Friday, February 28, 2014

20th GCCEF Scholarship Monte Carlo Night set for April 5

Life itself is a game of chance, says Germanna Community College President David A. Sam.


 "And Germanna Community College is about second, and even third, chances," he says.
A little bit of Las Vegas comes to Culpeper on Saturday, April 5, when the Germanna Community College Educational Foundation's 20th annual Scholarship Monte Carlo Casino Night returns to the Daniel Technology Center, located about 30 minutes west of Fredericksburg, just off State Route 3.

 But buying a ticket, or even better, becoming a sponsor for Monte Carlo Casino Night, is no gamble, Sam says. It's more than a roll of the dice.


 It's a sure thing.


 Monte Carlo Night is what they would call in Las Vegas "a mortal lock"--that is, at least in terms of helping local students who have financial need, and helping to jump-start the area economy at the same time by making its workforce more competitive.


 The black-tie event has become a highlight of Culpeper's social season, while providing scholarship funds for the GCC Educational Foundation's Germanna Guarantee Program.


 That program ensures that students with financial need who cannot find enough aid from other sources get the funds necessary to fill in the gaps paying for tuition and books. Over $1 million has been raised over time and  In the past year, 200 students were helped.


Erica Hodge  is a prime example. She thought her college career was over and her dream of a nursing career was dead.


But the Germanna Guarantee Program kept the 1999 Spotsylvania High School graduate and Culpeper resident going.


 Hodge didn't qualify for other financial aid because her husband made too much money before his hours were cut due to the recession. GGP covered the total cost of her tuition and books.


 "Fresh out of high school, I was too young to know what I wanted to be.  I realized that nursing is what I want to do,” she said. After being a stay-at-home mom for years, she was on her way to her goal when it looked like the recession was going to stop her cold in 2009.


      "I wasn’t eligible for any grants or scholarships based on my husband’s  income level,” she said. “The Educational Foundation listened to my story… I was shocked, ecstatic and very grateful. It covered everything. That was huge weight off my shoulders after one of the most stressful months of my life.”

She received an academic excellence award for having the highest grade-point average in her class, was a speaker at 2010 graduation, and became a nurse in the Fredericksburg area.


Single tickets are $90 and sponsorship levels ranging from $350 to $5,000 are available.
For more information, contact the GCC Educational Foundation at
foundation@germanna.edu or 540/423-9074 or Event Chair Clarissa Berry at 540/718-0000 or clarissa.berry@gmail.com.

Germanna serves the city of Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, Culpeper, King George, Madison, Orange, Spotsylvania and Stafford.


Sponsorship includes signage at the event, listing in the 20th Anniversary Scholarship Monte Carlo program and recognition in local media.
For more information, please contact:
Clarissa Berry, Event Chair clarissa.berry@gmail.com 540/718-0000
GCC Educational Foundation Office foundation@germanna.edu 540/423-9060
Event Sponsor ($5,000.00) Includes 16 event tickets, special recognition and signage at the event, a listing in the 20th Anniversary Scholarship Monte Carlo Program; headlines in all local media advertisements.
Titanium Sponsor ($3,500.00) Includes 12 event tickets and more.
Palladium Sponsor ($2,500.00) Includes 10 event tickets and more.
Platinum Sponsor ($1,000.00) Includes 8 event tickets and more.
Gold Sponsor ($750.00) Includes 6 event tickets and more.
Silver Sponsor ($500.00) Includes 4 event tickets and more.
Bronze Sponsor ($350.00) Includes 2 event tickets and more. 




Sunday, February 23, 2014

GCC's MacLauchlin on WTVR and at Books on Broad Wednesday

Germanna English Prof. Cory MacLauchlin will appear on CBS WTVR Channel 6's Virginia This Morning at about 9 a.m. Wednesday to talk about his John Kennedy Toole biography, “Butterfly in the Typewriter.” 
Cory MacLauchlin

He'll also be part of the Books on Broad program the same day, talking about his book, with a reception set for 5:30 p.m. -6:30 p.m., a book talk 6 p.m.-7 p.m. and book signing 7 p.m.-7:30 p.m. at the Library of Virginia, 800 E. Broad St. in Richmond. 
Info: 804/692-3592.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

What's your recipe for success?


