The UW Northwest Center, the first satellite branch of the University of Wyoming, opened Sept. 10, 1946. Accounts of student enrollment vary from 58-90, with the Powell Tribune reporting a final fall enrollment count of 75.

Pictured on the right side of the photo, Virginia Rains Harris—a member of Northwest’s first class and student council secretary from 1946-47—reflects on her NWC experience and shares her insight to what makes this college a truly exceptional institution.

“I studied pre-law—that was my big interest. They had a class at the college in pre-law, so I took that and accounting and other things [a student] may need,” Harris explained.

The original Northwest Center was located in the Powell High School building, and classes were taught by seven teachers in second-floor classrooms.

There was no place to hang coats, keep extra books or personal items, Harris recalled. Additionally, there was no space available for students to gather before or in between classes.

“We were truly orphans wandering at night through the darkened hallways of an empty high school. The high school recognized this and assigned us a basement room. They gave us a few tables and chairs, and best of all, a ping-pong table! Ping-pong became the school sport.”

Many students in Northwest’s first class were enrolled in a full-time class schedule while juggling daily jobs and many other family obligations.

“I, like many other students—all the students, in fact—worked in the daytime because our classes were in the evening,” Harris noted. “Our classes were from 3-9 p.m. Everyone needed to work—a lot of [students] were farm boys and a lot of them were service men. We all had afternoon jobs.”

Every day, Harris served as the high school secretary until 4 p.m., and after work, she attended classes until nightfall.

Although today’s average course schedule may be structured a little differently, Northwest’s dedication to providing a home away from home on campus for students remains the same.

Harris said that she most vividly recalls the camaraderie and attitude she shared with her classmates throughout their college experience.

“We wanted to get our education, and we all wanted to go to college. We were all a group of young students from various small towns in the northwestern part of Wyoming. It was such a good opportunity for us, and it brought us together.” 

Today, as a result of the success and commitment of Northwest’s first class, who were true pioneers in establishing a Wyoming community college, NWC currently offers more than 70 different academic and certificate programs.

As an instrumental individual in the college’s past, present and future, Harris shares this piece of advice with current NWC students: “Just enjoy it. Just enjoy being in Powell at a small college.”