MCC employees who participated in the great learning college retreat pictured on the back row standing from left to right are Eddie Shuford, Derick Satterfield, John Greene, Steve Gunter, Jonathan Vance, Dr. John Gosset, and Bryan Merrill. On the middle row standing from left to right are Dolly Horton, Stanley Hopson, Jan Graham, Randy McClellan, Martha Huskins, Tennille Cassida, Vershell Libow, Jennifer Isaacs, Janet Colvin, Amanda Buchanan, Faye Edwards, Kay Crouch, Sherry Weeks, Brenda Ollis, and Doug Dewar. Kneeling from left to right are Clayton Harpold, Jennifer Vance, Nancy Godwin, Rosetta Ledwell, Holli Greiner, Bill Morgan, Joey Phillips, and Dr. Suzanne Owens

MCC Employees Participate in the Great Learning College Retreat

Thirty Mayland Community College employees, facilitators Janet Colvin, Dolly Horton, and Kay Crouch, as well as co-directors Jan Graham and Merilyn Linney attended a Great Learning College Retreat at Ridgecrest in Black Mountain on March 18-20.

This retreat was created so Mayland employees could discuss what is working at the college, and allowed them to brainstorm on problem solving solutions. Visions for the college’s future were also discussed.

“The Great Learning College Retreat was an opportunity for employees of diverse education levels and positions to come together to discuss challenges that we face in our jobs. Out of brainstorming sessions, solutions were proposed for us to bring back to the College,” said Jennifer Isaacs Mayland’s Director of Personnel Services who helped organize the event.

A Great College Retreat serves as a unifier that has two main focuses which are a getting to know you and what you do seminar, and discussing ways you can better yourself and your work environment.

“The retreat also allowed employees that do not regularly interact with each other an opportunity to get to know one another and learn more about their respective positions,” said Isaacs. “By sharing challenges and solutions, and getting to know each other better, the participants of the retreat developed bonds and trust which will enable us to work as a whole towards the goals of the College.”

Premises that drove the Great College Retreat movement were that as people, we learn best from others, and the more diverse the group, the richer the outcomes and problem solving possibilities are developed.

There was no pre-planned agenda, there were no outside experts, and all who participated agreed that everything said would be positive and productive. 

“After going to a lot of training sessions and taking part in many professional development projects over the years, I'd gotten a bit jaded and cynical about it all,” said Steve Gunter a faculty member in Mayland’s Basic Skills Program. “The workshops I had previously attended had sounded like a nice idea, but it never really fit what Mayland needed. The Great College Retreat really served to renew my faith that we CAN have positive, productive, and relevant professional development experience. The problems we tackled, the agenda we followed, and the solutions we came up with were all determined by and for the group."

A great college is an organization that is absolutely student oriented, from the president down, and needs to constantly ask the question: how do our actions benefit the student?

A great college is a single organization and one that anyone’s problem is everyone’s problem and anyone’s success is everyone’s success. It is also an organization where power is anything that empowers and mutual trust is given.

“The time spent getting to know our fellow employees in other areas of the college (and how they do what they do) was invaluable,” said Gunter.

We are still looking for our 1973 graduates!

Where are they now? Pictured are graduates from MCC 1973 graduating class. The college will be holding an Alumni Square Dedication Ceremony on May 30 at the college’s Main Campus in Spruce Pine.

Mayland Community College, formally known as Mayland Technical Institute, held its first commencement exercises on Friday night, August 24, 1973, in the auditorium of the First Baptist Church in Spruce Pine.

There were twenty-four graduates in two vocational programs, Auto Mechanics and Practical Nurse Education. Approximately forty people were recognized for having received their High School Equivalency Diploma through the Learning Lab and Adult Basic Education. Dr. Charles R. Holloman, State Vice President of the North Carolina Department of Community Colleges, delivered the commencement address.

Mayland Community College will be celebrating the first year of the development of the college’s Alumni Association on Friday, May 30 at 2 p.m. on the college’s Main Campus in Spruce Pine. The college would like to honor the 1973 graduates during the Alumni Square Dedication Ceremony.  Anyone who was part of the 1973 graduating class is asked to contact the college’s Foundation office at 765-7351 or 1-800-4-MAYLAND, ext. 312 on or before May 23.

The community is also welcome to attend the event.

 
Caleb Howell, pictured, will be the first high school student
taking Huskins Bill/Dual Enrollment classes to graduate
on May 10 with his Welding Level II Certificate
from Mayland Community College.

First High School Student Taking Huskins Enrollment Classes at Mayland

Caleb Howell will be the first high school student taking Huskins Bill/Dual Enrollment classes to graduate on May 10 with his Welding Level II Certificate from Mayland Community College. Howell will receive his college certificate before he graduates Mitchell High School at the end of the school year.

“I started the welding class as an elective for my high school credits,” said Howell. “I thought it would just be a hobby, but I found out that I was pretty good at welding so it might turn into a career. 

Howell was able to take the class while in high school for free. He intends to continue working toward his Welding diploma and possibly another degree in the future.

Dual Enrollment and Huskins Bill Programs offers students at Avery High School, Mitchell High School, and Mountain Heritage High School the opportunity to earn college credit while they are still in high school by taking classes at Mayland.

“Mayland began a concentrated effort in 1997 to work with the high schools,” said Diana O'Shields Mayland’s Coordinator of Off-Campus Admissions. “In the Fall Semester of 1997, we had 22 Dual Enrollment/Huskins Bill students, and according to this past Spring Semester’s numbers, Mayland had 550 students enrolled from the three county area.”

These classes for high school students are offered free of tuition, lab fees, student activity fees or insurance fees. The only costs the students must pay for is any textbook required for the class and any supplies needed for the course.