Germanna Community College students are invited to participate in a Student Success Video Competition.
• Topic: “How to be Successful at Germanna”
• Maximum length: 3 minutes
• Submission deadline: Monday, March 24
• Submission format: mp4 file on a thumb drive (drives to be returned via pickup beginning April 1, 2014) along with a completed entry form and signed media release form will need to be dropped off at one of the College’s libraries.
• Videos will be placed on the Germanna Community College YouTube channel and linked through Germanna’s Facebook page. Winners will be determined by the number of “likes” the videos receive.
• Voting will take place March 31 through April 28
• Winners will be announced on April 29
*Germanna Community College reserves the right to disqualify videos based on content, language, format, commercialization, and length.
Prizes!

1st prize:
WolVol Android Red 7” mini Laptop Notebook Netbook PC

2nd prize:
Supersonic SC-72JB 7” Android Touchscreen Tablet

3rd prize: 
Kinivo Portable Speaker

--Source: Carol Stevens

EVENT SPONSORED BY
THE GERMANNA COMMUNITY COLLEGE
STUDENT SUCCESS COMMITTEE
IN CONJUNCTION WITH
STUDENT DEVELOPMENT AND STUDENT ACTIVITIES

Information: 540/834-1956

Deadline March 24

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

From taking selfies to talking state budget, GCC students get to know legislators


From taking selfies together to talking about the state budget, Germanna Community College students and their state legislators were getting to know each other.
Germanna  Student Government President Danielle Capra, who was one of 13 GCC students visiting the General Assembly in Richmond Tuesday,  told legislators students “get more than our money's worth” at Germanna. Capra is one of 12 children.  She said GCC's combination of academic quality and affordability help students from big families. She plans to transfer to the University of Virginia after earning her associate’s degree at Germanna.

GCC's  Jessica Clifford takes a selfie with Speaker Bill Howell 
“The teachers have been great and the counselors have been great,” said Luis Gutierrez, who has returned to college at Germanna after 30 years at various jobs, including running his own moving company, told Speaker of the House Bill Howell. “They go out of their way to stay on top of things.”

Gutierrez said GCC counselors have been particularly helpful to him as a “non-traditional” student. Germanna President David A. Sam, who led the student delegation through the visit, added, “Non-traditional students have become traditional students,” meaning that stereotypes about what a “ typical college student” is no longer apply.

Howell praised Germanna’s nursing program and added: “Community colleges do a great job of workforce training. It boosts our economy and helps bring in new businesses and jobs”

The visit was part of the General Assembly’s Every Day is Community College Day program in which students visit their representatives to talk about community college’s impact on their lives.

Germanna Prof. Brenda Dixon: VCCS becoming more user friendly for vets

Virginia’s Community Colleges Serving More and More Diverse Military Veteran Students


~ That’s no surprise says VCCS grad turned veteran turned professor Brenda Dixon of Germanna ~


RICHMOND — A growing and increasingly diverse number of U.S. military veterans are enrolling in Virginia’s Community Colleges. That’s neither a

mistake nor surprising says one person who has spent her adult life watching the issue from all sides: first as a community college student and graduate; then as an officer in Army Reserve; and now as a full-time nursing professor at her alma mater.


“The system is more user-friendly for veterans today then when I was in college in the early 1980s,” said Brenda Dixon, a professor of nursing at Germanna Community College. “We reach out to the veterans, and employ coordinators to ease the transition of veterans to the college setting. Our faculty receives training, geared toward assisting veterans in the classroom. Also, veterans are allowed to form a club on campus, which serves as a support system.”

Dixon, who was one of 12 children, was the first in her family to attend college when she entered the nursing program at Germanna Community College in 1980. There, a mentor’s stories of military service inspired her to enlist in the Army Reserve where she would go on to serve four years on active duty and rise to the rank of Lt. Colonel. She continued her education, earning a master’s degree and several post-master’s certificates. Today, she is a professor at the community college where it all began.
--Jeffrey Kraus
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Public Relations
(804) 592-6767
jkraus@vccs.edu

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Civil Rights icon to speak at Germanna Feb. 17

Civil Rights movement icon Diane Nash, who will speak at Germanna Community College on Feb. 17 as part of GCC's observation of Black History Month, became involved in 1959, when she was a student at Fisk University.    As a student leader in the movement, Nash is credited with:

The first successful civil rights campaign to integrate lunch counters (Nashville)

Working with James Farmer to organize the Freedom Rides.

  Being one of the founders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
 
She was featured on PBS' Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954-1965.

 The Germanna Community College Education Foundation is bringing Nash from Chicago to GCC's Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania, which is located in Massaponax, not far from the home in which Dr. Farmer spent the final 13 years of his life, while teaching history at what was then Mary Washington College.

The talk will be held in Workforce and Technology Building room 105 A-B at Germanna's Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 17. Admission is free and open to the public.

Diane Nash's bio: