Foundation Honors Scholarship Donors and Recipients

WINTERVILLE—The Pitt Community College Foundation held its annual Scholarship Reception Wednesday to recognize 2022-23 scholarship recipients and the donors who made their awards possible.

The event, which took place in the Craig F. Goess Student Center’s Davenport Multipurpose Room, featured special recognitions and remarks from scholarship recipients Grant Collins and Nisaa Shabazz. Collins, a prospective nursing student, received the Thomas E. Minges/Pepsi Scholarship, while Shabazz is the recipient of two foundation awards: the Dr. Edgar Boyd Endowed Scholarship and the National Association of Women in Construction Scholarship.

A Pasquotank County High School graduate, Shabazz is pursuing a Welding Technology degree from PCC after a friend introduced her to the trade. She hopes to open a fabrication shop someday and says her scholarships have meant the world to her as she pursues that goal.

“Resources like (these scholarships) impact the lives of people like me every year,” Shabazz said. “It’s also nice to be recognized for something you love.”

The reception also featured PCC Softball Coach Cassie Harrell discussing the creation of the Abby Foster Memorial Scholarship with the foundation to honor the life of a Bulldogs pitcher who died in a 2021 car wreck. With Foster’s father, Shawn, in attendance, Harrell said the inaugural $500-scholarship went to Pitt softball player Lindsey Curlings, who is seeking an associate in arts degree with plans to pursue a career as a physician’s assistant.

According to PCC Scholarships Coordinator Kim Simpkins, the foundation has awarded 549 scholarships, totaling $288,000, so far during the 2022-23 academic year. She said the organization awarded 678 scholarships worth $322,000 during the entire 2021-22 academic year.

“We’re so excited to have been able to award as many scholarships as we have so far this year,” Simpkins said. “The Scholarship Reception gives us a chance to shine a spotlight on the PCC Foundation’s generous donors and an opportunity for our student scholarship recipients to personally thank those individuals and organizations.”

10/10/2022