken classes in the dance program at South Campus. Somehow, she also manages a part-time job at an accessories store.

Ariel will begin classes this spring at the University of North Florida, where she plans to earn her master’s degree in elementary education. She hopes to continue her dance training as well. As for the future, Ariel says, “My ultimate dream is to teach at a local school, or open my own dance studio in town — maybe both.”