Community colleges don’t always get the spotlight. But they change lives every day.

To kick off our Community College Month series, I sat down with Wallace Caleb Bates, Director of Marketing and Communications at Hazard Community and Technical College and 2026 NCMPR National Rising Star.

Wallace’s story comes full circle.

He started as a student at HCTC and returned just a few years later to lead marketing and communications.

He shared that walking into the president’s office on his first day felt surreal, asking himself, “Am I really here?” after being a student not long b ...