As Michael Preston sat in the Corinth campus library at North Central Texas College for the school’s 10-year anniversary celebration Thursday, he reflected on the community college’s milestone and his own.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Roy Culberson, dean of the North Central Texas College Corinth campus, speaks at a reception Thursday commemorating its 10-year anniversary.

View larger More photos Photo store

Preston, a 22-year teacher at the college, had once dropped out of college and given up on becoming a scholar, he said.

But the community college experience changed all that.

“It kind of saved my life and academic career,” Preston said. “I had given up on being a scholar and had never been a student until El Centro.”

The Dallas community college had small classes and was personable, something Preston said he needed after trying to attend classes with more than 500 students, and the NCTC Corinth campus has a similar tradition.

The college has operated in Denton County for 40 years, but it is only in the last 10 years that it has had an official, permanent campus in Corinth, said Lee Ann Nutt, the college’s vice president for instruction.

On Jan. 15, 2000, the college gathered from temporary campuses in Lewisville, Denton and all over the place to officially start the Corinth campus, she said.

Since that time, the campus has grown to nearly 6,000 students last fall and the enrollment has outgrown the infrastructure, with science classes already full for the upcoming spring semester, Nutt said.

“NCTC is really making a difference, and opening up the Corinth campus has really made a difference in the college,” she said.

The campus has set up residence in Pinnell Square Business Park and Lake Cities United Methodist Church to alleviate the pressure on space, Nutt said.

“Those [large enrollment] numbers indicate the role community colleges play in the state and the nation,” she said. “It shows NCTC is doing something right to maintain that growth.”

Roy Culberson, dean of the Corinth campus, unveiled a new Denton County Transportation Authority-operated bus shuttle featuring the NCTC logo and colors to faculty and staff during Thursday’s celebration.

The shuttle will transport students between southern Denton and northern Lewisville, making stops every 30 minutes.

The $60,000 bus will be paid for by Corinth campus student fees of $3 per semester credit hour, capped at $12 a semester per student, Nutt said.

A new temporary parking lot will be added soon, Culberson said, to help with the school’s growing pains.

Despite the rapid growth of the Corinth campus, Preston said, the school will always have a “mom-and-pop shop feel” that will help students learn and teachers teach.

Nearing retirement age, Preston hopes he can continue to teach throughout the next decade, for his well-being, he said.

“This anniversary reaffirms to me the community is important, like a home,” he said. “This is part of my Denton County home. … This is one of those deep-root things, like it’s a part of the family.”

CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com .