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REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY

2023 - 2024

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Wor-Wic Community College has been a vital part of the Lower Eastern Shore since 1975. Our commitment to student excellence and economic vitality is at the core of our service to our students and local communities.

The college stands poised to be at the forefront of the next iteration of our higher education journey. Thousands of students have experienced the life-changing power of a Wor-Wic education, and we continue to strengthen our ability to deliver on our promise of student access and success, positioning us to be a top community college in Maryland.

Our foundation is a crucial partner in bringing together thought leaders and passionate advocates to widen our scope of influence and its transformational impact. Community members commit to supporting and strengthening WorWic by leveraging their influence, expertise and philanthropic investments. Our board members represent a variety of backgrounds from business to health care to entrepreneurship and each member brings a unique and valued perspective. Executive board members serve as fiduciaries, ensuring sound, ethical and legal nonprofit practices and partnering with Wor-Wic’s foundation office in organizational goal setting and strategic planning aligned with college outcomes.

The college is continuing to grow, welcoming more than 7,500 students to our campus and taking pride in being a diverse, equity-centered campus committed to the Lower Eastern Shore communities. We work to create opportunities for advancement and play a vital role in the region’s economic vitality through exceptional classroom teaching and hands-on learning. We forge partnerships with area health care organizations, businesses, community organizations, school districts and other colleges and universities to ensure we meet the workforce and educational needs of our region.

In this spirit, I am pleased to present the Wor-Wic Foundation 2023-2024 Report to the Community, which highlights our achievements, milestones and the many partners whose generous support makes what we do possible. As we reflect on a remarkable year, we acknowledge the intersection between the past, present and future — as this fills us with a sense of hope. Journey with us and note the success of our students, faculty, staff and alumni who are integral to our community and the region. Thank you for being a part of it.

With deep appreciation for your generosity,

Deborah Casey, Ph.D. President, Wor-Wic Community College

This document is available in alternative formats to individuals with disabilities by contacting disability services at kmohler@ worwic.edu, 410-334-2899 or TTY 410-767-6960. Wor-Wic Community College is an equal opportunity educator and employer. Visit www.worwic.edu/Services-Support/Disability-Services to learn more. 10/2024

RESPONSIBILITY. IMPACT.

2,581 GIFTS

$2,121,277 TOTAL GIFTS AMOUNT

521 DONORS

$821,983 TRANSFERRED TO COLLEGE TO FUND SCHOLARSHIPS, PROGRAMS & INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT

$793,440 IN SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED

July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024

STUDENT SUCCESS OVERCOMING BARRIERSfund

Melissa Ward of Salisbury started out her college career after she graduated from high school with high hopes — she planned to become a pediatrician. “Life got in the way,” she said. She had three boys, but was determined to get back to her studies one day.

In 2011, right before starting classes, she was in a devastating car accident that left her out of commission for months.

Then, in 2012, Ward had a fourth son, little Ezekiel. “He was born at just 26 weeks,” she said. “I watched him being cared for by nurses — and they cared for me too.”

Something about the nurses’ courage, compassion and skill clicked, and she knew what she wanted to do with her life. First, she had to cope with the loss of Ezekiel. Her young daughter, Hannah, born a couple of years later, helped the family heal. But then they were blindsided with the shocking diagnosis of lung cancer in her husband, who died just two months later.

“I had promised him that I would return to school for my nursing degree. But his passing meant that life was forever different,” she said. “I had new difficulties to overcome as I became a single parent again, held down a job, and tried to manage life while we grieved.”

But the call of helping others, and her promise to her husband, made her determined to fulfill her potential. She earned a general studies degree from Wor-Wic in 2022 and then was admitted to Wor-Wic’s nursing program. Becoming a nurse requires significant time — both in studies and clinical rotations. It was then that holistic, wraparound support

like that provided by the Student Success and Emergency Assistance Funds came to mean the world to Melissa.

“To me it was meaningful as a single parent — it’s sometimes a struggle to make ends meet. I felt supported,” she said. “So many times it helped me pay extra bills like electric and groceries — you can’t live without those things.”

