Students Earn NCCCS Academic Awards
President K. Ray Bailey, Vice President of Student Services Dennis King, Ernie MacDaniel and his son, Vitaliy Semenov and Vice President of Instruction Sharon Morrisey at the NCCCS's Academic Awards ceremony.
A-B Tech students Ernie MacDaniel and Vitaliy Semenov were honored at the North Carolina Community College System's Academic Excellence Awards program April 27 in Raleigh.
Semenov was also chosen as one of three student speakers for the event.
MacDaniel, a Construction Management student, and Semenov, a Sonography student, were among 116 students, two from each of the state's 58 community colleges, who were honored for academic success and demonstration of leadership ability.
"These students are being honored because of their strong determination to succeed," said NCCCS President H. Martin Lancaster. "Each man and woman also had the guidance of talented instructors and the support of loving family and friends."
MacDaniel was working at a factory in McDowell County with his wife, when they were laid off in September 2001. "My wife was very depressed about our situation, but I told her that we had a choice," MacDaniel said. "We could go to work in the same environment getting laid off again and having no control over our future, or we could make some changes."
MacDaniel enrolled in a GED program at Mayland Community College, while his wife became a full-time student at Mayland in the Early Childhood Education Program. He later earned an associate's degree in welding from A-B Tech and enrolled in construction management.
Semenov came to the United States (from the Ukraine) six years ago, after winning a raffle for a chance to emigrate with his wife and son. A medical doctor and pathologist in his former country, he enrolled in the Medical Sonography program at A-B Tech. "I met great advisors in the college such as the Director of Counseling, Deborah Harmon, and (Sonography Instructor) Chastity Case, who helped me to attain my goal of becoming a sonographer step by step," he said.
Harmon Makes Presentation to Presidents Association
Dr. Deborah Harmon, director of counseling, made a presentation at a meeting of the North Carolina Community College Presidents Association.
"Debby did a great job presenting to the CC Presidents," said Gordon Burns, president of Wilkes Community College and head of the association. "Thank you so much for an informative and enjoyable presentation! You'll be hearing from some of our folks."
The presentation to the Presidents Association outlined A-B Tech's successful outreach initiative linked to the needs of students, parents, the accountability movement in public instruction, and educators and counselors in both the high school and community college environments. Meaningful engagement of high school students, including early and ongoing assessment using ACCUPLACER, was highlighted.
Yelton Attends Incubation Conference
Russ Yelton, Director of the Small Business Center and Incubator, attended the 19th International Conference on Business Incubation May 15-18 in Baltimore. The conference offered educational sessions and networking venues to help business incubation and economic development professionals from around the world learn more about developing sustainable incubation programs and nurturing entrepreneurial talent. With the theme Dive Right In, the conference focused on both fundamental business incubation strategies and new industry trends. The National Business Incubation Association conducted the event.