I began my COA career as a dual-enrolled high school student in Fall 2008. After graduation I came to COA full-time.

I had desired to go back to school for years and it was my children, now two, four, and 10 years of age, who were my motivation to do so. I wanted to prove to them, and myself, that it is never too late to better yourself.

Deciding to come to Craven Community College has proved to be one of the best choices I could have made for myself and for my future. When I enrolled with Craven, my mother had just divorced my step-father, and my home life and finances were unstable.

It would be an understatement to say that I was terrified to return to school after 27 years. Unexpectedly, I found myself having to close my business and facing surgery that would leave me with a long recovery.

This past fall Biology instructor Courtney Kilgore nominated fellow Biology instructor Jennifer Brown for Robeson Community College's Instructor of the Year award.

Going back to school after 30 years was quite a daunting challenge for me. As a single mother of two teenagers, it was necessary for me to lead by example; therefore, failure was not an option.

Michelle Leggett, a nurse on the second floor of Vidant Beaufort Hospital, said it was her daughter’s illness that led her to leave a successful business career and pursue a career as a nurse. But she credits Beaufort County Community College for helping her succeed in her new career.

When I transferred to Durham Tech from another university, I came with a low GPA and no plans to get involved around campus. I intended to keep my head down, do my work, and transfer to a four-year university as soon as I could.

Michelle Goble had a revelation in 2011. For a little more than a year, she had worked at Westfield Elementary School, helping kindergarten through fifth grade students with their classroom studies and then with second and third graders who needed help with reading.

College of The Albemarle and Currituck County have received the North Carolina Community College System prestigious Distinguished Partners in Excellence Award for their collaborative efforts and vision in building the Regional Aviation and Technical Training Center in Currituck County. Dr.

I am a first generation Hispanic college student working to obtain an Associate in Science degree at Nash Community College (NCC). My greatest career goal is to obtain a Ph.D. in Biology with a concentration in a medical or animal conservation field.

When ABB, an international leader in power and automation technologies, offered a co-op position to Wake Tech student David Winger, the company strengthened an already-powerful partnership.

In my youth, I attended college for a semester or two, but quit. I found myself in an abusive relationship, working in a series of unsatisfying and poorly paid jobs. Escaping that part of my life, my priorities changed when I became a military spouse.

My name is Rebecca Anderson, and as a freshman and sophomore, I have attended Vance-Granville Community College. By the end of this spring semester I plan to have completed my Associate in Science Degree.

I am Joao Washington Bezerra, and I am originally from Brazil. All my life, I was taught to be involved and help people. In Brazil, I served as a volunteer at a school in a poor community.

My decision to go back school and pursue a nursing degree at Piedmont Community College was rooted in my desire to help people. As a former Army combat medic, I was many years removed from direct patient care and had been in medical management in various capacities for years.

Cape Fear Community College graduate Jamir Jumoke was selected as the recipient of the 2014 Dallas Herring Achievement Award by the N.C. Community College System.

Being healthy and physically fit is essential to performing the duties of a firefighter safely and efficiently.

Wayne Community College has helped me work on completing my current goals and strive for success. The teachers, staff, and other students have been a pleasure to work with and made this learning experience the best possible.

Before attending GTCC, I was a college dropout without a purpose in life. Stubborn and naïve, I believed that life consisted of what I saw on the Real World, which of course set me up for more failure. I used materialism, intimate relationships, and drugs to fill the void I felt within myself.

When I made the choice to further my education I chose to attend a community college for financial reasons but I wanted one that was welcoming and showed dedication to their students by providing motivational staff, faculty and easily accessible resources.

As a mature student looking to re-tool and refresh, I enrolled in Halifax Community College with a plan. My plan was to take some classes and graduate. Sounds simple doesn't it?

I enrolled at Wilkes Community College two years ago to pursue the Architectural Technology degree. It only took one drafting class in high school and I was instantly hooked.

My success story begins with a year-long break from school, where I determined what I wanted to do with my life. During that break, I taught school children team-building skills as well as environmental education at the Betsy-Jeff Penn 4-H Center in Reidsville, North Carolina.

Since graduating high school in 1988, I dreamed of furthering my education by going to college and pursuing a career of my choice. Instead I married, had children, divorced, and became a single mother. My personal dreams faded in exchange for creating a life built around others' needs.

“It's not a job, it's an adventure.” That used to be the recruiting slogan for the Army. After ten years and multiple deployments, including two combat tours to Iraq, I can say it truly is an adventure. Unfortunately, that adventure left me ill-prepared for civilian life.

Daniel Triplett’s applied engineering students at Wilkes Community College were challenged by Meadow Mills in Wilkesboro to find a solution to a design flaw with a grain mill, and they did it!

I am currently a student of Duplin Early College High School and will complete both my high school diploma and Associate in Arts degree in 4 years, graduating in May 2014.

Washington County business owners Sharon and Billy Maitland had a dream - they would open an upscale restaurant in an abandoned grocery store on Main Street in Creswell.

After 18 years of working in the airline industry, Margaret Raynor decided to retire in 2005. She tried several different jobs over the next six years, but she still wasn't fully satisfied.

As a child in Texas, Jeremy Jackson was designated as a special needs student. He graduated high school and came to Asheville not knowing what his future held.

After I graduated from high school, I began a career as an automotive technician. At first, I was satisfied with my career choice, and the fact that I never went to college. Over time, I realized that I did not want to repair and maintain vehicles for the rest of my life.

In 2012, I graduated high school with a GPA of 2.0 and made some poor life choices. I can only describe myself as a disenchanted teenager who fell between the cracks. With my bad grades and unruly conduct, I came to feel like a failure.

In January of 2011, I attended a women's conference that was hosted by a local church in town. When the Guest Speaker described the different places she had traveled to, I was shown images of people who looked different than me.