posted
to web Dec 15, 2007
It was here at Southwestern
Community College that I discovered
what real teaching is all about,
and it is because of you people
here in front of me that I was
able to discover it,”
SCC English instructor addressed
the SCC Winter 07 graduating
class.
“When people come together
in a classroom and drop the
roles they think they are
supposed to play and, instead,
engage in a genuine search
for the truth, that is when
magic happens. It is often
exhausting, but always exhilarating,
to be in a constant process
of asking why, why, why, when
you could so much more easily
memorize whatever there is
to memorize, pass the test,
and move on,” said Cox,
commencement speaker during
the college’s Friday,
Dec. 14, ceremony. “As
you leave SCC now and go on
to your other pursuits, let
me in turn challenge you to
never stop asking why.”
Cox, also an author and newspaper
columnist, told the students,
“If you are not living
fully in the moment, if you
are not fully present in each
moment of your own life, then
you are not really living
at all, but waiting. And what
are you waiting for? If you
want to do something, do it
now… remember, if you
are just waiting, you’re
not really living.”
These 68 graduates have the
distinction of being the first
graduates since the college
was rated fourth in the nation
in a listing of America’s
best community colleges, according
to Washington Monthly.
“I’m proud to
be graduating from a community
college that gives me such
a sense of pride and accomplishment,”
said Darran Price of Asheville,
who received his associate
in applied science degree
in culinary technology.
“It’s exciting
to say you graduated from
one of the top five community
colleges in America,”
said Brody Montague of Sylva,
who received his associate
in arts in college transfer.
“We’re
the first cosmetology
class to say we
graduated from the
number four community
college in the nation,”
said this group
of students who
graduated from Southwestern
Community College
Friday, Dec. 14.
In August SCC was
rated fourth in
the nation in a
listing of America’s
best community colleges,
according to Washington
Monthly. From left
are Julie Cagle
of Sylva, Amanda
Cook of Sylva, Timothy
Hook of Burnsville,
Tammi Tran of Franklin,
Ashley Dowdle of
Sylva, Calista Johnson
of Waynesville,
Jessica Barnes of
Sylva, Amber Jenkins
of Robbinsville
and Hannah Hyatt
of Bryson City.
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“This is it-
our final paperwork
at Southwestern
Community College,”
said Ray Crawford,
left, as he fills
in his placement
number for the graduation
line up Friday,
Dec. 14, on the
Jackson Campus.
Crawford and Michael
Park, both from
Sylva, are members
of SCC’s first
graduating class
since the college
was rated Washington
Monthly’s
#4 community college
in the nation. “It’s
a real honor to
have that distinction-
to say I graduated
from one of the
top five community
colleges in the
whole USA,”
said Park who, along
with Crawford, received
his associate of
arts degree in college
transfer. |
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Who Are Those
Cats In The Mortar Board
Hats?
The Class of 0-7, what
an excellent class,
These cats, they have
brains, they have wit,
they have sass
And these cats over
here, well these cats
say you pass.
Don’t you look
spiffy, all dressed
up in blue?
And to think how you
started with nary a
clue
What these cats dressed
in black had waiting
for you.
You’ve given
up weekends for two
or three years,
You’ve been driven
to madness, driven to
tears,
Now all of us here,
we give you three cheers!
Take a look over there
at those cats dressed
in black
You’ve finally
gotten them off of your
back,
Look at them, tell them,
“We’re out
of here, Jack.”
You’ve written
our papers, you’ve
passed all our tests,
You’ve haunted
our offices like some
kind of pests,
You knew we were hiding,
like birds in our nests.
You made it through
English, you made it
through math,
Where others have strayed,
you have stayed on the
path,
And those in the way,
well, they felt your
wrath.
You’re the class
of 0-7, you better believe
it,
You cats dressed in
blue, you all had to
achieve it
The ones who dropped
out can now only grieve
it.
So we cats dressed
in black, we bid you
farewell,
We’re well aware
that we’ve put
you through…a
lot,
And seeing you now,
well, it makes our hearts
swell.
»
Read
Chris Cox's commencement
address in its entirety
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The
68 graduates in Southwestern
Community College’s
winter commencement ceremony
Dec. 14, 2007 were the first
class to have graduated from
Southwestern since it was
rated fourth in the nation
in a listing of America’s
best community colleges, according
to Washington Monthly. The
68 graduates include 35 in
career technologies, 20 in
arts and sciences and 13 in
health sciences.
Graduates included:
Buncombe
Asheville
Darran Trevor Price, AAS,
Culinary Technology and Diploam,
Hotel & Restaurant Management.
Candler
Jason Bud Frady, AAS, Surveying
Technology.
Cherokee
Murphy
Lindsay Rae Dockery, Diploma,
Medical Sonography.
