UNC-TV to feature SCC, community partners this month

SYLVA - North Carolina's most extensive statewide television network will shine its spotlight on the western part of the state over the next month.

A film crew, led by UNC-TV producer Tim Ruffin and award-winning correspondent Shannon Vickery, was in the region from April 30 through May 4 shooting a production called High School Assembly as well as footage for four separate segments of the television magazine show 'North Carolina Now.' The first story is scheduled to air at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 15, and the other four will run in subsequent weeks through June 13. All dates and times are subject to change, so visit www.unctv.org on the Internet for the most up-to-date schedule.

"This is an exciting opportunity to showcase some of the most exciting projects going on in our region today," said Laura Pennington, Southwestern Community College's Director of Grant Activities, who coordinated the visit. "We couldn't be more pleased that UNC-TV chose to highlight these stories, and we couldn't be more proud that the rest of the state will be able to see what we're accomplishing by working together."

During the UNC-TV visit, cameras zoomed in on the work of Southwestern Community College and several of its community partners. The High School Assembly broadcast is a 60-minute forum for high school students in North Carolina - featuring a studio audience and panelists who facilitate a discussion regarding a variety of subject areas that pertain to adolescents.

The segment filmed at Southwestern Community College will include an introduction to the North Carolina GEAR UP program and focus on encouraging students to prepare for college early while they are still in high school—including one-on-one interviews with several area high school students and the program's chief coordinators. Southwestern Community College, in cooperation with public schools in Jackson, Macon and Swain Counties and the Qualla Boundary, sponsors a local GEAR UP initiative under the care of Director Linda Dyke, Director.

"North Carolina Now" features, all of which are set to air at 7:30 p.m., will be Nantahala School (to air on May 22), one of the state's last remaining public schools to offer kindergarten-through-12th grade instruction; the WNC Health Network and Needmore Property (May 31); reintroduction of the Cherokee Language through child care centers on the Qualla Boundary, which will include an interview with Chief Leon Jones (June 12); and the Appalachian Access project, an initiative started by SCC with the aim of bringing more high-performance Internet access to the western part of North Carolina (June 13).