| For release: Immediately | Contact: Peggy
Beach
beachm@nccommunitycolleges.edu |
| Date: April 24,2007 | Telephone: 919-807-6964 |
Community college students recognized for
academic achievements
RALEIGH -- One hundred sixteen (116) community college students from
across North Carolina received special recognition today at the
Hilton North Raleigh for their academic success at their respective
community colleges. Also in attendance at the luncheon were H.
Martin Lancaster, president, North Carolina Community College
System, and more than 30 members of the North Carolina General
Assembly. Three students were selected to share their personal
stories and represent all the students who were honored, each with
an equally compelling story. (Click on each student's name
for full text.)
Marti
Curtis(left) , a student at Beaufort County
Community College, will graduate in May with an associate’s degree
in nursing. She has a 3.73 GPA. Curtis grew up in Northern Ireland
where bombings, shootings and the sound of police sirens were a
part
of her daily life. After marrying her first husband, a police
officer, death threats became a normal part of her routine. She
worked as a store manager in Belfast and London. When she and her
husband divorced, Curtis moved to North Carolina after meeting new
friends on the Internet. Her new husband, David,
encouraged her to
go to community college to become a nurse, a life long dream. “Be
grateful for the freedoms you have here in America,” she said. “And
thank you, community colleges for giving me the opportunity to
reinvent myself.”
Angela Robinson (right) ,a student at Montgomery Community College, will graduate in May with an associate’s degree in office systems technology. She has a 3.81 GPA. Robinson described herself as a “shy person who did not participate in clubs or sports in high school but who has had a strong interest in learning.” After graduating from high school, Robinson went directly into the workforce. A few years later, she found herself without a job when the company she worked for laid off a number of employees. Montgomery Community College sent a “Rapid Response Team” to the company to encourage the former employees to attend college. Robinson credits this visit with giving her the idea that she could go to college. “From the first day, I was greeted with kindness and patience. I was so impressed with the support of the college staff and faculty…I will never forget the way I was embraced by the college staff and my fellow students. I now have the confidence to do anything I want to do even get more education.”
Christian Conway(center), a student at Southwestern Community College, will graduate in May with an associate in arts degree in the college transfer program. He plans to attend Western Carolina University in the fall. Conway has a 4.00 GPA. Conway said that he has “never been one to overachieve.” He spent much of his 20’s in the mountain towns of the American Southwest, mountain climbing, biking or skiing. Then he met “a brown-eyed girl” with a college degree who inspired him toward success. He married her and is a “Mr. Mom” to their three-year old son while attending college full time. Conway credits the Student Support Services office staff at Southwestern Community College with encouraging him in his studies and also to volunteer his time as a math and chemistry tutor to his fellow students. “It is truly helpful to meet people who are focused on bringing out the best in us. Through my contacts at Southwestern Community College, my life has deepened, my experience enriched and my vision clarified.”
During the luncheon, other students were also recognized.
Dr. Don Reichard, president, Johnston Community College and president of the North Carolina Association of Community College Presidents, recognized Jim Fleming, a college transfer student at Durham Technical Community College, as the recipient of the Robert W. Scott Student Leadership Award. Fleming, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, was among 44 nominees from community colleges across the state. He is currently vice president of the student senate and president of the math club. Fleming also organized shifts of Durham Tech students, faculty and staff to volunteer at a local evaluation center for Hurricane Katrina refugees. The award is presented by the North Carolina Association of Community College Presidents. It was named for the former governor and former community college system president. Fleming received a trophy and $500.
Sharon Smith, a student award recipient from Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, was recognized as a 2007 New Century Scholar for North Carolina. Smith and her fellow student award recipient from Asheville-Buncombe Technical, Wendy Gade, were recently named to the second team of the All-USA Academic Team. Robin Potawsky, a student award recipient from Catawba Valley Community College, was recently named to the third team of the All-USA Academic Team.
Adam Lance (pictured right), one of the student award recipients from Blue Ridge Community College, received a very unexpected surprise at the luncheon. Lancaster announced that Lance was named as a recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. There is no larger scholarship, or one involving such intense competition, available to community college students. Lance will graduate in May with an associate’s degree in nursing. He has a 4.00 GPA and plans to transfer this fall to Western Carolina University. This is the third year in a row that a Blue Ridge Community College student has received a Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship.
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