Ottawa student wins IVCC Paul Simon Essay Contest

McKinzie Tarbox felt out of step when she returned to college a few years after graduating from high school.

“I was nervous and convinced that I was behind. Sitting in classrooms again felt intimidating, and I often questioned whether I truly belonged. But having the opportunity to get involved at IVCC changed everything. If there is one thing this experience has taught me, it is that you are not behind. You are becoming,” Tarbox wrote in her winning essay for the 2026 Paul Simon Student Essay Contest.

Tarbox, of Ottawa, will read her essay at the College’s Commencement Ceremony at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, May 16. In addition, her essay will be submitted for the Illinois Community College Trustees Association statewide Simon award. Students were asked to describe how IVCC changed their lives.

After high school, Tarbox earned a certified nursing assistant (CNA) certificate and worked in home health care. The evolution of her career path was inspired by an occupational therapist who was working with her young client.

Her journey to become an occupational therapist began at IVCC. “I’m a first-generation college student, so IVCC felt less intimidating. In just one semester at IVCC, my life began to change in ways I never expected.”

She enrolled in the TRIO program, Project Success, and took a place on its leadership team, volunteered at campus blood drives and the campus food pantry, joined the International Student Club, and ultimately became a peer mentor through the College’s counseling and mental health services.

“Each opportunity created a space for me to grow and feel supported by the faculty who saw potential in me. Their encouragement gave me the courage to keep pushing forward. As a peer mentor, I support other students who feel the same insecurities and fears that I felt.”

Tarbox plans to travel abroad to study in Costa Rica as part of IVCC’s international study program and has embraced other experiences that once terrified her, such as public speaking.

“To think that just months prior, I was afraid to raise my hand in class and now I was speaking to crowds! IVCC has shaped my confidence, strengthened my voice, and helped me discover who I am capable of becoming. The moment you choose to show up, even when you have doubts, is the moment your life begins to change. Now I step forward, I speak up, and I help others see that they belong here too.”