JJC Blog

Whether you're searching for a fun way to spend Valentines Day this year with your date, or you're just looking for something interesting to do with your friends on the weekend - have you ever considered JJC as an entertainment venue?

Yes, you heard us right: you can come to school for your next date night! (And trust us, it's not as nerdy as it sounds.)

Below we've listed the top five places you can go on campus with your date or BFF.

Do you really know your professors at Joliet Junior College? Although you may see them on campus MWF, many of them have talents and interests outside of the classroom, too. 

Which professor had a recording contract in the 1990s? Who has been to six continents? One professor has 14 brothers and sisters - can you guess who? 

Discover these little-known facts about thirteen of your favorite JJC professors below.

Now that we’re knee-deep into September, there are a few things we can expect: pumpkin-flavored everything, taffy apples, the very first leaves to start changing color (the first day of fall is next week!), and at JJC – Mainstreet!    

This year, Mainstreet will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 14 and Thursday, Sept. 15. Mainstreet is a tradition here on campus - it's when many of JJC's clubs line up in booths along the C-Concourse so new and returning students can learn how to join them.

Getting involved in extracurricular activities is proven to to have a positive link to student attendance, high GPA, and high test scores.

Below, we’ve included a few tips on how to navigate Mainstreet this year:

With class projects, homework, student activities, work and family obligations, it can be hard sometimes to remember everything on your to-do list.

At JJC, we want you to be successful, so we've created a new notification system (through our JJC mobile app) that will remind you of important deadlines - and give you one less thing to worry about! 

(IMPORTANT: This notification system through our mobile app should not be confused with JJC's Emergency Alert System, which notifies students of school closings and other emergencies)

So, you've just signed up for your first semester at JJC and you're all ready to go for Aug. 22, down to the college-ruled notebooks, 3-inch binders and ballpoint pens. (There's still time if you haven't signed up for classes yet! Appy or register here.)

Being new to the school and maybe even college in general, we bet you're wondering what daily life is going to be like. After all, you are going to be spending a lot of time here in the coming months!

As we wait for classes to begin, we've put together a quick list for our first-time students - here's what you can expect your first semester at JJC.

Who hasn’t had second thoughts about choosing the right major? 

This is the fate of Michael, a slightly clumsy JJC student who is shown fainting at the sight of a needle and losing control of a fire hose (among other funny scenes), featured in our brand new Comcast commercials.

If you haven’t seen them on TV yet, head to our YouTube page or scroll down to the bottom of this blog. We had a lot of fun filming!

JJC is celebrating a big milestone this year – it’s been 115 years since it became the first community college in the United States. That means our college has been around for an insanely long time! 

Just to show you how crazy that is:

• There are only four people living in the world today that have been around for as long as our college has. 
• Five years after the Olympics began (as we know them today), JJC started offering classes.
• Our college has seen the Great Depression, two World Wars, and the rise of the Internet.
• When JJC opened its doors, there were only 45 states in the U.S. (Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, Alaska and Hawaii weren’t a part of the club yet).
• Women did not have the right to vote until 1920, 19 years after JJC first opened.

As we celebrate this outstanding anniversary, we’ve gathered a few #throwback photos from the past via the college’s yearbook archive. 

Joliet High School, 1901
The first Joliet Junior College classes were held at Joliet Township High School in 1901. 

While you may have your fingers crossed for a mild winter, its always a good idea to be prepared for whatever the weather may throw at you – and that includes school closures. 

JJC uses an emergency alert system called RAVE to notify students and employees of any emergency situations (including snow days, dangerous situations on campus, and more.) Unless you’ve opted out of the system, you should receive immediate alert notices via email, home and mobile phones, text messages, the college homepage and the JJC Facebook and Twitter pages.

It’s important to remember which channels you’ve selected to receive the alerts, and to make sure your information is up to date. Don’t remember what’s listed? Have a new cell number? Checking and updating this information is easy.