NC Community Colleges Celebrate Excellence in Education

RALEIGH – Governor Pat McCrory has proclaimed April as “North Carolina Community College Excellence in Education Month.”  Students from all 58 community colleges are receiving awards for academic excellence, as well as the Governor Robert W. Scott Student Leadership Award and the Dr. Dallas Herring Achievement Award.

“Students seek out our community colleges because the education and skills they acquire lead to opportunity – for a career, for further education and ultimately to get them that much closer to reaching their goals,” says NC Community College System President, Dr. Scott Ralls.  “This is a true celebration of community college excellence and the successes that happen every day on our campuses.”

La’Quon Rogers, a student at Pitt Community College, is the 2015 recipient of the Governor Robert W. Scott Student Leadership Award.  The award, sponsored by the North Carolina Association of Community College Presidents (NCACCP), was created in 2004 to recognize student leadership on a statewide level while also honoring former Governor Scott, one of the earliest supporters of the NC Community College System and the fourth System President from 1983 until 1994. Each award recipient receives a plaque and a $1,000 scholarship from the NC Community Colleges Foundation.

Stella Galyean, a student at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, is the 2015 recipient of the Dr. Dallas Herring Achievement Award.  The award was established in 2010 by the NCACCP to honor the late Dr. Dallas Herring, considered one of the founding fathers of community colleges in North Carolina.  The award is bestowed annually upon a current or former student who best embodies Dr. Herring’s philosophy of “taking people where they are and carrying them as far as they can go.” Each award recipient receives a plaque and a $1,000 scholarship from the NC Community Colleges Foundation.

One student from each of the 58 community colleges received Academic Excellence Awards (AEA).  AEA selection requirements are consistent with Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society criteria. Students:

·      Must be currently enrolled,

·      Must have completed at least 12 semester hours in an associate degree program, and

·      Must have a cumulative grade point average of no less than 3.25.

Each student receives a plaque and medallion in honor of their academic accomplishments.

Daniel Stickel, Alamance Community College

Paulette Gardner, Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College

Danielle Williams, Beaufort County Community College

Robin Novak, Bladen Community College

Shanita Jackson, Blue Ridge Community College

Marley Templeman, Brunswick Community College

Elizabeth Bullock, Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute

William Koch, Cape Fear Community College

Katelin Colvin, Carteret Community College

Chanda Sherrill, Catawba Valley Community College

Isaac Phillips, Central Carolina Community College

Moza Hamud, Central Piedmont Community College

Erin Pruitt, Cleveland Community College

Robin Kerr, Coastal Carolina Community College

Anastasia Izvekova, College of The Albemarle

Hallie French, Craven Community College

Mitchell Cleary, Davidson County Community College

Shantel Richardson, Durham Technical Community College

Andre Cooper, Edgecombe Community College

Scarlett Burgess, Fayetteville Technical Community College

Angela Tournay, Forsyth Technical Community College

Thu Vu, Gaston College

Gary Johnson, Guilford Technical Community College

Krystle Pendergrass, Halifax Community College

Andrew Brewer, Haywood Community College

Amanda Guevara, Isothermal Community College

Leslie Raynor, James Sprunt Community College

Matthew Green, Johnston Community College

Becky Leon, Lenoir Community College

Holly Davis, Martin Community College

Matthew Ray, Mayland Community College

Dalton Brooks, McDowell Technical Community College

Alexis Kryssing, Mitchell Community College

Elizabeth Johnson, Montgomery Community College

Lilia Martinez, Nash Community College

Zachery James, Pamlico Community College

Joanna Cheek, Piedmont Community College

Eric Walls, Pitt Community College

Monica Spencer, Randolph Community College

Christi Miles, Richmond Community College

George Yandle, Richmond Community College

Kayla Wolverton, Roanoke-Chowan Community College

Rachel Maynor, Robeson Community College

Michael Matthews, Rockingham Community College

Amber Blackwelder, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College

Joshua Mesimer, Sampson Community College

Joshua Babb, Sandhills Community College

Paula Alanis, South Piedmont Community College

Nico Reyes, Southeastern Community College

Conner Wilson, Southwestern Community College

Xee Cindy Xiong, Stanly Community College

Kenneth Easter, Surry Community College

Rebecca Williamson, Tri-County Community College

Geoffrey Arnott, Vance-Granville Community College

Korey Butler, Wake Technical Community College

Audi Torres, Wayne Community College

Coley Cannon, Western Piedmont Community College

Kayla Myers, Wilkes Community College

Sadie Herndon, Wilson Community College