“The high schools have a really good opportunity available to them,” said welding instructor Paul Dover who teaches the welding classes on Mayland’s Main Campus. “Welding is a good way for people to make money either on the side or as a full time job.”

Howell learned about the opportunity of taking the welding course at his high school. Mitchell High School and Mountain Heritage High School students take welding classes at their high school and at Mayland’s Main Campus. Avery High School students take classes at Mayland’s Avery Campus and are instructed by Brian Greene.

Any student, who is at least 16 years old, who meets college placement test standards as well as their high school eligibility standards, and has permission from parents, principal and superintendent may participate in these classes.

“All the courses are rigorous, college level academic work, with the bulk of them being structured for transfer to four-year institutions,” said Mayland’s President Dr. Suzanne Owens.  “Many others are structured for work skills in the areas of carpentry, welding, auto body repair, manicuring, landscape design, greenhouse production, horticulture, early childhood education and esthetics.”

Mayland Community College graduated over two hundred and seventy students during the college’s 2008 curriculum graduation ceremony on May 10, which was held at the Abundant Life Outreach in Spruce Pine. Forty-three of those graduates earned either a Level I or a Level II Welding Certificate.

 Howell is the son of Keith and Jill Howell of Spruce Pine.

MCC student Pamela Clark’s, pictured, new motto is
“it is never to late to try and learn something new!”

Pamela Clark: Going Back to School

Pamela Clark’s first thoughts on going back to college were ‘you just can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ but she soon proved that statement wrong.

Clark worked in several factories in Mitchell and Yancey Counties before becoming a displaced worker when Ethan Alan closed its doors in 2006.

“I never had the opportunity to go to college out of high school,” said Clark. “I had to work and help support my family at that point in my life.”

While working with individuals at the Yancey and Mitchell Counties Employment Security Commission offices, they suggested that Clark return to college.

She was told the pros of going back to school like receiving tuition assistance, receiving money for supplies, bettering herself through education, and the prospects of getting a better job after graduation. Clark continued to think of one con “I am too old.”

With her family’s persistence and encouragement, especially her husband Ronnie Clark, came to Mayland Community College to begin classes.

“Many of the people in Avery, Mitchell, and Yancey Counties know firsthand about what it is like to lose their job due to plant closings,” said Clark. “What I have found is that there is an opportunity for us and it is to get a college degree. This can help us in finding better paying jobs and I find that my classes are very beneficial to my future and everyday life.”

Clark is currently looking to enroll in the Medical Assisting Program at Mayalnd. She is excelling in her classes with a 3.76 GPA and was on the college’s Dean’s List for the fall semester.

“Now instead of saying you cannot teach an old dog new tricks, my new motto is ‘it is never to late to try and learn something new,’” said Clark. “Since returning to college at Mayland, I have no doubts that I made the right decision. I am proud of my accomplishments, and I learn a lot from my teachers and fellow students. “

Final registration for Mayland’s summer semester will be held on Thursday, May 29. For more information call 1-800-4-MAYLAND, ext. 222 or visit www.mayland.edu for the summer schedule.

Cathryn Hughes, one of WKYK/WTOE own staff members, and a
student at Mayland Community College, comments on what she
has gained from being a student at Mayland.

Editorial by: Cathryn Hughes

2008 MCC Associate in Arts Graduate

Deciding to attend Mayland Community College was one of the best decisions I have ever made.  Attending Mayland helped me grow academically and socially.  In high school, I made good grades but a lot times I was intimidated by certain subjects. This intimidation often led me to believe that Math and Science were subjects that I could not do well in compared to English and History: Subjects that I loved.

When I was accepted to Mayland, I made the decision that I was not going to succumb to intimidation.  I believed that if I tried my hardest I could do anything.  I really wanted to make an “A” in my math class.  As much as I did not want to, I decided to take Survey of Mathematics during the summer.  I am so glad I made that choice because I worked hard and got an “A”.  I now have a new understanding of the subject.

I always believed that science was just a class I had to take to graduate from high school.  Taking Biology at Mayland has made it fun and interesting.  I now love Biology and ended up taking three Biology classes this semester.  In my Marine Biology class, I had the opportunity to visit Houma, Louisiana and New Orleans during my Spring Break.  My class was able to learn about marine organisms and experience the Cajun culture.  It was an amazing trip.

My communications class drowned my fear of public speaking.  I am a Radio Announcer at our local radio stations, WKYK-Burnsville and WTOE-Spruce Pine.  Communications has helped me with my grammar and articulation of words speaking on the air.

My academic confidence has blossomed by attending Mayland.  My GPA rose while having a harder workload.  I have learned that I have a tremendous work ethic.  During my first semester at Mayland, I took 13 credit hours.  I am now in my final semester and have 19 credit hours while working a part time job.  I was able to make the Dean’s list every semester.  My academic outlook has changed for the future and I am not afraid of a challenge.

Mayland Community College has changed me socially.  I was nominated by a faculty member to be a Mayland Ambassador.  My social skills grew by accepting this position because I gave many tours of the college to prospective students.  I was also asked to be a student model for publications for the college and I love doing it.  I have also become involved with clubs such as Phi Theta Kappa.

I truly believe that God intended for me to go to Mayland.  By May, I will have graduated Mayland Community College with an Associate in Arts Degree and will transfer to Mars Hill College and major in Education.  Mayland’s faculty is amazing and so helpful.  I could not have gotten this far without them.  If you are a senior in high school or an adult considering going back to school, I encourage you to choose Mayland.  I am glad I did!

Mayland will be holding its curriculum graduating ceremonies on May 10, at the Abundant Life Church in Spruce Pine.