Page 6F – The Terrell Tribune, Sunday, July 20, 2014
Roberts gives through service B y P au l B o t t o n i Moving from the Northeast to rural Kaufman County was a bit of a culture shock for Warren Roberts, but since he joined Southwestern Christian College as a student and later as an employee, he has become a linchpin to volunteer efforts throughout the Terrell community. Roberts assists with admissions and student services at SWCC, as well as working with the college’s Circle K organization, which has become a cornerstone group for the city and civic organizations by providing countless volunteer hours. The organization, which is a youth club for college-age students under the Kiwanis Club umbrella, has provided a corps of volunteers who help at the many events throughout the year in Terrell, including the chamber’s annual civic auction, The Terrell Tribune’s Senior Expo 2013 and numerous Terrell Kiwanis Club events, just to name a few, and more often than not, Roberts can be spotted overseeing the
group’s efforts. The Baltimore, Md. native first joined SWCC as a student in 2004 after his minister and a friend, who was a former student at the college, encouraged him to attend. The move provided a bit of a jolt, Roberts said. “At first, I thought, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ But first impression aside, I’ve never regretted it,” Roberts said. “There’s something about this campus that you can’t find anywhere else. The love and family aspect is indescribable, and so is the community service that’s here.” Roberts first experienced that dedication to community service when he attended a Circle K meeting during his days as student. “I wasn’t originally planning to join Circle K,” Roberts said. “I was pledging to another fraternity at the time. One of the requirements, though, was to attend a Circle K meeting. I went and sat at the back, not really paying attention at first, but the more I heard about the community service and interaction with the community, the more I became intrigued.”
Roberts became the chapter’s president as a sophomore and serving as chairman of its board the two years afterward. “We’re a family,” Roberts said to describe the organization. “When one student is rejoicing, we all rejoice, and when one student is hurting, we all hurt.” Roberts experienced that camaraderie firsthand when his mother died in 2007, followed by his grandmother one month later. “It was the hardest thing I’ve had to endure,” he said. “I didn’t want to finish school, but thanks to the support of members of Circle K, Albert Rice and other staff members, they are the main reasons I was able to finish.” After he graduated from SWCC in 2008, Roberts said Rice, director of TRIO programs at SWCC and Circle K organization sponsor, called him in the following months to say there was a job waiting for him if he wanted it. Roberts leapt at the chance to return. “I came back because, partly, I needed a job,” Roberts said with a laugh, “but the main reason was because
The Terrell Tribune/paul Bottoni
Warren Roberts has been a mainstay at Southwestern Christian College since attending as a student about 10 years ago. I just love Southwestern Christian College.” Roberts has worked alongside Rice for most of his years at SWCC, from his time as a student to now as a colleague overseeing the organization and the college’s student support services department, the latter of which provides SWCC students tutoring and scholarship assistance, among othe r things.
Rice has had a lasting impact on Roberts, including spurring his volunteer participation with the Terrell Chamber of Commerce, Terrell State Hospital and Hulsey Public Library. “I call him my campus father and his wife my campus mother,” Roberts said. Roberts’ efforts were rewarded in 2013, when both he and the SWCC Circle K
chapter were honored with the Terrell Economic Development’s President’s Award during the 105th annual Membership Meeting and Industry Luncheon sponsored by the TEDC and the Terrell Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Bureau. “We were the first group to be given the award,” Roberts said. “We were history makers.”
Trinity Valley Community College offers chance for education close to home
The Terrell Tribune/FILE PHOTO
Trinity Valley Community College’s Terrell campus.
The Terrell campus of Trinity Valley Community College is a familiar sight alongside Interstate 20 on the city’s south side. Students and community members in the Terrell area know of TVCC’s local campus as a conveniently located institution of higher learning, according to college officials. From its popular cosmetology program to occupational certificate offerings, the 40-acre campus has a history of attracting Kaufman County residents interested in pursuing associate degrees or in building an educational foundation prior to earning more advanced degrees. The college also offers non-credit continuing education courses. The three
buildings making up the Trinity Valley Community College campus house classrooms, computer and science labs, a learning resource center, study lounge, faculty offices and the cosmetology lab. According to school officials, during fall and spring semesters, more than 2,000 students enroll at TVCC’s Terrell campus for both day and evening classes. Districtwide, including classes in Athens, Palestine and Kaufman, TVCC serves more than 8,000 students. For those students who prefer classes online, TVCC offers a wide variety of virtual Internet-based courses through the Distance Education program, which allows students to complete coursework without entering a formal
classroom setting. The college also offers a wide variety of hybrid courses — classes where students are in the classroom for a short period of time and complete the rest of their work online. Video conferencing classes also are offered at all campuses as well as area high schools. TVCC Terrell is working to expand its early college/high school and dual credit programs, as well. As a whole, the TVCC system boasts championship sports teams, an award winning branch of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, and a ground breaking cheerleading squad that was the first junior college squad to compete and win the National Cheerleading Association’s national finals.
The school’s choir has traveled abroad to perform and its dance team, the Cardettes, also has extensive travel experience, including trips to Switzerland, Moscow and Ireland. A long list of student organizations provides plenty of ways for students to get involved, including the TVCC News-Journal, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, TVCC Crimson Company theater group and the Texas Nursing Students Association. For business owners, TVCC offers a small Business Development Center that provides confidential business consulting services to individual business owners or those considering starting a business. For more information, visit tvcc.edu.