MOSES LAKE — The parking lots were full, so full that drivers were circling around looking for a space. The library was bustling with students already researching via computers, highlighting textbooks and reviewing class notes, getting a start on some of those early assignments.

Monday was the first day of classes for fall quarter at Big Bend Community College.

College officials were offering tutorials on the college’s computer system. The message board announcing the tutorial had a handy arrow directing students who might be having trouble finding their way around.

Instructors were using the inaugural class to lay out their expectations for the quarter. Over in the welding shop, the class objectives included techniques to avoid setting one’s clothes on fire, which is an occupational hazard in a profession that involves materials at high temperatures and flying sparks. (It’s not that hard, just a little inattention and a few loose threads, cautioned a second-year student.)

Like many community colleges, BBCC draws from traditional and non-traditional student populations. Ashley Aldridge is taking advantage of the state’s Running Start program to, well, get a running start on an AA degree.

Ashley said she had a lot of friends who enrolled in the Running Start program last school year. And for her senior year at Moses Lake High School, she decided to join them. Even before the end of the first day of class she had reached a conclusion. “There’s definitely more work to do (in college) than the high school,” she said. Ashley said she hasn’t decided yet on a career, but she wanted to get started on college.

Juan Delgado is enrolled in computer science classes. Big Bend offers technical training for industry certification, or students can combine the technical classes with academic instruction for an AA degree. “I’m trying to go for my AA,” Juan said. That might lead to a four-year degree, or it might lead into straight to a job. He’s not sure yet, he said.

Either way, it’s a pretty easy commute from Soap Lake and cheaper than a four-year college, he said. Affordability was the attraction for Michael, a psychology student who declined to give his last name.

“I’m here for my prerequisites,” he said. A second-year student, his goal is a four-year college and a degree. But “it’s cheaper to start here,” he said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].