Crews break ground on Valencia College campus in Poinciana

POINCIANA, Fla. — Crews broke ground on Valencia College's new campus Thursday on Pleasant Hill Road in Poinciana.

For some Poinciana residents, going to college was difficult without reliable transportation.

“I lived in Poinciana and the bus wouldn't come around my area,” said graduate Alexandrea Castro.

We've told you about the struggles for some people who live in poinciana that are about more than just inconvenience.

“The high schools in Poinciana have the lowest college-going rate in Osceola County, currently, and we believe that has everything to do with the lack of access for students to pursue a college education,” said Valencia campus president Kathleen Plinske.

The new campus will make going to school much easier for upcoming students than it was for graduates like Castro.

“I had to take a neighborhood bus that brought me to the big bus, and then I had to take three buses to get to campus, and the same ride back, and sometimes it would be even longer to come back because of all the traffic,” said Castro.

For three years, Castro spent five hours on multiple buses going to and from class.

“Valencia changed my life. People do want to go to college, and maybe they can't take five hours of their day because they work,” said Castro.

Plinske said that school leaders were aware of the struggles that prospective students faced. She said that for years, they've been working on a solution that's becoming a reality for people in Poinciana who dreamed of going to college.

“So we believe that having a campus in Poinciana will truly create new opportunities for students,” Plinske said.

Plinske told Channel 9 last year that only one-third of high school graduates in the area continue on to college, in part because of the distance.

Valencia's new campus is set to open in the fall in 2017.

Cox Media Group