Germanna Hero Survey responses, Part 3

Germanna Community College employees were asked to tell stories of heroism they witnessed during and after the Aug. 23 earthquake.

Here is Part 3:


The guards were great. They made sure everyone exited in an orderly fashion and they were not afraid to go back into the building to get people out.

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I think students should get credit, too, for acting (mostly) in a calm, orderly manner. I did not see any pushing or shoving.
Mark Haines and James Haynes deserve credit for assisting the wheelchair-bound student down the stairs and to safety.
Many people offered to take others home since many of us left our keys and belongings in the building.
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As everyone else was looking confused and lacking direction, someone had the good sense to pull the fire alarm to start the evacuation of FAC1. I don't know who it was, but it was a great idea.

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Good to see VP Rick Brehm and VP Jeanne Wesley rolling up their sleeves and working side by side with employees.

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Rick Brehm. He took charge of a difficult situation, Made sure everyone outside was kept informed as well as checking the school out with the grounds crew, assessing and making decisions.( LGC)

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Mr. Rick Brehm and Mr. Garland Fenwick was so helpful. They checked the hallways and made me feel very secure.
I appreciate their quick response to the earthquake and the way they anticipated our anxiety. We were quickly informed about the magnitude of the earthquake, where the center was, and the expectations required for faculty and students. We were allowed to leave in a timely manner in order to check on our families, of which mine was located within 8 miles of the epicenter of the quake.

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I was in the Tutoring Center at the time, acting more like a deer caught in the headlights than anything else. Nicki Mahon, a new hire in Tutoring, spoke with authority and urged everyone to leave the building calmly, but immediately. She instructed people to take purses, but not take time to gather books and papers. That got us moving in an orderly fashion toward the door.

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I have to state that to see the "Germanna team" including all staff, faculty and administration as well as student response to the event was utterly amazing and almost made the event an unevent. Everyone did what they needed to do from the initial rumble and shake to the re-opening of classroom offerings. One word...Amazing

GCC's 'everyday heroes' rush to help paraplegic student stuck on third floor when quake struck

At right: Structural damage to GCC's Dickinson Building. Elevators were damaged and Courtney Dole, a paraplegic student in a wheel chair was stuck on the third floor, with aftershocks to come.

As others fled Germanna's Dickinson Building, which was damaged in the Aug. 23 earthquake, Fredericksburg Area Campus Coordinator of Counseling Mark Haines and staffer James Haynes rushed up three flights of stairs, not sure what was going to happen.

The Dickinson Building is out of commission for about a year. Classes were moved to another building on the Fredericksurg Campus, and they resumed Sept. 6. Other GCC locations were unaffected.

Free Lance-Star story
Fredericksburg.com video.

Colonial Forge High students are preparing to become teachers through a new Germanna Dual Enrollment course

Colonial Forge High School’s Teachers for Tomorrow students who visited GCC Campus are enrolled in the SDV 110 course, Orientation to Teaching, which allows students to earn both high school and college credit at the high school. This new Dual Enrollment course developed by the Virginia Community College System and the Virginia Department of Education is being offered first at CFHS.

Many of the CFHS students are also earning DE English Composition, Calculus, and Biology credits at CFHS through Germanna’s Dual Enrollment Program. In addition to SDV 110, Colonial Forge also added drafting courses to their Dual Enrollment Offerings this fall.
During the campus visit, students learned about Germanna’s Education transfer degree program from Mark Haines, Coordinator of Counseling Services. Matt Mejia, Associate Dean of Admissions from the University of Mary Washington also provided information about how students can begin at GCC and then transfer to UMW to complete their BA or BS degree, while also earning teacher licensure. Dr. Frances Doloph from ODU spoke about transfer to ODU Teletechnet as well. Teachers for Tomorrow instructor Susan Easter accompanied the CFHS students.