News

October 22, 2007
Panelists Encourage and Advise Students

A student asks panelists a question during the student mentor program kickoff at Edgecombe Community College.

Local leaders helped Edgecombe Community College kick off its student mentoring programs on October 16 by sharing their experiences that made them who they are today.

Panelists spoke at the BUTTERFLIE and EMPAC kickoff on the Rocky Mount campus. BUTTERFLIE (Building Unity through Teamwork, Empowerment, Respect, Friendship, and Leadership to Inspire Excellence) is a mentor program designed for minority female students, and EMPAC (Empowering Males with a Purpose to Achieve and Celebrate) is designed for minority male students.

Both programs focus on graduation and retention rates as well as helping these students develop their social and leadership skills.

Panelists were Michael Blankenship, ECC social science instructor; Helen Collins, assistant vice president at BB&T and a member of the ECC Board of Trustees; Trinnette Cooper, director of health careers and workforce diversity, Area L AHEC; Valeria Lee, president, Golden Leaf Foundation; John Manley Jr., chief, Rocky Mount Police Department; Charles Penny, assistant city manager, City of Rocky Mount; Dr. Craig Witherspoon, superintendent, Edgecombe County Public Schools; and Karen Yerby, associate director of student development services, N.C. Community College System.

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