Local New Century Scholars look back on first 10 years

Basketball great and motivational speaker Ronnie Carr will be the guest speaker during Southwestern Community College's New Century Scholars 10th anniversary celebration Thursday, April 6, on the Jackson campus. Addressing the NCS participants, Carr will focus on the importance of setting educational goals.

Current and former New Century Scholars from Macon, Swain and Jackson counties, their families and the public are invited to attend the 10:30 a.m. event in Myers Auditorium.

Established in the mid 1990s, NCS provides young people with incentives to stay in school, to grow intellectually and in self esteem and to achieve a guaranteed college education.

The name New Century Scholars is credited to Diane Lynch, then vocational director of Jackson County Schools, who suggested that since the first group of students would graduate from high school in 2001 and start college that same year, they should be called New Century Scholars. Since 2001, some 333 NCS students have graduated from high school.

Jordan Stevens

Shay Gentry

Krystal Hoyle

At the end of the sixth grade teachers recommend students for the program who may not excel academically but show potential and with encouragement and incentives could be successful in college studies.

If students stay in school, make passing grades, follow school guidelines and perform 10 hours of volunteer service each year, they are guaranteed tuition for an associate's degree at SCC. In addition, NCS students who graduate from SCC with an associate's degree have the opportunity to attend Western Carolina University tuition free for two years to receive a bachelor's degree.

"NCS is a wonderful program," said Jordan Stevens, an NCS senior at Smoky Mountain High School. "It's not a hand-out; you have to earn it. I think the most important thing I got from NCS was community service. Generally, I give more than my 10 hours because that's the least I can do for a community that's given so much to me."

In 1994, Barry Russell, then SCC president, and Charles McConnell, then superintendent of Jackson County Public Schools, recognized this region's future would depend on the abilities and readiness of its most valuable resource - its young people. To be ready for an emerging and changing economy these young people would need a college education, McConnell and Russell agreed. The two laid the plans for enlisting community support to provide tuition-free education.

"We didn't want money to be a barrier for any of these students," said McConnell. "We started with Jim Hartbarger, owner of the Jarrett House. When we explained what we were doing, he said 'yes' in about 20 seconds and gave us a $500 contribution for the first scholarship."

It's the community support from individuals like Hartbarger who make this innovative program such a success, according to SCC president, Cecil Groves. Since Hartbarger's first contribution others in the three counties have contributed more than $700,000 towards this program and the young people it supports.

"If it had not been for New Century Scholars it would have been hard for me to go to school; it's rewarding and it made me want to do my best," said Shay Gentry, now a graphic designer with Gooder Graphics in Franklin.

"New Century Scholars gave me opportunities I never would have had. I could not have afforded to go to college full time without the help of the program," said Sharon Dills, who is currently enrolled in SCC's and WCU's early childhood education programs.

In addition to the education component, students learn much above and beyond the classroom, according to Patty Wilson, NCS coordinator for Jackson County.

"We have training exercises that help the students build self-esteem, leadership skills, critical thinking and self reliance," Wilson said. "Though activities such as high ropes, rock climbing and spelunking, the students also learn how to work together as a group and build team dynamics."

The community benefits from New Century Scholars, too, Wilson said.

"Students volunteer in nursing homes by visiting the residents and playing games and doing crafts with them. Students do roadside and river cleanup, set up luminaires for Relay for Life, serve as wait staff for the Golden Age Christmas dinner, care for animals in county shelters, write letters to soldiers, harvest produce to help feed those in need and help with the Ducks on the Tuck fundraiser," said Wilson, listing just a few of the volunteer projects.

One of the first New Century Scholars, Krystal Hoyle of Sylva, was also a first-generation college student. Now a paramedic, Hoyle graduated from SCC with an associate's degree in emergency medical science.

"I always wanted to be a paramedic and NCS helped make that happen for me," said Hoyle. "For me, and for others, too, NCS helped us come out of our shells and not be so shy. New Century Scholars is the opportunity of a lifetime. It gave me time to focus on my school work and I didn't have to work all the time to make money to go to college."

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