Despite the many hurdles, Melissa thrived at Wor-Wic. She led the parents club, supporting and encouraging fellow parenting students. She became president of the Alpha Nu Omicron chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, an international honor society for community college students, where she led its work on an Honors in Action research project and helped it earn national distinction.

To me it was meaningful as a single parent — it’s sometimes a struggle to make ends meet. I felt supported. “ ” —Melissa Ward

In May, she was the student speaker at commencement, celebrating her nursing degree and the grit and determination she and all of her fellow graduates showed in making it to the stage.

“I learned that you just have to keep going,” Ward said. “Whatever happens in life, what matters is what you do next.”

GoFins!

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT SET FOR DOUBLE GRADUATION

Mustafa Kilicarslan of Delmar, Del., was only a high school freshman when he started taking classes at Wor-Wic.

“I took the SAT in ninth grade without prep and did really well, so I thought maybe I could try college classes,” he said. His initial foray into online courses with English and philosophy sparked a love for the challenge they offered.

What drew him most was not just the academic rigor, but the camaraderie and ambition of his college peers. This environment inspired him to continue pursuing college courses alongside his high school studies.

“My favorites so far have been chemistry and physics,” he said. “I like that I’m learning not just in the classroom but with hands-on labs too.”

Currently focused on earning an associate degree in STEM with an engineering concentration, Kilicarslan aims to springboard into a bachelor’s program in engineering.

“I like taking classes at Wor-Wic because I’m getting familiar with the college experience — besides having a lot of credits, I’ll be used to how college works when I transfer to a four-year university,” Kilicarslan said. “Academically, it’s rigorous.”

Kilicarslan has not only availed himself of academics at Wor-Wic, but also campus life. He earned a place in the college’s Alpha Nu Omicron chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, an international honor society for community college students.

Kilicarslan is on track to complete both his Delmar High School and Wor-Wic educations next year, earning a college degree shortly after his high school diploma.

“I look forward to walking in two graduations next spring,” he said.

MORE THAN 90% OF GRADUATES CONTINUE TO LIVE & WORK IN THE LOWER SHORE AREA

48% OF GRADUATES HAVE CHOSEN TO TRANSFER TO FOUR-YEAR INSTITUTIONS

438 INSTITUTIONS

49 STATES IN

710

ENROLLED IN WOR-WIC & HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL CLASSES

NAMING OPPORTUNITIES

When you think of Wor-Wic, you think of college students — but it is also home to a child care facility and preschool. The child development center, which serves ages two to five, makes going to college easier for students with children, and the facility also offers its services to employees and the community.

Enriching the lives of our community’s young children is the main focus of the Salisbury Jaycees Foundation, which was created in 1975 to raise nonprofit donations for the annual Christmas Shopping Tour organized by its affiliate, the Salisbury Jaycees, Inc.

“Throughout the years, the Foundation has experienced success, allowing us to expand our mission beyond the shopping tour,” explained Melanie Smith, treasurer of the Salisbury Jaycees Foundation. “When we are able, we support other youth-focused projects and initiatives. Our mission remains firmly rooted in supporting the local youth in our community. As we near our 50th anniversary in 2025, our board of directors began exploring opportunities to donate invested funds that have been held in reserve for many years.

“We selected Wor-Wic because it serves our local community, and most of its students remain in the area to live and work,” Smith said. “Supporting local development is important to help maintain the legacy of the Salisbury Jaycees Foundation, Inc. Wor-Wic is an integral part of our community, and being a Wor-Wic alumni myself, I understand the need to support those who wish to further their education, while remaining close to home, and for many, working fulltime jobs while earning a degree.”

TRIBUTE GIFTS

Charles “Chuck” Marshall Jr. is remembered fondly by his family — and also by every student who comes through the doors of the hotel-motelrestaurant laboratory in Fulton-Owen Hall on Wor-Wic’s campus. That’s because members of the Marshall family pledged $150,000 to name the bustling hospitality learning environment in honor of the founder of Marshall Hotels & Resorts in Salisbury.

A former hotel and restaurant administration student at Oklahoma State University, Chuck founded the company in 1980 after many successful years of managing hotels and restaurants. It grew to be one of the nation’s largest hotel management companies.

