Thursday, July 15, 2010

At Germanna, instead of being pitied, she decided who she was going to be


Amherst College has given Devon Geary nearly a full scholarship after Germanna Community College helped her excel academically in spite of entering the school with a rare and debilitating disorder.

She was so sick in 2006 that she had to drop out when she was a sophomore at James Monroe High in Fredericksburg. She suffers from postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). The rare genetic disorder can be debilitating. For those with the disorder, sitting up or standing can cause heart rates to soar and blood flow to the brain to decrease, resulting in fainting.

Some POTS sufferers can't go to school or work. Devon's case is complicated by Ehler-Danos syndrome, which affects connective tissue between joints and makes movement agonizing. At 16, Devon was faced with the prospect of being bedridden or in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

Her doctor gave her little hope.

But she refused to give in.

In 2008, she came to Germanna in a wheelchair and got her GED.

In 2009, she began classes at GCC, using a walker, and frequently fainting.

"There was no way I could have gone to a four-year school," Devon says. "I could barely walk. I could barely stay conscious."

"I would sometimes find Devon in the fetal position," says Winford Stevens, GCC's Coordinator of Disability Services.

She was able to stick with it, she says, because at Germanna, "Nobody stared at me. Nobody laughed at me. I had been in a wheelchair for 2 ½ years. I was used to pity stares. But I didn't get that here. People were very kind and accommodating, but they didn't pity me."

Devon thrived on the kind of one on one attention students get from faculty at Germanna.

Her condition gradually improved, and though there is still pain, she now not only walks on her own, but is an assistant dance instructor. The outcome: nearly a full scholarship to Amherst, one of the top liberal arts schools in the country.

At Germanna, instead of being pigeonholed, she decided who she was going to be.

"If anything, I'm the 6-foot-tall redhead with the 4.0," Devon says. "I was never defined by my illness here and I really appreciate that. I don't know if it would have been that way at a 4-year school," she says. "I think I did pretty well, but it was because of the environment."

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

GCC Workforce & Economic Development Partnership series offers quick-hit courses that can help your company grow



GIVE YOUR SMALL BUSINESS A QUICK SHOT IN THE ARM WITH THE GERMANNA WORKFORCE & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REGIONAL BUSINESS SERIES, WITH UPCOMING MINI-COURSES IN CAROLINE, KING GEORGE, STAFFORD, CULPEPER AND SPOTSYLVANIA
In the current economic environment, small businesses with shrinking staffs need to find ways to invigorate themselves without devoting a lot of time to retraining.

So Germanna Community College is offering a Workforce & Economic Development Regional Business Series that allows employers to enhance skills in a hurry.

GCC, which is offering the series in partnership with local economic development authorities and chambers of oommerce, is offering a two-hour course on Branding & Marketing at the Daniel Center in Culpeper from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on July 16.

There will also be a Branding course on the same day at the same time at the Germanna Stafford Center.

Two weeks later, there will be a course titled Develop a Strategic Business Plan at GCC's Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on July 30.

On Aug. 13, there will be a Legal Fundamentals course from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Caroline County Business Center.

And on Aug. 27, there will be a course entitled Develop a Marketing Plan from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the King George Community Citizens' Center. The two-hour courses cost $29. Call 540/891-3012 for more information and to register.