“Today we honor students who exemplify academic excellence, committed and creative leadership, and thoughtful service – all core values of the College,” read Dr. Joyce Johnson’s welcome in the Honors Convocation program. Johnson, vice president of instruction and student development, decided to enhance PCC’s previous award ceremony and, in a much more formal service in which faculty and presenters wore academic regalia, students from various programs of study, as well as faculty and staff, were recognized for their academic achievements.
Students with a 4.0 grade point average (GPA) who are also graduating this year were recognized at the beginning of the ceremony. These students are: Lynn Boyer, Mahalia Brooks, Melonie Castle, Michael Farmer, Wendy Garibaldi-Prado, Iris Hester, Steven Howell, Joanna Johnson, Mary Louise Kafer, Brandy Oakley, Jennifer Tillman, and Micah Yarber.
Full-time students who earned a cumulative 4.0 GPA in Fall 2015. These students are: Tina Albright, Fatima Alvarez-Garcia, Krista Armour, Corey Bailey, Mark Bailey, Michael Barbee, Morgan Blalock, Summer Boswell, Shanon Bowling, Tammy Broadwell, Brittany Buchanan, Keri Bullock, Her’rice Burden, Corina Campbell, John Carr, Ashley Carver, Melonie Castle, Joshua Coins, Brandon Combs, Robert Craig, Erica Crump, Malika Cunningham, Jenne’a Defeo, Stacey Dixon, David Dufour, Jerry Ellis, River Ellis, David English, Madeline Erdner, Valenecia Fortune, Libia Gaviria, Steven Gentry, Melissa Gilliam, Wilbert Goins, Gino Gonzalez, Ronald Groening, Stefan Gudac, Edward Guerra, Sherry Gunter, Michelle Hall, Laney Hammond, Deborah Harford, Amanda Henry, Wendy Herndon, Jensine Honeycutt, William Horne, Steven Howell, Steffen Imrick, Mark Jenkins, Joanna Johnson, Peter Jorgensen, Stephanie Justice, Mary Louise Kafer, Brooke Lancaster, Melissa Lancaster, Kevin Lasley, Erica Moore, Shante Newman, Kayla Nichols, Douglas Olson, Madyson Parlier, Caroline Pearce, Katherine Peeler, Tammy Prater, Jennifer Prichard, Danny Pulliam, Kenneth Pulliam, Kimberly Ray, Logan Reaves, Rebecca Reaves, Tyler Rogers, Thaddeus Sarver, Richard Scott, Sarah Smith, Sandra Thon, Nannie Thorpe, Kelly Vaughn, Taylor Vaughn, Wendy Watkins, Joshua Welch, Brandon West, John Wiggins, Austin Williams, Laura Williams, Nicole Wingate, Jenna Wrenn, Micah Yarber, and Wanda Newton
In addition, the following students were also recognized:
Elizabeth Harford (Home School), Mary Louise Kafer (Person High School), Tyler Reaves (Roxboro Community School), and Stephanie Watkins (Bartlett-Yancey High School) received the Career and College Promise Bright Star Awards. These students participated in the Career and College Promise Program and demonstrated the following character traits: caring, respectful, integrity, fair, responsible, trustworthy, honest, initiative, perseverance, and responsible. They also demonstrated good leadership and teamwork.
Zachary Combs received the Golden Laurel Award. This award is given to the graduating student in the Associate in Arts Program with the highest GPA. Zachary had a 3.95 GPA.
Amber Honeycutt (Fall Semester) and Jennifer Pritchard (Spring Semester) received the Clio Award. This award is given to the outstanding student in History.
Charles Irvin received the Erasmus Award. This award is given to the student who has demonstrated outstanding work in a Humanities class.
Kawanna Long received the Excellence in English Award. This award is given to a student who has demonstrated consistent excellence in English classes.
Jennifer Pritchard received the Art Achievement Award. This award is given to the student who has consistently shown the ability and intellect to think outside the box.
Lana Frazier received the Art Contribution Award. This award is given to the student who has made the greatest contribution to the Art program through participation in and out of class.
Mary Louise Kafer received the Excellence in Stem Award. This award is given to a student in the Associate in Science degree program with the highest GPA, with special attention placed on the highest GPA among STEM students.
Jessica Horne received the Stem Momentum Award. This award is given to a student in the Associate in Science degree program that demonstrates great effort and promise in the STEM field and has also been recognized by his/her instructor for his/her hard work and diligence. This student may not have the highest GPA, but shows great STEM momentum.
Elizabeth Harford and Mary Louise Kafer received the Outstanding Chemist Award.
This award is given to students who earned an “A” in Chemistry 151 and whose midterm grade in Chemistry 152 is also an “A”.
Katelyn Lopez (Associate Degree in Nursing), Vivian Kpenosen (Associate Degree in Nursing), Morgan Martin (Medical Assisting), Jessica Scoville (Medical Assisting), and Lisa Talbott (Associate Degree in Nursing) received the Medical Assisting and Associate Degree Nursing Commitment to Caring Award. These awards are given to students who demonstrate a commitment to caring in the clinical setting.
Drake Howell received the Pinnacle Award. This award is given to a student who represents the positive attributes of responsible leadership in the Technical and Occupational Programs of study.
Cristian McLaughlin (Person County) and Jeanean Bustamante (Caswell County) received the Legacy of Leadership Award. This award is given to a student from each campus who has been recognized by the Campus community for service learning, community engagement, and/or student leadership.
