Nash Community College is proud to announce the following students achieved academic honors during the 2013 spring semester. To qualify for the Dean’s List, students must earn a perfect 4.0 grade point average (all A’s) while taking 12 or more semester hours. Students who qualify for the Honor Roll must earn a grade point average of 3.3 or above and be enrolled in 12 or more semester hours. Continue reading →

Nash and Wilson Community Colleges are recipients of an $845,000 grant through the Golden LEAF Essential Skills in Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Initiative. The grant supports Project NC301, a partnership aimed at meeting employment demands in the local pharmaceutical, logistics manufacturing and metal fabrication industries. Because of the high-tech nature of today’s advanced manufacturing workplace, employers need workers with technical, specialized knowledge that requires college-level training or a technical degree. Project NC301 participants pursue targeted skill enhancement, work experiences, third-party industry certifications, and interview opportunities with industry partners to gain the training and skills for employment. Degrees, certifications, and diplomas are available in computer-integrated machining, electronics engineering technology, tire manufacturing, welding, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and other engineering and manufacturing technology disciplines.

“The Golden LEAF Board of Directors created this special initiative with the awareness that North Carolina leads the Southeast in manufacturing jobs, with more than 18 percent of the rural workforce earning $8.5 billion in manufacturing wages,” said Dan Gerlach, Golden LEAF President. “In Nash and Wilson counties, seven local companies have indicated a need for over 680 jobs in the next three years. This project will help provide skills training for high wage jobs, connect the local industries with the skilled workers they need, and upgrade the capacity of our training institutions.”

Through the grant, Project NC301 will implement several strategies to ensure participants of any age or experience level can achieve short-term career goals and progress towards long-term educational goals simultaneously. The colleges will partner with local schools and employers to create a seamless progression for students from high school through a two-year degree and into a four-year degree or the workforce. Displaced workers will prepare to enter locally available essential skills-based positions and will access further education necessary for career advancement or higher degrees. The grant will support the purchase of advanced manufacturing equipment, assist students with certification and internship expenses, and provide support for the supplies and training necessary to prepare students for third-party certification exams.

“This two county section of 301 is a complex mix of manufacturing sectors. Assisting these important industrial clients with job training is a community college obligation. Golden LEAF recognized the value of making an investment in programs and people,” NCC President Dr. Bill Carver said.

The grant will allow the colleges to provide more enhanced and accelerated occupational, career and academic training opportunities in the advanced manufacturing disciplines. Additional career training and industry partnerships will result in more internship and co-op opportunities and increase the employability of degree, diploma and certificate graduates. Project NC301 will lead to an increase in students enrolled in and successfully completing advanced manufacturing certificate, diploma and degree programs, more industry and third-party credentials earned, and more students interviewed and hired for well-paying jobs in the advanced manufacturing industry.

“Wilson Community College is fortunate to work with the farsighted people of the Golden LEAF Foundation and visionaries such as President Carver of Nash Community College, who can see the need and opportunity to significantly enhance the training infrastructure in the 301 corridor supporting our industrial partners and the very good jobs that are in manufacturing,” Wilson Community College President Dr. Rusty Stephens said.

This project received support from the Golden LEAF Foundation. For more information about the project or Nash Community College’s Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies programs, call 252-451-8235.

Nash and Wilson Community Colleges are recipients of an $845,000 grant through the Golden LEAF Essential Skills in Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Initiative supporting Project NC301, a partnership aimed at meeting employment demands in the local pharmaceutical, logistics manufacturing and metal fabrication industries. Nash Community College President Dr. Bill Carver (right) and Wilson Community College President Dr. Rusty Stephens discuss local industry needs as they visit Nash Community College’s Advanced Manufacturing Lab.

Nash Community College’s most prestigious award, the President’s Cup, was awarded in April to Progress Energy in appreciation of their collaboration and support of the Electric Line Construction program. Each year, the President’s Cup can be awarded to anyone affiliated with Nash Community College who has made an indelible mark on the College.

“Progress Energy’s support and industry partnership with Nash Community College assisted in providing training to students in a highly skilled profession,” NCC President Dr. Bill Carver said.

In 1999, Progress Energy’s efforts assisted in establishing a two-year Electric Lineman Technology associate degree program giving their employees a place to receive training. With nearly fifty percent of the industry’s line technicians nearing retirement, their partnership supported the College in training the future workforce to serve the local community and beyond.

Progress Energy generously provided funds for Nash Community College scholarships ensuring students have access to an affordable education. Their investment also provided for instructional items and training equipment. NCC Electric Line Construction graduate, Ryan Taylor, who completed the lineman academy program in the fall of 2010, said “I believe taking this course helped me acquire this job as I have been told that approximately 120 applicants applied.”

