MCC starts new partnership with childcare center
Students interested in careers in education and related fields can gain internship opportunities and field experience through a partnership Mesa Community College (MCC) created with a childcare center.
Little Arrows Child Care Center is now an MCC community partner where students studying early childhood education, K-12 education, social work, and other fields can gain professional skills. It may also serve as a resource for those needing childcare.
The childcare center is based in Mesa and about a 10-minute drive from MCC’s Southern and Dobson campus.
Sharon Wynn-Walker, the owner and director of the Mesa center, said she hopes students, parents, and children will benefit and see change from this partnership.
“Students can come, get hands-on knowledge, and we can all grow and learn together and see the kids change, and hear wonderful stories about, from parents saying, ‘Hey, my kid was going through this, but through this partnership and through the people that were connected, my child is on a better road,’” Wynn-Walker said.
Tawn Hauptli is a faculty member in the K-12 Education program at MCC. She said the partnership presents great opportunities for students with children as well as those working to build their skills.
“I find that this can be a fantastic opportunity to give back and to serve not only working students with children, but for students who are working to get their degree and apply the skills and concepts that they’re learning in their programs to a real-life experience,” Hauptli said.
Wynn-Walker has a history of working with young children, including being an employee at MCC’s Childcare Center in 1992. After recently visiting the college, she reflected on her time there, which sparked the interest in creating a partnership.
“It was meant to be, all those many years,” she said about the partnership, after explaining she suddenly remembered being an employee at MCC when she unknowingly walked onto the campus.
The technicalities of how to participate in the internship opportunities, field experience or service hours are yet to be determined, but students are encouraged to contact the childcare center directly regarding any interest they might have.
The partnership also highlights a potential resource for MCC students and families in need of childcare. The closure of the college’s own children’s center in the spring of 2025 impacted many families who utilized the campus resource.
Students may be able to bring their children to the center, though the exact details surrounding the matter are still being worked out, according to Wynn-Walker.
With the partnership, Wynn-Walker said she has a desire for educators and herself to make a difference in children’s lives, as well as make the community a better and stronger place.
“I want to see change coming,” she said. “I want this partnership to be something that is just, like, golden.”