Fortunate are those who have been inspired by that one teacher whose words and visage stay in their mind for decades, even for a lifetime. Christina Knight is one such teacher. It’s National Engineers Week®, an opportunity to tell the story of one who is leading others. Based on heartfelt accolades from faculty and students alike, the Piedmont Technical College Engineering Design Technology program instructor recently was chosen to receive the college’s exclusive Visionary Award.
The Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, which recognizes the academic achievement of state and community college students, recently honored Piedmont Technical College Admissions Specialist Vernessia Wideman for five-years of service as an advisor to PTC’s Omega Chi Chapter.
A young boy’s indoctrination into the ugliest manifestations of hate came at the tender age of 4. It haunted him throughout his life. “I remember a crowd of white men who rode up on horseback with rifles on their shoulders. I was with my father when they rode up, and I remember starting to cry,” Dr. Benjamin E. Mays wrote in the opening to his 1971 memoir titled Born to Rebel. “They cursed my father, drew their guns and made him salute, made him take off his hat and bow down to them several times.” They were lucky to escape with their lives.
On-the-spot, face-to-face job interviews are guaranteed to everyone who attends the Upper Savannah Regional Job Fair on Thursday, March 21, in Greenwood. That is the very nature of a job fair and the biggest networking advantage for participants.
Three Piedmont Technical College associates were honored as Outstanding Educators for the 2018-2019 academic year at the annual South Carolina Technical Education Association (SCTEA) convention, held Feb. 14-16, 2019, in Myrtle Beach.
Tara Gonce understands her students; she was one herself, having graduated from Piedmont Technical College (PTC) many years ago with an associate degree in nursing. Like her students on their clinicals, she literally has walked in their hospital-white clogs. Gonce went on to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees and today serves as PTC’s dean of health care. Because of her calm, creative problem-solving leadership, the PTC Area Commission has named Gonce its Innovator of the Year for 2019.
Some students contemplating a health care major at Piedmont Technical College (PTC) can risk unnecessarily wasting time taking classes that don’t serve them without a clear focus on their eventual destination. For this reason, a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) Team comprised of faculty, staff and selected students developed the CARE Planning Center to provide customized advising for pre-program health care majors who are beginning their requisite basic coursework. During its first semester last fall, the Center served 178 students, of whom 156 emerged with a solid degree plan ― a CAREplan. Because of this success, the PTC Area Commission has recognized the QEP Team as its Innovation Team of the Year for 2019.
In some neighborhoods, filling up on empty calories is the easiest way to fill an empty stomach. That’s because some neighborhoods exist in “food deserts” where healthy, fresh ingredients are hard to come by in the absence of full-service grocery stores or farmers markets. Author Will Allen recognized this and established an urban farm within walking distance of Milwaukee’s largest public housing project. His book, “The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People and Communities,” is the featured selection for “One Book, One College” at Piedmont Technical College throughout the month of April.
Representatives from The Charlie Foundation, school officials and high school students recently gathered at Saluda High School to celebrate the launch of The Charlie Foundation Scholarship.