The donation made by Chuck’s wife, Dee, and their son, Mike, enhanced the college’s ability to teach on state-of-the-art equipment.

“My dad was very concerned about the education of our youth and especially concerned about bringing the next generation into the hospitality industry,” Mike explained. “He often helped younger employees with financial assistance to promote their industry growth.”

Through this gift, Chuck’s legacy is helping Wor-Wic culinary arts and hospitality management students build skills to make a difference in the industry.

Fundraising FOR FINS

$78,946

Total Net Proceeds From 5K Hero Run & Golf Tournament

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Kelley M. Selph - Class of ‘97

115

5K Hero Run Participants

14%INCREASE

5K Hero Run October 7, 2023 Golf Tournament June 7, 2024

36 5K Hero Run Sponsors

5K Hero Run Net Proceeds Compared to 2022 Event

Kelley Selph is a financial advisor and the owner of Blue Coast Wealth Partners in Salisbury. But he hasn’t forgotten where it all started: Wor-Wic Community College, from which he graduated in 1997.

“My brother and sister are both graduates of the Eastern Shore Criminal Justice Academy at the college, and my son attended as well,” Selph said. “There is a family history of attending Wor-Wic. I believe it’s a fantastic school providing a great education for its students.”

When invited to be a member of the Wor-Wic Foundation board of directors, Selph jumped at the opportunity to give back. “The board was looking for new fundraising ideas, and having been an avid runner for years, I suggested a charitable 5K race,” Selph said.

29 Golf Teams

65 Golf Sponsors

32%INCREASE Golf Tournament Net Proceeds Compared to 2023 Event

His idea became what is now known as the WorWic 5K Hero Run, with Selph as race chair. He personally supports the race as a sponsor, and works alongside the development team to offer an event that draws more than 100 runners, plus teams of police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians vying for the First Responder Team Cup Challenge.

“Adding the team cup challenge felt like a great pairing, since Wor-Wic educates so many first responders,” Selph said. “It’s a great way to support the students and future first responders at the same time.”

Kelley Selph, right, congratulates a runner at the Wor-Wic 5K Hero Run.

Charitable Legacy Leaving a

Planned giving is a powerful way to ensure that your legacy continues to support future generations of learners and leaders. By including Wor-Wic in your estate plans, you can help provide scholarships, enhance academic programs and support important college initiatives. Bequests, charitable gift annuities, beneficiary designations of retirement plan assets, real estate and life income gifts are just a few of the many ways to make an impactful and often tax-advantaged gift to Wor-Wic.

If you’re interested in exploring how planned giving can align with your philanthropic goals, contact Stefanie Rider at srider@worwic.edu or 410-334-2808.

Brunkhorst Hall Namesake Continues to Serve as an Inspiration

When students, faculty, employees and visitors stream through the welcoming doors of Brunkhorst Hall, they are greeted by the portrait of the late Lois E. Brunkhorst, whose warm smile beams in the hall named in her honor.

Brunkhorst, a registered nurse, was a loyal and dedicated supporter of Wor-Wic. She worked as a school nurse in Neptune, N.J., for 33 years before retiring and moving to Berlin in 1993. Almost immediately after relocating to the Lower Eastern Shore, Lois reached out to Wor-Wic to create a scholarship fund to help nursing students with financial need.

Susan Stewart, a 1994 Lois Brunkhorst scholarship recipient, said that being one of the first recipients of this scholarship meant a lot to her as a nursing student. “I was working three jobs to make ends meet while I was in my

first year of the nursing program. The second-year class schedule would be twice as many credit hours and I knew I would have to give up one of my jobs, just to attend the extra hours. I felt that I would have to drop out of the program because, without the extra income, I would not be able to support myself and my children.”

Stewart earned her associate degree in nursing in 1995, which allowed her to move up to her dream job as an operating room nurse at then-Peninsula Regional Medical Center. After a 20-year career as a surgical and critical care nurse at area health care facilities, she recently retired from the Chesapeake Surgery Center.

While Brunkhorst was not rich, her goal was to leave as much money as possible to Wor-Wic, living modestly so that she could help the college fulfill its mission and see its students succeed. She considered Wor-Wic part of her family and sacrificed much to leave a significant bequest.

