After moving to the East Texas area, married couple Megan and Clay Nail began searching for a community that offered them a place to grow in their education and career.

Little did they know Trinity Valley Community College would be the perfect place for both.

The search for the perfect college started when Megan decided to focus on her education at a community college.

“When we moved to Athens, I decided I was ready to start college,” Megan shared. “I was planning to go to a different college, but the cost was a bit pricey, and it was a 45-minute drive from where we’re living. Clay ended up finding TVCC and showed me the website. Come to find out it was cheaper, closer, and overall, a better fit for me!”

But after researching more about TVCC, Megan and Clay realized the school was perfect for both to pursue a degree.

“Clay originally planned to work while I went to college to pursue my degree,” Megan shared. “Clay and I talked and decided he should go to college too.”

As a way for Clay to ease into college, they decided to take a class together.

“During our first semester, we took the same general psychology class,” Megan noted. “We both fell in love with learning. Also having each other in the classroom really helped us both feel comfortable enough to go in person, and not be anxious about what is to come. Now, Clay is pursuing a more challenging degree than I am, and he is totally rocking it!”

Clay felt having Megan beside him in the classroom made his first semester at TVCC an easy transition.

“It is a blessing to be able to go through college with my favorite person and my support system all in one,” Clay said. “We can help each other study! Megan has a very creative and artistic brain, while I am very logic based, so there are some classes that are very hard for me to understand. But when she explains it to me, I feel silly for not being able to see it myself.”

Megan noted the difference her time would’ve been if she didn’t have Clay beside her.

“It is nice to have someone also going through some of the same classes, and

stresses as you are when it comes to college,” she mentioned. “We’ve been able to take two classes together in person, which were lifespan and development and general psychology. Having Clay in the class with me made me feel more comfortable and he would always help me with the material I couldn’t understand, and vice versa. It’s like having a built-in study buddy, best friend, and husband all in one.”

Not only did Clay enjoy his classes with Megan, but it also sparked his want to continue his studies.

“I am so happy Megan and my family got me to try TVCC,” he added. “Now I plan on sticking with it until I at least get my bachelor's degree!”

Clay plans to pursue a degree in biochemistry.

“Science is something that has always been fascinating to me even as a kid,” Clay added. “Beyond that, I have always craved understanding how things work from the human brain to catching a cold. I have always found it interesting that even a microscopic change can produce massive differences.”

Megan plans to continue her education and plans to get her bachelor's and master’s degrees in psychology.

“I’ve always been intrigued when it came to how the brain works, specifically when it comes to mental illness,” Megan shared. “I’ve known many people in my life so far who struggle with mental illnesses every day, and I want to be able to help people find root causes and overcome their mental illnesses or anything that holds them back.”

She plans to take her passion for therapy and helping others into a career in art therapy.

“Art therapy enables an individual to express through their emotions through different forms of artwork,” Megan explained. “I know a lot of children have a hard time explaining exactly how they feel or what’s wrong. As a child, I would have trouble explaining what’s wrong so I would simply draw a picture to somehow get my point across.”

Megan hopes she can one day offer a program in Texas to teach people to express themselves and communicate through art. 

“It’s not a popular method in Texas, but places like New Mexico and Colorado use it quite frequently,” she added. “Maybe in the future I could start something in Texas to teach people.”

One of the biggest advantages of TVCC for Megan and Clay was the price difference versus other colleges they looked at.

“I would tell someone who isn’t sure whether to come to TVCC to look at the price difference,” Megan expressed. “I mean it’s a third of the cost!”

Clay agreed and noted, “The tuition rates are so low compared to the cost of a university.”

Not only was the price point great, but they both noticed a feeling of community and support on campus that made them comfortable attending TVCC.

“It’s a smaller school in terms of student count,” he shared. “That was really appealing to me when I registered for my first semester here for one class. I was unsure if I wanted to go back to school or not but when I found TVCC, I felt this was place I wouldn’t feel overwhelmed.”

“When I decided I was ready to start college, I didn’t want to start at a university,” Megan added. “I wanted to find a school with a smaller campus and smaller class sizes. I have enjoyed the one on one you are able to have with the teachers, the class sizes, and the tight knit community that comes with TVCC.”