PCC courses help Goyen succeed

Statistics show that the average person, with or without a college degree, will switch careers an average of seven to 10 times, according to the National Department of Labor.

Deb Goyen is an exception, having been at her job since she graduated college in 1975.

Goyen received her degree in accounting from Pratt Community College and has been working at the People’s Bank in Pratt ever since, where she is a deposit officer.

“PCC gave me a great foundation for this job,” Goyen said. “A lot of the classes helped prepare me for this job.”

Goyen said along with helping her get the education she needed to be successful, she feels PCC helps students in other ways.

“I think kids from the Pratt area are crazy not to go to PCC at least for one year,” she said. “It is cheaper and a great transition for students.”

Goyen said neither she nor her son, Weston, were ready to go on to larger school right out of high school, which made PCC a great option.

“We had a good experience at PCC,” she said. “The small class sizes and getting to know instructors on a personal level helped us both to be successful.”

Along with staying in the community to work and raise her children, Goyen has also enjoyed being involved in the community. Her biggest community service project being the Lemon Park Lights that she started.

“I use to run a lot and Lemon Park is a wonderful place to do that,” she said. “It is beautiful in the spring and fall and thought of how great it could be in the winter so I started plotting and slowly it just all came together.”

Along with starting the Lemon Park Lights, Goyen also received her 30 year pin Miss American pin for helping with the Miss Kansas pageant. Over the years, Goyen said she has been involved in many events for the Miss Kansas pageant including fundraising and being a host family.

Goyen also volunteers for the college by being on the business advisory committee.

“When I was asked I felt it was important to become involved,” she said. “I wanted to make sure students were learning what they should be to be successful.”

With community service being such an important part of Goyen’s life, she said she is excited to see PCC getting students more involved in the community.

“When I was a student we weren’t involved in community service through the college,” she said. “It is neat to see college kids in the community being involved. It’s a cool thing the college is doing.”

In Goyen’s free time she and her husband, Kent like to travel, go to Kansas State University football games, garden and walk. Goyen also joked that she’s great at putting up Christmas lights.