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March 7, 2008
Edgecombe Community College students Crystal Booth and Phyllis Williams may be older than the traditional college student, but they are shining examples of how adult learners can return to the classroom and excel. The students have received the 2008 North Carolina Community College Academic Excellence Award, which is based on academic achievement and service to the college. Crystal Booth, 35, is a nursing major from Red Oak. She maintains a 3.6 GPA. Phyllis Williams, 69, is working toward an Associate in Arts degree. She maintains a 3.9 GPA. Booth is a displaced worker who came to ECC after her company closed her office. She was working as a phlebotomist, and nursing was a natural choice, she says. “I had always wanted to be a nurse, and when the opportunity presented itself, I ran with it.” The federal Workforce Development Act Displaced Worker Program is funding her ECC education. The program assists dislocated workers in training and/or employment for re-entering the workforce. “I don’t qualify for any financial assistance,” Booth explains, “so if it weren’t for the Displaced Worker Program, I would not be in school.” ECC is meeting her educational needs as well, she says. “Everyone has been extremely nice; it feels like a family here. The instructors and the staff want students to succeed, and they provide plenty of opportunities and resources to help us reach that goal.” Booth is vice president-service of the ECC chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the college’s student honorary society. She also serves as an ECC Student Ambassador and as the public information officer-Rocky Mount for the Student Government Association. Phyllis Williams, 69, of Sharpsburg, returned to the classroom because she didn’t have an opportunity to attend college when she was younger. “I couldn’t afford it,” she says. “When I was growing up, college cost $1,000 a year, and that was just too expensive. I got married, had two kids, and was divorced shortly thereafter, so I had my children to raise.” Williams, who grew up in Indiana, moved to Sharpsburg 35 years ago. She worked at Firestone and retired in February 2004. She began taking classes at ECC the following fall. Because she is over 65, her tuition is free, a policy that is standard at all N.C. community colleges. “I love school, I love to learn, and I love the kids out here,” she says. “When I was growing up, there were no community colleges.” Williams serves as secretary of the ECC chapter of Phi Theta Kappa and she supports the Student Government Association events. She is participating in a service learning project at the Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Center in Scotland Neck. She also was chief marshal at graduation in 2007, a distinction based on her academic record. She says a four-year degree is in the “back of her mind,” but her sights are set on completing her two-year degree first. “Both of these students are exceptional examples of the potential and possibility for lifelong learning,” says Tamara Frank-Pourvady, a Phi Theta Kappa advisor. Two students from each of the state’s 58 community colleges are chosen to receive the Academic Excellence Award each year. Winners will be honored during a special statewide luncheon in Raleigh on April 16. Students receive a lapel pin, engraved plaque, and coffee mug.
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