Shana Piotti has been sworn in as the new student trustee on the Tompkins Cortland Community College Board of Trustees. Piotti is a full-voting member of the 10-person Board of Trustees. Her term is for one year.

Piotti brings some different experiences to the trustee position, having started at TC3 in the Early Childhood Assistant microcredential program. She completed the microcredential and moved into the Early Childhood degree program when she realized that she enjoyed the idea of going to college. That hadn’t always been the case. “I graduated high school during Covid, so it was very hard to get involved with anything,” she said. “I was not going to college. It was never part of my plan.” 

Instead, she started working in a preschool, and eventually the idea of more education started to seem more appealing. It wasn’t easy. After being homeschooled for middle and high school, and then taking a few years away from school, it was a big adjustment coming to TC3. “I had a lot anxiety because I hadn’t been in a building for schooling since I was in elementary school,” she said. “It was very nerve racking for me, but I eventually came out of my shell and really enjoyed it.” 

With help from faculty and staff willing to help her adjust, she is now thriving. “It’s not a scary as it seems,” she said when asked what advice she would give to someone like her looking to go to school. “TC3 has a lot of people who are very understanding, and there are programs that will help you succeed.”