As an alumna of East Georgia College in Swainsboro, I am disheartened to learn of a proposal to merge the state's remaining two-year colleges with the states's technical schools.

I can wholeheartedly say that I experienced the two best years of my college life -- including the two that I spent at Georgia Southern University -- at EGC. The small class sizes enabled me to acclimate to the college atmosphere while giving me a sense of what the expectations of a larger university would be.

While I applaud the technical schools in our state, I feel that this proposed merger would do students more harm than good. Aside from the obvious issues that such a merger would involve -- to close or not to close the two-year colleges, whether to use the semester or quarter system, what to do with the employees of the two-year schools, etc. -- this merger would be a slap in the face of all that the two-year colleges have strived to become.

I cannot fathom where I would be today without my time East Georgia College. I used the two years I spent there as a stepping stone to something larger. I didn't go from a little fish in a small pond in high school to a little fish in a humongous pond at a large university. Instead, I formed relationships with the faculty and staff at EGC, and learned to cultivate a better understanding of what the real world was like before moving on to bigger things.

Keep in mind, folks, that bigger isn't always better. Smaller schools are what many youngsters need and want in today's age where you aren't just a number, but a person to be recognized for who you are and what you can contribute to society. Please join me in urging our governor and your lawmakers to strike down this merger proposal.