"...this task of building a peaceful world is the most important of our time, it is also the most difficult. It will require far more discipline, more sacrifice, more planning, more thought, more cooperation, and more heroism than war ever demanded." Thomas Merton Michelle Harris will be TCC's first graduate to earn a Liberal Arts Degree with an emphasis in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution. She will walk across the stage in less than a year from now and she couldn't be more excited about her pending honors.
"How cool is that?" said Harris. "Because I have to explain it to anyone who asks, I call it my 'hippie degree,' and use it as an opportunity to open up dialogue and discuss important issues like peace building. It also helps me talk about how much my experience at TCC has meant to me and to encourage others to go to college."
Harris had always wanted to go to college, but delayed attending in order to work in the family business and raise her family. A health crisis caused her to take stock of her life.
"I recognized I wanted an education-and the doors it could open for me-much more than I previously realized. I had already accomplished many goals, and it was the ideal time to begin the next phase of my life's journey," explained Harris. "I enrolled at TCC because it was close, affordable and a stepping stone to a four-year university. I originally thought I'd pursue some type of applied degree, as that seemed the most practical thing to do. It took only my second class to discover that I really needed to pursue my passion, and that I couldn't settle for anything less."
The class was Cultural Geography and the newly discovered passion was for "connections between people and cultures." She then enrolled in history, humanities, English Comp, and other general education courses.
Harris credits her Honors Humanities I Professor, Dr. Annie Malloy, with giving her the idea of pursuing a degree with an emphasis in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution.
"Dr. Malloy is so passionate about the subject of peace, she developed it as a course of study at TCC," said Harris. "Prior to that, I didn't even know such a degree existed. I was immediately intrigued and went to the course catalog to investigate. When I read the description and saw the required courses and electives, I knew that of all the degrees I could pursue at TCC and beyond, this was the one I could have written the description myself for what I wanted to do with my life.
"Dr. Malloy explored with me the classes I'd already taken and told me a number of them would contribute to the degree. With her encouragement and guidance, I made the decision. I'll always be grateful to Dr. Malloy for being willing to take time to speak with me, and for recognizing my particular gifts and abilities and suggesting I steer in that direction. I'm honored she would want me as a student in this program that means so much to her," continued Harris.
Harris, mother of six and grandmother of seven, plans to continue her studies after graduation from TCC.
"TCC is the only college within Oklahoma to offer a degree emphasis in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, so unless I'm successful in obtaining scholarships that will enable me to attend a Peace Studies program at a four-year university outside of Oklahoma, I plan to attend The University of Tulsa to pursue their degree in Women's and Gender Studies," said Harris. "Beyond that, I'm taking a close look at the University for Peace in Costa Rica, the only United Nations-mandated peace university in the world, offering both master's and doctorates in the field."
After obtaining her bachelor's degree, Harris, a former copywriter, proofreader and editor, plans to work for one of a number of large international or even grassroots agencies dedicated to addressing social justice issues such as poverty, forced migration, and human trafficking. She is particularly interested as these problems relate to women and children.
"Although there are plenty of social issues facing vulnerable populations in the United States, I want to go overseas where people have even less resources, and thus less power, to overcome the circumstances in which they find themselves trapped," said Harris. "I hope to spend time working on a one-to-one basis with people in crisis and eventually move into the policy-making arena so I can help create and implement truly effective policies that work at the ground level.
"I believe an experiential understanding of how those policies affect real, live human beings, rather than attempting to apply theories that may not translate well on a practical level, will be crucial to eradicating some of these global problems as humanity moves forward," she continued.
Harris encourages anyone who is a problem solver with a social conscious to explore the Peace Studies Conflict Resolution Program at TCC.
"I am a better person for having been a student here," said Harris. "I have learned to trust my own creative ideas and problem-solving ability. I now view myself as a scholar, with the capacity to both learn from and teach others. I have always believed in and appreciated the power of teamwork, but collaborating with other students has reinforced for me that together we can accomplish more than we can alone, that anything can be achieved when people work together toward a common goal."
