Foundation Profiles: Scholarship Recipients
Isolde Curry
Isolde Curry, the recipient of the Jessie Copp Kramer/Hominy Valley Endowed Scholarship, has spent much of her life taking care of others. She has worked on service projects and helped take care of her great-grandmother and great-grandfather. "Everything I have done over the years has been a real growth experience and I am very pleased to know that I have done many things to help my family and community so far," she wrote in her essay. Curry wants to study Criminal Justice to help others. "There are so many positions to find from school resource officers to park rangers," she wrote.
Laurent Moe
North Carolina Retired School Personnel Scholarship winner Laurent Moe had planned on becoming a nurse since she portrayed one in a school recital at the age of five. "No other subject has held my attention and made me fall in love with it the way medicine has," she wrote. After Moe completes her Associate Degree in Nursing this spring, she plans to enroll at Western Carolina University and earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing to become a Registered Nurse. "Nursing school has been the most exhausting, exciting, frustrating, and rewarding period of my lifeŠbut through it all I can always remind myself that there is nothing else I'd rather be doing."
Bridgett Wells
Bridgett Wells received the North Carolina Retired School Personnel Scholarship to assist her in her goal to become an accountant. Wells plans to transfer to UNCA to become a CPA after completing her studies at A-B Tech this spring. She wants to try to find the financial means to pay for college without her parents' help. "I am willing to work hard to reach this goal because I feel that this would make me appreciate the education that I receive even more and make me work even harder as an accountant," Wells wrote in her essay.
Wachovia Technical Scholarship
Robby Russell, Community Market President for Wachovia Bank, and A-B Tech President K. Ray Bailey, congratulate student Sherry L. Daniel, on her selection for the Wachovia Technical Scholarship. Daniel, a Computer-Aided Drafting Technology student, has a 4.0 GPA and will graduate this May. The Wachovia Technical Scholarship was established during the 1983-84 school year and is valued at $500.
Welcome New Employees
The College welcomes 12 full-time employees who have accepted staff and faculty positions over the past few months.
Melvin R. Allen, Custodian, has worked as a janitor for Asheville City Schools and as a cook for the Juvenile Evaluation Center in Swannanoa.
Denise M. Anthes, Instructor of Nursing, received her B.S.N. in Nursing at Trenton State College, Trenton, NJ and her M.B.A. from Webster University, Charleston, SC. She spent six years as a staff RN at hospitals in Boynton Beach and Boca Raton, FL.
Martha G. Ball, Communications Specialist, earned her B.A. in Mass Communication from UNCA. Prior to coming to A-B Tech, she was a news assistant for the Asheville Citizen-Times and a teaching assistant and technology associate for Buncombe County Schools.
Cheryl J. Holder, Basic Skills Specialist, ABE/GED/AHS, was previously a part-time Basic Skills Recruiter for A-B Tech and earned a B.A. in History from Columbia Union College, Tacoma Park, MD, with further studies in Human Development at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. She was also an adult education teacher in Illinois.
Aidan M. Hoyal, Instructor of Spanish, has been an adjunct instructor at A-B Tech for three years, and the Youth Media Program Coordinator for the Media Arts Program. She received a B.A. and M.A. in Spanish from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; a B.A. in Latin American Studies and M.S. in Information Sciences, also from UT.
Suzanne W. Bryson, Business Manager, earned her B.A in Accounting from James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, with further study in Personnel Administration at JMU. She is a CPA and previously worked in the office of the State Auditor and with the Buncombe County Partnership for Children.
Alla Mikalchuk, Custodian, worked as a custodian in Rivno Hospital in Ukraine for 10 years and as a cashier for Bauduk Olga in Seattle, WA.
Jennings H. Minton, Instructor of Nursing, earned a B.S. in Psychology from Appalachian State University; a B.S.N. in Nursing from UNC; an M.S. in Midwifery from Philadelphia University, Philadelphia, PA; and a C.N.M. Nurse Midwife from Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing, Hyden, KY.
Karla S. Piccirillo, Secretary, Personnel, has been with A-B Tech as a part-time personnel secretary for six years. She earned an A.A.S. in Accounting and one in Business Administration from A-B Tech, and has furthered her studies at the University of Tennessee and University of North Alabama.
Jonathan S. Ross, Instructor of Digital Media, was previously the Director of the Digital Media Institute at Blue Ridge Community College and the Lead Designer and Project Manager for Motion Graphics, Eagle Entertainment, in Vestal, N.Y. He received his B.M. in Vocal Performance from James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA and his M.M. in Opera from Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY.
Sterling W. Lawrence, Audiovisual Technician, joins our full-time staff after spending a year as a part-time Audiovisual Technician at the college. He also was an Audiovisual Technician for Mars Hill College for 18 years. He earned his A.A.S. in Electronic Engineering from A-B Tech and a B.B.A. in Marketing from Georgia Southern University.
Linda W. Seals, Secretary, Admissions, earned her A.A.S. in Office Technology from A-B Tech. She was previously a Secretary at A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, and an Office Manager for L.F. Zerfoss Associates for 17 years.