My name is Jessica Cain. I am 19 years old and I am currently enrolled in my fourth and final semester at Bladen Community College. I will graduate in May 2013 with my Associate in Arts degree.

Moving to the United States from Mexico at the age of two, Diana Gonzalez knew first-hand the communication difficulties her family had while she was growing up. “I usually had to translate for my mother whenever she would have appointments,” Diana recalls.

After being a stay-at-home mother for five years, I enrolled in college when my son began kindergarten. I felt that the time had come to invest in my intellect and the future security of my family by pursuing a degree.

Choosing a college can be one of the toughest decisions a high school senior has to make, and that certainly was the case for me.

My first three semesters at Brunswick Community College have been very successful, and I hope to continue my success during the spring and beyond. With some success has come some adversity, but these obstacles have strengthened me as a student and person.

My greatest achievements are becoming a wife, dedicated mother of three young boys, and a college student. In 2007, I graduated from Guilford Technical Community College with Honors, was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, and received my AAS in Culinary Arts.

“I consider myself a servant student leader.

I was motivated to change my life after I held my two daughters from birth and promised their lives would not be like mine. As a single parent, I decided to enroll full-time at GTCC to accomplish my goal of becoming a community fitness educator.

At nineteen, I find it difficult to think of my life as a “success story.” How can someone who has not even been alive for two decades claim such an achievement? At my age, success does not define me yet, but is something I aspire to achieve.

  I have never considered myself a successful person until I became a student at Cape Fear Community College. This journey has set me on a path that I would have never been able to envision for myself.

My path to Richmond Community College has been interesting and the timing could not have been better.  I am a Florida State graduate with a Bachelors Degree in Criminology; not knowing exactly what to do with my degree I moved home from school and went to work for my uncle in the electrical busin

To Brian Pham, one meaning of freedom is being able to pursue a good education. Pham, who was born in Vietnam and came to the United States in 1998 with his parents and sister. He is the 2013 North Carolina Community College System's Dallas Herring Award recipient. 

Winston Churchill described tenacity by saying, “Success is the ability to move from failure to failure without losing momentum” (Bureau).  Though I have always had tenacity, it has not always been of an academic nature.

After graduating from Chapel Hill High School in 2010, I took a semester off and worked at a local restaurant. While working, I volunteered with the NC Special Olympics and helped students with Intellectual Disabilities in the classroom.

My name is Rachelle West. Along with being a full time student, I am a wife and mother. My husband and our five children are supportive of my decision to go back to school.

Inspired by my mother's success, I chose Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (A-B Tech) because I needed an affordable way to find my path in life. Here, I met supportive, caring teachers who encouraged me to pursue psychology and creative writing, my two greatest passions.

I chose James Sprunt Community College because I was told they had a really good welding program and VA representative. As a veteran that was important to me. I was in the marines for four years and did two deployments overseas.

In 2005, engineer and inventor Peter Crawford was on his way to Cape Lookout, N.C., in his sailboat, being buffeted by 30-knot winds.

After graduation from NCSU in 2001, I worked in a flourishing housing economy as a draftsman until the recession of 2008. As the recession progressed, I was faced with a stagnant career in a failing housing market.

For Deon Selby, returning to Central Piedmont Community College in summer 2010 seemed like one of life’s natural progressions. Not only had he previously earned his GED from the College in 1997, but his uncle and mother were alumni of the institution as well.

Eighteen years after earning a Bachelor’s degree in education, I decided to embark upon a new career in healthcare. It was a big decision to leave the teaching profession and a steady paycheck to return to school full-time.  

After five years in the U.S. Navy, Ari Saint-Lot relocated to North Carolina and was looking for a new career, but wanted more than just a "regular" job. After two years at Cape Fear Community College, he got it.

I never could have imagined graduating from high school early or attending college at the age of sixteen. I was home schooled throughout most of my elementary education and also throughout high school. Home schooling gave me the opportunity to work ahead.

“My family is a walking advertisement for Central Carolina Community College,” said Kimberly Neiss, a single mother of 10.

Neiss and five of her children have all graduated from or are still attending the college.

In 1980, while finishing a class in Early Childhood Development at McDowell High School, my heart’s desire and future goal was to somehow continue my education, and return the love and respect that had promoted the positive growth that I had experienced in my life.  Mt instructors offered motivat

After being out of high school for over nineteen years and never taken a college class ever, I began to have trouble adapting to the college class environment and lacked self-confidence. I was starting to doubt whether I was really cut out or even smart enough for college.

From day one at Craven I was given support and guidance, yet empowered to be in control of my education and decisions at the same time. When my family relocated to North Carolina, I decided to change career paths and follow my longtime dream of becoming a teacher.

The idea of college always seemed nice, but I never considered it would become a reality.  When the economy took its toll on the construction industry, I did not realize my path of life would change for the better.

Pursuing a dream is not easy. My dream has always been to become a labor and delivery nurse. That dream became secondary while I raised my young daughter as a single mother, but finally at age 30, I was able to start college and my dream came back into focus.

My journey in post-secondary education began at the age of twenty-three. I graduated from high school six years earlier and set out to make a name for myself as a musician. As I grew older, my priorities changed, and I found myself wanting to be a force for good in my community.

Erin Marie Souther has been selected as Durham Technical Community College’s Academic Excellence Award recipient for 2013. Souther is planning to graduate in May 2013 with an Associate in Applied Science degree in Dental Laboratory Technology.

College is a foundation that many people need to succeed in life, and my foundation started at Tri County Community College.  I got my G.E.D eight years ago at Tri-County and now I’m 21 hours away from my two year degree.

Edgecombe Community College has been an academic oasis during this initial phase of my college journey. Without a doubt, the College’s faculty has had a decisive impact on my intellectual formation.