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| For Release: IMMEDIATE | Contact: Public Affairs |
| Date: May 7, 2004 | (919) 807-6963 |
Community college academic achievers share stories of success
RALEIGH:
A laid-off worker finds success. An international student is nurtured by her new community. A mother triumphs over a family crisis to realize a childhood dream. These three personal stories were part of the North Carolina Community Colleges’ seventh annual Academic Excellence Awards luncheon, held today (Friday) at the North Raleigh Hilton.Two students from each of the 58 community colleges were selected for this special recognition, based on their academic accomplishment and community involvement. Three students offered personal stories of trials, hard work and triumph.
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Robert Fulton, an Automotive Systems Technology student with a 4.00 GPA, admitted to the audience he was nervous but said the two years he spent at Fayetteville Technical Community College gave him enough confidence to "stand here and speak with you today." Fulton lost his job to downsizing two years ago and says he found a new beginning at FTCC. "I had outdated skills and no confidence in myself. I was totally dependent on my wife." After only one year of school he was offered a job with great pay, but he decided to stay at FTCC. He wondered, "If I was offered that much after one year, what will I be offered after I graduate?" He wants to teach at his community college. |
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Misty Ward has wanted to be a nurse since she was 12 years old and today, at age 34, she is about to realize that dream. She almost didn’t make it. Because of her son Shade’s fight against leukemia, it took three tries for her to complete the Associate Degree Nursing program at College of The Albemarle. This month she’s graduating with a 3.94 GPA and already has a job. She began nursing school in 1999 and Shade was diagnosed in 2000. She dropped out of school to care for her son. After his chemotherapy, she returned to COA in 2001, only to have his disease recur. She dropped out again. A bone marrow transplant saved Shade’s life and now he is a healthy eight-year-old. Misty credits her "dedicated, knowledgeable, skillful and compassionate" instructors for "helping me attain my goals and improve my family’s financial situation." A recipient of financial aid and several scholarships, she said she is extremely grateful to the college, the North Carolina Community College System and the State of North Carolina. "I shall use my degree to pay back this state one patient at a time." |
Students from Gaston College and Tri-County Community College were not able to participate in the ceremony today because of graduation exercises.
RECIPIENTS OF THE 2004 ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARDS
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Alamance Community College Amy Lynch Richard Vestal, Jr. Asheville-Buncombe Technical Beaufort County Community College Bladen Community College Blue Ridge Community College Brunswick Community College Caldwell Community College Cape Fear Community College Carteret Community College Catawba Valley Community College Central Carolina Community College Central Piedmont Community College Cleveland Community College Coastal Carolina Community College College of The Albemarle Craven Community College Davidson County Community College Durham Technical Community College Edgecombe Community College Fayetteville Technical Community College Forsyth Technical Community College Gaston College Guilford Technical Community College Halifax Community College Haywood Community College Isothermal Community College James Sprunt Community College Johnston Community College Lenoir Community College
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Martin Community College Priscilla Baker Jason Freeman Mayland Community College McDowell Technical Community College Mitchell Community College Montgomery Community College Nash Community College Pamlico Community College Piedmont Community College Pitt Community College Randolph Community College Richmond Community College Roanoke-Chowan Community College Robeson Community College Rockingham Community College Rowan-Cabarrus Community College Sampson Community College Sandhills Community College South Piedmont Community College Southeastern Community College Southwestern Community College Stanly Community College Surry Community College Tri-County Community College Vance-Granville Community College Wake Technical Community College Wayne Community College Western Piedmont Community College Wilkes Community College Wilson Technical Community College
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