Education

Ceremony celebrates High School Equivalency grads

Like every other graduate at Southwestern Community College’s High School Equivalency commencement ceremony, Calbert Christian navigated a unique road on his way to receiving his diploma earlier this month.

His journey just involved a few more years — and miles — than most anyone else’s.

“I’m from Jamaica, and I didn’t have an opportunity to go to a nice school growing up,” said Christian, who recently turned 68 and currently resides in Sylva. “I came here to live in 2015. I was looking for a job, but everyone wanted a high school diploma. So my wife (Arlene) encouraged me to take [High School Equivalency classes].”

He initially started taking preparatory classes elsewhere but didn’t feel confident enough to continue until meeting with Crystal Snover, SCC’s College and Career Readiness Director.

With her support, he gave Southwestern a try. When the time came, he sat for the exam and came tantalizingly close to a passing score.

“I failed math by one point, and I decided to not go back,” he recalled. “But my wife kept encouraging me. She said, ‘It was only one point.’ So I went back. The teachers at SCC were so helpful. They would sit beside me and go over and over and over each lesson until I got it.”

With his wife’s encouragement and his instructors’ assistance, Christian was successful on his second exam attempt, and he flashed a wide smile after receiving his diploma Aug. 2 on SCC’s stage.

“Calbert was a police officer in Jamaica,” Snover said. “He’s very quiet, but he’s been very determined. We’re extremely proud of him.”

For more info or to get started on High School Equivalency classes at SCC, contact Donna Wilson at 828.339.4272 or d_wilson@southwesterncc.edu.

Calbert Christian, who is originally from Jamaica and now resides in Sylva, received his diploma during SCC’s High School Equivalency commencement ceremony on Aug. 2 in Myers Auditorium on the college’s Jackson Campus in Sylva.

Internship offers on-the-job experience with community impact

A paid summer internship program at Western Carolina University pairs students with local nonprofits and community organizations in a partnership that helps each of them succeed and benefits the community at large.

Interning with Circles of Jackson County this summer, Grace Chastain, of Sylva, a senior majoring in English, said she gained work experience in a variety of communications roles. Chastain helped run a blog, rewrite web pages, post to social media and create newsletters, brochures and other materials for the local nonprofit, which works with volunteers to help Jackson County families escape poverty.

“It was a great experience,” Chastain said. “My supervisor put me in a lot of positions where I was actively learning but still able to serve the organization well at the same time. It’s the first time I was able to take all the things I’ve been learning in the classroom and legitimately apply them outside of that.”

The SECU Foundation started the program in 2015 to connect talented undergraduate students with local nonprofits and community groups. The goal is to give students on-the-job experience that contributes to local communities and strengthens their nonprofit capacity and reduces talent drain from rural regions in North Carolina.

WCU has participated in the internship program since 2017. It’s now offered in all UNC System universities, and more than 1,000 students have completed internships in 60 North Carolina counties. The SECU Foundation supports the internship program, as well as other scholarship and grant programs, thanks to the collective impact of $1 monthly foundation contributions that SECU account holders elect to make.

WCU receives $100,000 annually from SECU Foundation to offer the 20 summer internships. The funding facilitates paid internships many nonprofits would struggle or be unable to provide on their own.

“We focused our program on students who don’t necessarily have a clear or linear career path — students majoring in the humanities or social sciences who can do lots of different things with their degrees, but don’t know yet what they want to focus on after graduation,” said Theresa Cruz Paul, director of the Center for Career and Professional Development at WCU. “Another goal is to try to help students see these nonprofits and think about them as career paths, to build communities, but also to stay in North Carolina after they graduate.”

Students who are accepted into the internship program work 30 hours a week for 10 weeks and are paid $5,000. They also participate in bi-weekly meetings as a group with Center for Career and Professional Development staff.

McGuire Wood & Bissette announces Employment Law Educational Conference

McGuire Wood & Bissette Law Firm has announced that it has partnered with Haywood Community College and The Haywood County Human Resources Association to provide “The Legal Scoop-Employment law topics that impact 2022 and beyond” in September 2022.

“This Employment Law session is sure to leave attendees more confident and prepared to meet the business challenges that impact 2022 and beyond”, said Laura Baker-Seseika, Marketing Director at McGuire Wood & Bissette.

Business Executives, High Level Managers, and Human Resources Leaders are expected to benefit from the event, which will feature multiple-award-winning speaker Attorney Sabrina Presnell Rockoff. She will provide attendees with useful insights on topics of Social Media impacts in the workplace, Harassment Prevention and the latest updates in Employment Law. This event will be held at Haywood Community College-Hemlock Building in Clyde on Sept. 15, 2022.

SCC offering Dental Assistant program

Starting Sept. 6, Southwestern Community College will begin offering a new Dental Assistant program through its Workforce Continuing Education Division.

The two-part online program will last 24 weeks. New classes will begin on the first Tuesday of every month. Students will develop skills to prepare a patient for treatment, prepare dental instrument setups, and assist a licensed dentist in the treatment of patients. Employment opportunities include working for dental offices and physicians.

“We’re excited to be able to offer training for this fulfilling career for the first time,” said Scott Sutton, SCC’s Dean of Workforce Continuing Education. “Anyone who’s ever wanted to work in the dental field can get started this fall, and they can complete the program in less than half a year.”

The registration fee for the program is $180, and there is no application deadline for students. Scholarships are available to students who meet eligibility requirements.

For more information about this program please contact Latresa Shuler at 828.339.4425 or lshuler@southwesterncc.edu.

HCC Small Business Center kicks off

With the start of a new school year, the HCC Small Business Center is kicking off a new Small Business Seminar Series focused on supporting Entrepreneurs and Business Owners at all stages of development. From a startup business idea to a business expansion, this series starts in August with a lineup offering something for everyone.

With a high interest in online seminar options, the SBC is offering many of these sessions in a hybrid format allowing participants to attend sessions in the classroom or online.

Guest speakers from a variety of backgrounds have put together engaging seminars featuring topics such as: Marketing Your Business; Financing Your Business, Bookkeeping, Finding Your Customers, Selling Online, Market Research, Branding, Donor-Driven Funding, and Strategic Planning. The fall seminars also include a threepart series on starting a business, as well as the SBC’s annual Agribusiness Summit.

All seminars are free to attend, and the SBC encourages anyone to participate, whether they are a seasoned business owner or just looking to move their idea to the next phase. To view the full listing of courses with their corresponding dates and times, visit sbc.haywood.edu.