The College is extremely grateful to Progress Energy for their commitment in education and partnership in training tomorrow’s workforce for success in life.

In the photo: NCC President Dr. Bill Carver presents the President’s Cup Award to Tanya Evans for Progress Energy’s partnership and support of the NCC Electric Line Construction program. Evans, Community Relations Manager for Duke Energy Progress, also serves on the NCC Foundation Board of Directors.

More than 400 students, faculty, staff, and administrators from Nash Community College and the Nash-Rocky Mount Early College High School recently packaged 70,000 bags of food for Stop Hunger Now. Stop Hunger Now is an international hunger relief organization with the mission to end hunger by providing access to food and life-saving aid throughout the world. Event volunteers packaged enough food to equal 420,000 meals to help fight hunger. The event, sponsored by the Nash Community College Student Government Association, is one of many efforts by the NCC campus to reach out in support of the community both near and far.

Nash Community College Humanities Instructor Ashley Berry is the recipient of the 2013 J. Edgar and Peggie T. Moore Excellence in Teaching Award.

The Excellence in Teaching Award nominees are chosen through a peer and a student evaluation process from all full-time faculty members each year. There is a well-defined set of criteria developed to identify and reward quality teaching. The recipient is chosen by secret ballot by the full-time faculty and represents the best in community college instruction. Berry teaches Speech and Health classes.

“I am pleased when a student declares his or her enjoyment of my class, particularly when it is Public Speaking, one of the most feared classes at NCC.  Communication faculty recognize that our task can be a daunting one, for most students enter our classes dreading the semester,” Berry said.

As the 2013 recipient of the award, Berry received a cash award from Ed and Peggie Moore and will serve as Faculty Marshal for the College’s spring graduation programs. She will also represent NCC in the statewide North Carolina Community College System’s Excellence in Teaching Award process.

“As I prepare my lesson plans each semester, I try to anticipate the needs of my diverse student clientele.  I often ask myself: Is this a lesson my students can take beyond the classroom?” It is because of this philosophy that I am so overjoyed when I get a call or a letter from a former student enthusiastically declaring the usefulness of a particular lesson,” she continued.

Berry holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from North Carolina State University and a Master of Arts degree in Health Education from East Carolina University. She lives in Rocky Mount and began her career at Nash Community College in 2003.

Nash Community College students, faculty and staff celebrated “Green Day” by planting three magnolia trees on campus. During the tree planting ceremony, Dr. Margaret Sowerwine (right), Chair of the Medoc Group of the North Carolina Sierra Club, and NCC Biology Instructor Reggie Cobb (left) educated the campus about environmental issues and how to get involved in promoting improved environmental practices. Immediately following, campus volunteers participated in a litter pick-up along Old Carriage Road.

Green Day was led by Cobb, who shared “Although many people are aware of their environmental impact at home and other places such as work, vacation locations, and recreation areas, they are not aware of their impact when traveling from one destination to another. Those corridors are home to many wildlife as well as other people. If everyone becomes aware of how much we impact the environment and becomes a little more eco-friendly, then all living things can continue to inhabit the Earth.”

Nash Community College President Dr. Bill Carver visited with students recently during their ACA 115 class. Required for first-year students, the ACA 115 Success and Study Skills class teaches academic strategies necessary for success. Students are also provided an orientation to campus and offered information about other instructional resources. The class teaches participants about campus facilities, services, library skills, self-assessment and goal setting and critical thinking. ACA and the first year experience program, FOCUS, enable students to successfully transition to the demands and expectations of college. This is a part of the Quality Enhancement Plan aimed at helping each student graduate.

Faculty, staff and students from Nash Community College’s Betsy B. Currin Child Development Center celebrated The Week of the Young Child April 15–19. The week is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The purpose of the Week of the Young Child is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs. The 2013 Week of the Young Child theme is “Early Years Are Learning Years”.

NCC Betsy B. Currin Child Development Center and campus participants planted a “pinwheel for prevention” garden to kick off the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Week of the Young Child and to raise awareness about child abuse. The pinwheels represent a bright future for our children and the community. Center faculty, staff and students also participated in craft activities, planted a greenhouse garden and participated in a campus parade.

The Child Development Center opened its doors in August 1999 and serves children from birth through five years old from families of college employees, students and the community. The Five-Star licensed center operates Monday through Friday from 7:30 am until 5:30 pm. A recent expansion added college classroom space to the building, providing NCC Early Childhood Education students easy access to a real world lab setting enabling them to acquire valuable skills through observation and interaction with children and experienced teachers.

For more information about the Betsy B. Currin Child Development Center, call 252-451-1388, email anieves@nashcc.edu or visit www.nashcc.edu/cdc.