Germanna to award former Stafford supervisor honorary degree

Iconic Stafford County educator and leader Lyle Ray Smith will receive an honorary associate’s degree of humane letters during Germanna Community College's Wednesday, May 14 commencement ceremony, which begins at 7 p.m. at the Fredericksburg Expo Center.

Germanna President David A. Sam will present Smith with the award in recognition of his significant contribution to the progress and development of the college.

He served for a decade as a member of Germanna Local College Board and was part of the board that hired Sam in 2007.

Lyle Ray Smith at his Stafford County home

Smith was principal at Grafton Village Elementary School in Stafford County for over 20 years after beginning his career as an educator in the Caroline County School System, where he was a teacher, administrator and coach.

Among his students at Grafton Village Elementary was Germanna Dean Denise Guest, who said that Smith inspired her to become an educator.

Upon his retirement as an educator, he was elected to the Stafford County Board of Supervisors.

He said the current effort to expand Germanna’s presence in the county with a permanent location near Stafford Hospital:  “is very important, very much needed. It’s going to be a real plus. More and more residents need education and training to fill highly skilled jobs that are moving into the county.”

Shootings at Virginia Tech and in Caroline County

Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to the students, faculty, staff of Virginia Tech and to the families of the victims. Colleges should be places of enlightenment, free of fear. We must not develop a siege mentality and we cannot turn campuses into fortresses. They must remain places where members of our communities are able to come and go freely in order to benefit from all we have to offer.

Germanna has always been a safe place to learn and work. Nonetheless, the college continually takes steps to make our security tighter, smarter and better able to respond to any problem nimbly and effectively, and we will continue to do so. We will review the actions taken at Tech and learn from their responses.

We also send our deepest our concerns and care to the state trooper wounded in Caroline yesterday. Both incidents show that law enforcement personnel daily put themselves at risk to protect and serve all of us.

--Germanna Community College President David A. Sam

Close to a degree for years, former Stafford County Supervisor Kandy Hilliard sees finishing up at Germanna as a Win-Win situation

Germanna is one of only six community colleges in Virginia chosen for Project Win-Win, which helps those close to degrees return to school and finish.

Kandy Hilliard has been elected to the Stafford Board of Supervisors and had a good career without a degree. With one, she says the sky's the limit.

Pharmacy Tech certification program can quickly prepare you to land a job in a field that's hiring

Need a job in a hurry? Try GCC's Pharm Tech program ...



As health care needs grow with the aging of the Baby Boomers, drug stores across the country need people to fill Pharmacy Tech openings. Germanna still has seats open for the Fall in its Pharmacy Tech certification program/ It's a quick path to a job in a field that's hiring. For more information, go to the GCC Pharm Tech page, call 540/891-3000 or email John Stroffolino at jstroffolino@germanna.edu

Coca-Cola Foundation helps GCC student with learning disability excel in her 30s: 'I proved to myself that I can do it'

Cheryl Rose says she thought she could never go to college. Now she's a top student with a scholarship from Coca-Cola ...

Cheryl Rose, a student at Germanna Community College, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. Through the Coca-Cola Two-Year Colleges Scholarship Program, the Foundation awards a total of 400 scholarships annually to students attending higher-education institutions granting two-year degees. All recipients have demonstrated academic success and participated in community service within the past year.


“The scholarship honors students who often balance responsibilities of school, work and family, but also find time to give back to their communities through community service,” said J. Mark Davis, president of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation.

“This is a big accomplishment for my family and for me,’ Rose said. “I was the first one to go to college out of myself and my two older brothers”

She said she had never thought she’d be able to go to college because her family lacked the money.

“I was an average student in high school—C’s, D's … I did not have anyone to tell me that if I made good grades I could earn a scholarship to go to school. I started college in my 30's. I proved to myself that I can do it, that I am smart, that just because I have a learning disability doesn't mean I can't achieve.”

Easter Grizzly to come hop, hop, hopping along a little early at Germanna's Locust Grove Campus

Hippity hop, GRRRR... Hippity hop, GRRRR... Germanna Grizzlies host an early Easter Egg Hunt March 28 ...

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Germanna Community College's mascot may be the Grizzly, but GCC students will be playing Easter Bunny on Saturday, March 28 from 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., when the Student Government Association and Student Activities Office host an egg hunt for children between the ages of 1 and 10.

The hunt will take place in the Student Lounge at the Locust Grove Campus. There will be free hot dogs, snacks and sodas along with egg hunts and games for kids.

For more information, contact Tami Goodstein at 891-3004 or email tgoodstein@germanna.edu

AUNTIE EM! AUNTIE EM! IT'S A TWISTER! GERMANNA DRILL SET FOR 9:45 A.M. TUESDAY

Germanna Community College is participating in a state-wide emergency response drill Tuesday. March 17 at 9:45 a.m. so students, faculty and staff can become familiar with where to go when the school receives a tornado warning.

"Please cooperate with the hall monitors who have volunteered their time to help direct students and faculty to the shelter locations," said GCC Safety and Security Manager Mark Borchers. "The drill will not take very long," Borchers said. "I am hoping you will see that a little time spent in practice may make a big difference when a real storm occurs. Thank you for your cooperation. If you have any questions about how the drill was conducted, or other comments you wish to share please address them to mborchers@germanna.edu.

In the event a tornado or microburst should strike one of Germanna's campuses or sites, move to an interior room or hallway away from windows. If that isn't possible, shield yourself from windows or doorways where debris may be blown.

Generally, you're safer remaining inside, rather than trying to get in your car and drive home.