Tiara Portillo received the Pacer Leadership Award. This award is given to the student leader in a club or organization who demonstrates outstanding leadership and service to the College community.
Micah Yarber received the Excellence in Artistic and Creative Expression Award. This award is given to the student who has really taken the time to develop his or her technical skills while placing emphasis on creative and artistic expression.
Rachel Ford received the Community College Trustees’ Scholarship. This $1,500 scholarship is given to a student who was enrolled in Piedmont Community College’s High School Equivalency classes and subsequently earned his or her High School Equivalency diploma. She is also the winner of the High School Equivalency Graduates’ Essay Competition.
Cedric Brandon and Kalin Strickland received the Men of Success Award. This award is given to two students who have been active in the program and achieved academic excellence. The recipients were required to maintain a cumulative 3.0 GPA.
Tiara Portillo received the SSS TRiO Achiever Award. This award is given to a first-generation college student who has not only been an active participant in SSS-TRiO but also has a GPA of 2.5 or higher.
Bryan Henderson received the EOC TRiO Achiever Award. This award is given to a first-generation college student who has not only been an active participant in EOC-TRiO but also has a GPA of 2.5 or higher.
Jeanean Bustamante received the Phi Theta Kappa Honors in Action Award. This award is given to a student who has demonstrated service to Piedmont Community College and the surrounding communities by creating sustainable projects for the benefit of community members. This recipient has also been recognized by community and regional organizations for service learning.
Bruce Wilson, PCC Chemistry Instructor, received the Outstanding Challenger Faculty Award. This award was nominated by students and is given to a faculty member who is enthusiastic about teaching, conscientious, organized, and always prepared for class. The recipient is also concerned about students and their development, engages students and stimulates participation, promotes critical reading, thinking, and writing, and positively impacts students’ educational and career goals.
Katie Hester, PCC Biology Instructor, received the Above and Beyond Faculty Award. This award was nominated by other PCC faculty. This award was given to a faculty member who makes commitment to service an important faculty role, exemplifies the core values of PCC, maintains a collaborative working relationship with students and colleagues, demonstrates a high level of leadership when working with students and colleagues, and participates on college and national committees.
Mary Jo Bartlett, Administrative Assistant to Dean of Student Development, received the Ultimate Advocate Award. This award was nominated by students and was awarded to a staff member who they believe provides service to them that contributes to their success and growth, provides excellent customer service, consistently possesses a positive attitudes, values different ideas and opinions, and makes information and services easily accessible to students.
Vanessa Bass, Dean, Learning Resources Centers, received the Above and Beyond Staff Award. This award was nominated by other PCC faculty and staff, and was awarded to a staff member who exhibits commitment TO THE College, demonstrates exemplary leadership, and is a hard worker, mentor and conscientious PCC employee.
Walter Montgomery (Curriculum) and Debra Harlow (Continuing Education) received the Extra Effort Deans Award. Walter Montgomery, Dean of Technical and Occupational Programs, was the recipient of the Extra Effort Award for the Division of Instruction and Student Development. Debra Harlow, Dean of Adult Basic Skills, was the recipient of the Extra Effort Award for the Division of Continuing Education. The recipients of the Deans Extra Effort Award have demonstrated excellence as mid-term level administrator, superb managerial and leadership skills, and serve on various institutional and state committees.
Outstanding Graduate awards were given to: Melonie Castle (Medical Assisting), Joel Daniel (Industrial Systems Technology), Stacey Dixon (Welding), Madeline Erdner (Cosmetology), Michael Farmer (Healthcare Management Technology), Wendy Garibaldi-Prado (Business Administration), Drake Howell (Computer Technology Integration, Networking track), Eli Hudson (Electrical Power Production Technology), JoAnna Johnson (Early Childhood Education ), Peter Jorgensen (Gunsmithing), Vivian Kpenosen (Associate Degree Nursing Program ), (Carolyn Lipscomb (Office Administration), Phillip McQueen (Electrical/Electronics Technology), Brandy Oakley (Criminal Justice), Tammy Prater (Accounting), ShyHeem Sawyer (Film and Video Production Technology), Jennifer Tillman (Medical Office Administration), Anton Vasquez (Computer Technology Integration, Programming track), Le Keshia Womack (Cosmetology), Micah Yarber (Digital Effects and Animation Technology).
Outstanding Student awards were given to: Tina Albright (Accounting), Cedric Brandon (Film and Video Production Technology), John Carr (Computer Technology Integration, Networking track, Programming track, and Web track), Courtney Fox (Electrical/Electronics Technology), Steffen Imrick (Digital Effects and Animation Technology), Ernest Jones (Welding), Kevin Lasley (Gunsmithing), Paige Lee (Office Administration), Jean Mise (Historic Preservation Technology), Colman Mundy III (Healthcare Management Technology), Wynter Newcomb (Medical Office Administration), Wanda Newton (Medical Assisting), Tiara Portillo (Associate Degree Nursing Program), Tammy Prater (Business Administration), Christopher Prevett (Electrical Power Production Technology), Larry Sigmon (Criminal Justice), Randy Woods (Industrial Systems Technology), Tabitha Wrenn (Cosmetology), Lisa Yarboro (Cosmetology).
During the event the Honorable Elaine Marshall, North Carolina Secretary of State spoke and children from PCC’s Child Development Center sang “Little Red Box”, Skidamarink”, and “We are the Bears”.
For more photos, visit PCC’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/piedmontcc.
Photo: Tiara Portillo received the Pacer Leadership Award. This award is given to the student leader in a club or organization who demonstrates outstanding leadership and service to the College community.
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