Haywood
Canton
Anne Michell Campbell, Certificate,
Office Systems Technology.
Maggie Valley
Calista Johnson, Certificate,
Cosmetology; Jeremy K. Powell,
AA, College Transfer.
Waynesville
Shelbia D. Hyatt, AAS, Paralegal
Technology.
Jackson
Cherokee
Amanda Leigh Cook, Certificate,
Cosmetology; Laura Jane Gardner,
AAS, Business Administration;
Rachel A. Harris, AAS, Advertising
& Graphic Design,; Ronda
C. Ledford, AAS, Human Services
Technology; Becky J. Parker,
AAS, Human Services Technology.
Cullowhee
Julie Anna Cagle, Diploma,
Cosmetology; John W. Hemingway,
Certificate, Automotive Systems
Technology; Everett C. Sellers,
Certificate, Welding Technology.
Dillsboro
Miranda Coggins, Certificate,
Medical Transcription; Christie
Lynn Schlagle, AA, College
Transfer.
Highlands
Sarah Marie Hanson, Certificate,
Medical Transcription; Justin
G. Taylor, AA, College Transfer.
Sylva
Jessica Barnes, Certificate,
Cosmetology; Emily Josephine
Bartell, Certificate, Outdoor
Leadership; Andrea Nicole
Cagle, Certificate, Cosmetology;
James R. Crawford, AA, College
Transfer; Katherina Anna DeRico,
AA, College Transfer; Ashley
Dowdle, Certificate, Cosmetology;
Natasha Kuker, AA, College
Transfer; Deborah Ruth Marraffa,
AAS, Early Childhood Education;
Brody Patrick Montague, AA,
College Transfer; Ashley Megan
Moore, AA, College Transfer;
Heather Painter, Certificate,
Cosmetology; Jason Pallotta,
AA, College Transfer; Michael
William Park, AA, College
Transfer; Teresa H. Poor,
AAS, Paralegal Technology;
Benito San Gil, Diploma, Medical
Sonography; Richard Walter
Smith, AAS, Computer Engineering
Technology; Timothy S. Spilliards,
Certificate, Welding Technology;
Amber Joy Sumrak, AA, College
Transfer.
Tuckasegee
Leslie Arlene Mathis, AA,
College Transfer.
Whittier
Amanda Reagan Candler, AA,
College Transfer; Jessica
Cochran, Certificate, Cosmetology;
Brittany Nicole Elders, AA,
College Transfer; Jackelyn
Lee Hastings, AAS, Outdoor
Leadership; Benjamin A. Powell,
AA, College Transfer.
Macon
Franklin
Genevieve W. Bingham, AAS,
Human Services Technology
and Certificate, Human Services
Technology – Substance
Abuse Concentration; Martin
A. Brink, Certificate, Welding
Technology; Melissa Coker,
Diploma, Medical Sonography;
James Frederick Collins, AA,
College Transfer; Renee K.
Cooney, AAS, Surveying Technology;
Virginia L. Cranfield, AAS,
Cosmetology; Jeffrey Andrew
Morgan, AA, College Transfer;
Patricia B. Rowland, Certificate,
Infant/Toddler Care; Tyson
Brooks Stager, AAS, Outdoor
Leadership; Megan Magdaline
Stamey, AA, College Transfer;
Jessica Nicole Teem, AA, College
Transfer; Tammi Thuy Tran,
Diploma, Cosmetology.
Otto
Judi W. Gagliolo, Diploma,
Medical Sonography; Jason
Paul Hatch, AA, College Transfer;
Ray W. Richmond, AA, College
Transfer; Wylene Elizabeth
Wall, Certificate, Cosmetology.
Scaly Mountain
Pablo Escandon, AAS, Culinary
Technology.
Topton
Kim Renae Wagner, Diploma,
Networking Technology.
Swain
Bryson City
Toby Lane Allman, AA, College
Transfer; Myra Cochran, Certificate,
Cosmetology; Sheena Latasha
Green, AAS, Business Administration;
Hannah Louise Hyatt, Certificate,
Cosmetology; Erin Pooser,
AA, College Transfer; Holly
Wiggins, Certificate, Cosmetology.
Cherokee
Wahnetah Merriea Oocumma,
AAS, Criminal Justice Technology
and AA, College Transfer;
Hollie Marie Shepard, Diploma,
Medical Sonography;
Whittier
Corrie Leisha Andrews, AAS,
Culinary Technology and Diploma,
Hotel and Restaurant Management;
Carrie Lynn Rogers, AAS, Business
Administration.
Transylvania
Sapphire
Stephanie L. Lyday, AA, College
Transfer.
Yancy
Burnsville
Timothy Hook, Certificate,
Cosmetology.
South
Carolina
Boiling Springs
Allison Karen Phillips, AAS,
Paralegal Technology.
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