 |
| Susan Bowles (second from left) and her husband John Bowles (not pictured) recently supported the Student Success Campaign at Southwestern Community College. Pictured with Susan Bowles are, from left, Kathy Posey, institutional development associate at SCC; Charles Wolfe, Student Success Campaign chairman; and Dr. Don Tomas, president of SCC. |
 |
| DiAnne (second from left) and Mitch Crisp (third from left) were among the dozens of community residents who supported the Student Success Campaign at SCC. Pictured with them are Kathy Posey (left), institutional development associate at SCC; and Charles Wolfe, Student Success Campaign chairman. |
 |
| Dr. Quayle Neslen (third from left), who spent 16 years on SCC’s board of trustees, and his wife Dotty (second from left), recently gave to the Student Success Campaign at Southwestern. Pictured with the Neslens are Kathy Posey (left), institutional development associate at SCC; and Charles Wolfe, Student Success Campaign chairman. |
 |
| Among the dozens of area residents who gave to SCC’s Student Success Campaign were Lynda (second from left) and Boyd Sossamon (third from left) of Sylva. Flanking the Sossamons are Kathy Posey (left), institutional development associate at SCC; and Charles Wolfe, Student Success Campaign chairman. |
The Student Success Campaign is still a work in progress.
Phase One, however, is complete.
Under the leadership of director Mary Otto Selzer, and thanks to the generosity of the community, the Southwestern Community College Foundation has fully leveraged a U.S. Department of Education challenge grant that doubled the first $300,000 raised for the campaign.
With $600,000 in the bank, the Student Success Campaign now moves to Phase Two with a goal of pushing that total over $1 million to support student success at SCC – primarily through scholarships.
“We are so thrilled, and so thankful to everyone in the community for helping us maximize this federal challenge grant,” said Dr. Don Tomas, president of SCC. “For more than a year, Mary has poured her heart into helping us reach this point. For years to come, Southwestern students will benefit from all her hard work and from the outpouring of generosity from so many fine individuals and businesses throughout Jackson, Macon, Swain Counties and the Qualla Boundary.”
Among the dozens of donors were John and Susan Bowles, who own and operate ServPro of Nantahala.
In addition to their $1,000 gift to the campaign, they’ve regularly supported the SCC Foundation over the years.
“We look at it like planting seed so that it’ll be ready to harvest in a few months,” Susan Bowles said. “I have some seed, you have some seed and several other people have some seed. I couldn’t seed the whole field by myself. Someone needs to water it, someone else needs to till it. No one can do this all by themselves. But if we all pitch in together, we can pay it forward together. And together, we’ll reap the benefits.”
Statistics provided by SCC’s department of institutional research show that roughly 90 percent of Southwestern students who complete an associate degree, diploma or certificate live and work in the college’s service area afterward.
That’s significant to Sylva residents Boyd and Lynda Sossamon, who also gave $1,000 to the campaign.
“SCC is so important for students in this part of the state,” Lynda Sossamon said. “Many students who attend SCC stay here after they graduate, and they are employed in our community.”
Mitch and DiAnne Crisp of Sylva have supported SCC for years and said they felt good about the fact their investment in the Student Success Campaign would be matched at 100 percent through the federal challenge grant.
For the 2014-15 academic year, 237 students applied for financial assistance through the SCC Foundation. But the Foundation only had enough resources to fund 73 scholarships.
“We’re excited about broadening the opportunities for students,” said Mitch Crisp, who served on the SCC Foundation’s board of directors from 1989-99. Dianne Crisp served on the same board from 2006-07.
A former member of SCC’s board of trustees, Dr. Quayle Neslen and his wife Dotty gave $1,000 to the campaign.
Dotty Neslen previously served on the SCC Foundation’s board of directors (1992-2001) and attended Southwestern in the early 1980s.
“We strongly believe in education, and we want to continue to support Southwestern,” Dotty Neslen said.
For more information about the SCC Foundation or to make a gift, visit www.southwesterncc.edu/foundation.
