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2019 PCC Year-In-Review: Part II (July – December)

• 2019 PCC Year-In-Review: Part I (January-June)

WINTERVILLE—There were many highlights for Pitt Community College in the second half of 2019, including a student center groundbreaking, the start of a partnership to improve student outcomes, and new faces in key leadership positions.

The following is the second of two installments recapping events that took place at North Carolina’s seventh-largest community college in 2019.

JULY

  • Curtisia Canady begins serving as student body president.
  • PCC receives Finish Line Grant funding from the state to help students facing unforeseen financial emergencies continue enrollment and complete programs of study.
  • The PCC Engineering & Physical Sciences Club commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 space mission with a rocket launch.
  • PCC breaks ground at the future site of the Eddie & Jo Allison Smith Center for Student Advancement.

AUGUST

  • Marianne Cox takes over as vice president of Institutional Advancement after Susan Nobles retires.
  • PCC, Bob 93.3 and Minges Bottling Group partner on “Tuition Mission,” a two-day competition that results in a $5,000-scholarship for winner Markus McCraney.
  • International Paper Company awards PCC a grant to purchase portable handheld radios for campus police officers.
  • Student Lindsay McNally is chosen to participate in a four-day engineering design workshop at Langley Research Center through the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars program.
  • Employees kick off the new academic year focused on making certain PCC gets the most out of its three-year affiliation with the prestigious Achieving the Dream National Network.
  • Barber students provide free haircuts and school supplies to children in grades K-12 as part of their “50 Free Back-to-School” event.
  • PCC’s Transitional Studies Department organizes a professional development conference that draws rave reviews from the approximately 150 College and Career Readiness instructors who participate.
  • PCC welcomes Ignacio Peterlin to campus, marking the fifth time since 2011 the college has had at least one Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant on staff.
  • Mayne Pharma holds a reception for the first group of PCC students selected to participate in its new scholars program.

SEPTEMBER

  • PCC’s Small Business Center teams with the Pitt-Greenville Chamber of Commerce on a series of free seminars that offer small business owners tips for growing and marketing their services.
  • Georgia “Beth” Sigmon is named the PCC Foundation’s executive director.
  • Southern Bank presents a $25,000-check to the PCC Foundation as part of a $100,000-commitment to support the VISIONS program’s effort to raise $1 million by the end of 2019 to match a pledge of up to $2 million from the Eddie & Jo Allison Smith Family Foundation.
  • In memory of her son, Bob, who committed suicide in 2017, Nancy Owens decorates Suicide Prevention Rocks with inspirational messages that offer encouragement to those struggling with suicidal thoughts. She scatters the rocks throughout Pitt County, including the PCC campus, where her middle son, Rick, is vice president of administrative services.
  • Tavondia Burdett is named director of PCC’s Associate Degree Nursing program.
  • Nearly 600 students speak with area employers about part-time and seasonal/holiday jobs and internships during an event on campus.

OCTOBER

  • Pitt County middle school students receive an introduction to nontraditional STEM careers during a visit to campus.
  • Former NBA star Blue Edwards shares his success story with students participating in a new PCC speaker series.
  • Medical residents from East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine team with second-year nursing students on simulated patient care rounds in PCC’s simulation hospital.
  • The PCC Alumni Association honors four distinguished graduates for professional accomplishments and service to the college and community.
  • Nearly 40 UNC-Chapel Hill faculty and staff, including Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz, visit campus as part of the Tar Heel Bus Tour.
  • In recognition of her efforts with Senate Bill 600, State Sen. Don Davis presents a copy of the legislation to Continuing Education Dean Kristin Braswell. The bill, which became law Sept. 4, allows children of wartime veterans receiving certain educational benefits to use the funds on short-term workforce training courses that lead to industry credentials.

NOVEMBER

  • PCC Foundation officials report the 2019 Down East Holiday Show will net approximately $138,000, surpassing the previous year’s fundraising success.
  • Polysomnography Director Bruce Warrender receives the N.C. Academy of Sleep Medicine’s “Sleep Excellence Award” in recognition of significant contributions in sleep medicine practice, research, education, leadership and/or advocacy in North Carolina.
  • Former WNCT anchor Allan Hoffman shares his Vietnam War experiences with 2019 PCC Veterans Salute attendees.
  • C. GlaxoSmithKline Foundation awards PCC and Pitt County Schools a $25,000-Ribbon of Hope Grant in support of the PCC Technical Academy.
  • Employees participating in the redesigned PCC Leadership Academy visit the N.C. Community College System Office for meetings with state community college leaders.
  • D. Wyborny, a digital marketing and analytics expert, speaks with Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Economics students about utilizing technology to identify and target consumers.
  • More than 130 Pitt County high school seniors participate in “Pathways to PCC” to gain information that will help them make well-informed decisions regarding higher education.

DECEMBER

  • Instructors Patricia Adams and Happy Gingras partner to release the second edition of a book on converting traditional classroom courses into online instruction.
  • The PCC Foundation makes a final push to complete its VISIONS Match campaign.
  • PCC’s Construction & Industrial Technology Career Fair gives students enrolled in technical programs a chance to introduce themselves to area business and industry representatives.
  • New VISIONS students receive laptops through a partnership between Altice USA and Durham’s Kramden Institute.
  • PCC student Ivanya Johnson wins XplorationStation’s 2019 #StudentExplorer Contest and will join some of the world’s top conservationists in Hawaii on a free dive with sharks.


01/06/2020