Public health senior Amy Mowrer doesn’t have to make the long haul to Johnson City every morning. Instead, she saves about an hour of driving by taking courses at ETSU’s Bristol campus.
Mowrer said her first day at the college was a bit unnerving. She returned to school as a so-called “older student” and had to teach her self how to study again. “I am just glad I had the opportunity to return to school,” Mowrer said.
The small class size, convenient interactive televised courses and location all played a part in attracting her to the center, she said. She has taken some courses at the main campus in the past, but she is always glad when she can stay in Bristol. “Bristol is a great starting point because it is smaller, not so overwhelming,” Mowrer said.
Perhaps the biggest advantage she finds is the friendly and extremely helpful staff. “It’s easy to track folks down for help, and they are always ready and more than willing to help any student in any way they can,” Mowrer said.
The experience has changed her life in many ways, all for the positive, she said.
“I would absolutely do it again because it gave me a chance to grow up and get settled in to college life in a smaller environment,” Mowrer said. “I personally think students should begin with ETSU Bristol and get into a good routine because we are thrown to the wolves soon enough.”
Although ETSU has offered classes at different places in Bristol since the 1960s, the current 20,000-square-foot facility has been in operation since 1995. In fact, this year marks the center’s 10-year anniversary, ETSU at Bristol Director Sue Fulmer said.
The facility has had as many as 350 students in a given semester and has served about 2,500 people in some capacity in the past year, Fulmer said. The center not only offers students classes, but opens its doors to the community for activities such as teacher workshops, seminars, group training and meetings.
The school is diversified in terms of outlets student can use to access classes, Fulmer said. Students can easily access any course they need.
“They can work around whatever their situation is,” Fulmer said. “Very few people can just stop their life for school.”
The center offers Internet classes, video check-out courses, ITV distance education classes, as well as the traditional live courses.
“Everybody’s working around some kind of other schedule, so we try to be real sensitive to that and try to help the students,” she said. “Service is what we’re all about.”
Fulmer said she feels good to have made it this far and believes it is something the community can take pride in. “I feel proud of what we’ve all been able to accomplish,” Fulmer said.
In the future, Fulmer said she wants the center to grow in other areas and in new programs. The facility is working toward new cohorts in mathematics, reading, sports management and counseling, as well as a master’s program in both physical education for coaches and social work. “I hope we branch out in some different directions,” Fulmer said.
As the community needs change, she wants to offer different majors, keeping with the service-oriented goals already in place and find new ways to help the community.
Mowrer said she is working on finishing up her degree in public health and has already been looking at prospective jobs. “I think that ETSU at Bristol could have a great future if they are able to get some of the new programs they are asking for,” she said. “I look forward to seeing what the future holds for the center.

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