In the end, she achieved her goal, directing more than $1 million to the Wor-Wic Foundation.

To recognize her steadfast sense of selflessness, Wor-Wic renamed its Academic and Administrative Building — the college’s first campus building — after Brunkhorst in 2015.

Now, her name and the building serves as a reminder to our students — and to all of us — that each one of us is capable of great things.

Empowering Tomorrow

Endowed funds are distinct from other types of funds because the entire gift amount is invested. Each year a portion of the income generated is utilized, while the rest is reinvested into the principal. This ensures that endowments endure indefinitely, providing a reliable source of financial support for the college. Endowments serve as a permanent tribute to the donor and extend the donor’s values and priorities for the benefit of future generations of Wor-Wic students.

PORTRAIT UNVEILED. Family and friends of the late Lois Brunkhorst of Berlin gathered after the unveiling of her portrait and plaque. Shown from left are Brunkhorst’s sister and brother-in-law, Joyce and William Walton of Morganton, N.C., and close friends Georgina and Dan Cathell of Berlin, Gladys Gaynor of Berlin and Dione Shaw of Willards.

ACADEMIC

FROM WOR-WIC NURSING TO MEDICAL SCHOOL

Justin Benton always knew he wanted to be at the bedside. Growing up in Deal Island, he saw the passion his mother, a nurse, put into her job and the respect and gratitude she received from those she cared for. So when he graduated from Washington High School in Princess Anne, he headed straight for Wor-Wic.

“With my ACT scores and after taking some prerequisites, I was able to get into the nursing program,” he said. The program wasn’t easy. “There’s a huge workload and you learn so much,” he said.

It prepared him well for his work on the neuroscience floor at TidalHealth, where he started in 2017. As he cared for patients recovering from strokes and other neurological conditions, he decided to further his education in the field. But his plans were put on hold by COVID-19, and he spent his days working in a COVID-19 care unit when the pandemic began.

“It was frightening at first, because guidelines were changing day by day,” Benton said of his work on the COVID-19 floor. “But I started to enjoy the novel aspect, seeing the progression of best practices unfolding in real time.”

The experience reminded Benton of his desire to learn more, and he pursued a post-baccalaureate pre-medical school program at George Washington University in Ashburn, Va., that ensured he had all the coursework completed to apply to medical school. Now he attends Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, where he started in July 2022.

Benton has encouraging words for Wor-Wic nursing graduates who might be considering following a similar path. “If you’re passionate about it, then just do it,” he said. “Wor-Wic equips you to be an amazing clinician. I’m proud of my community college experience — and I am in the same school now as Ivy Leaguers.”

INVESTING IN YOUR COMMUNITY

550 CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY COUNSELING DEGREES & CERTIFICATES

3,986 NURSING DEGREES & CERTIFICATES

83 OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY ASSISTANT DEGREES

2,033 CRIMINAL JUSTICE DEGREES & CERTIFICATES

338 RADIOLOGIC TECHNOLOGY DEGREES & CERTIFICATES

83 PHYSICAL THERAPIST ASSISTANT DEGREES

328 EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES DEGREES & CERTIFICATES

193 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION DEGREES & CERTIFICATES

A MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDATION CHAIR

Wor-Wic Community College was founded on the principles of providing a better life for residents on the Lower Eastern Shore. By providing a well-trained workforce that meets the needs of our community, everyone benefits.

Today you may live in a house that was built by Wor-Wic-trained electricians, plumbers and construction workers, whose supplies might have been delivered by a truck driver whose skills came from our driving instructors. You can take a cruise on a ship made by welders who learned their trade here, and enjoy fine cuisine created by one of our culinary graduates. Young children are educated by Wor-Wic graduates who work in daycares, or who continued their education through transfer to become an elementary or secondary school teacher. When the worst happens, Wor-Wic trained personnel have your back — our academic programs for police, firefighters, emergency medical services, nursing, radiologic techs and physical and occupational therapy assistants are second to none.

We are proud to be part of that continuing legacy. When you support Wor-Wic, you are supporting your whole community.

Jason Parker Wor-Wic Foundation Board Chairperson

Executive Committee