On Jan. 20, President Obama delivered his sixth and final State of the Union address in which he reviewed several topics such as: how the economy has steadily improved since the recession following the mortgage crisis in 2009, how unemployment has drastically gone down, and also how solar energy and other renewable resources are helping create new jobs and at the same time protect the planet, and many more.

But the topic that drew my attention the most was the announcement that Obama made about a new proposition to make community college free for, as he put it, “anyone who is willing to work for it.”

The proposed plan would make the first two years of community college free, that being a tremendous help to the thousands of students across the country and here at Bakersfield College.

More and more students are dropping out of college because of the high cost of tuition but financial aid does help a lot.

It’s a process many students coming out of high school are willing to pass on and just rather find full-time work to make money instead of attending college.

Getting rid of that barrier for the first two years of college would serve as a great incentive for students to seek higher education.

That is if Obama goes through with this plan. As of Jan. 21, the president’s approval ratings have gone up to 67 percent, up by 20 percent in just a day following the speech.

Let’s just hope this isn’t another political gimmick to keep his approval ratings up until he has to hand over the torch to the next in line, helping him go out on a good note.

I just hope this proposal, like many others doesn’t get swept under the rug and takes years and years to approve, because many people would greatly benefit from this.

Young adults wouldn’t have to take out large loans to pay for their education, and kids coming out of high school would have a clearer path towards having a career, as well as renewed confidence in the education system, which lots of people have given up on.