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| Students in Southwestern Community College’s Occupational Therapy Assistant program undergo a class activity earlier this academic year. A one-year scholarship is among the prizes up for grabs when SCC celebrates its 50th anniversary with an open house and Scholarship Scavenger Hunt on Friday, April 10. |
Back when Southwestern Community College was a satellite of A-B Tech in the mid 1960s, it wasn’t uncommon for faculty and staff to directly cover tuition costs for students when the need arose.
History is repeating itself this week.
Thanks to the generosity of faculty and staff, SCC is now offering a one-year, tuition-and-fees scholarship in addition to other prizes at its 50th anniversary open house celebration that starts at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 10, at the Jackson Campus.
Faculty and staff contributed more than $2,300 to the SCC Foundation over the past few weeks to make the one-year, 50th SCC Anniversary Scholarship a reality.
Other prizes available through the Scholarship Scavenger Hunt include a $1,000 scholarship as well as gift certificates to the SCC bookstore.
The SCC Foundation initially provided $2,500 - enough funding for two $1,000 scholarships as well as $500 worth of bookstore gift certificates.
“We have been humbled by the outpouring of generosity from our SCC family,” said Brett Woods, director of the SCC Foundation. “We’re thrilled that these scholarships will ease the financial burden on the winners of our Scholarship Scavenger Hunt, and we hope the chance at winning these scholarships will draw a large crowd out to see how much we’ve grown over our first half-century.”
Participants in the Scholarship Scavenger Hunt must be at least 15-years-old and/or at least in the ninth grade. The one-year scholarship covers tuition and fees for the fall and spring semesters of a given year (not to exceed $2,800).
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| This photo found in SCC’s archives shows a classroom scene on opening day: Dec. 1, 1964. |
Displays, demonstrations and exhibits representing the college’s wide variety of programs and divisions will be set up across the Jackson Campus, and scavenger-hunt participants will need to visit at least three (and receive official verification) in order to be eligible for the grand prize drawing at 5:45 p.m. in the Burrell Building Conference Center.
Participants must attend the drawing, which will be held between 5:45-6 p.m. in the Burrell Building Conference Center.
In addition to the Scholarship Scavenger Hunt, SCC will give away t-shirts and free food while supplies last. Food will be served starting at 5 p.m.
“It’s hard to believe that Southwestern started out 50 years ago with only one building, a handful of employees and fewer than 200 students,” said Dr. Don Tomas, SCC’s current president. “We’re excited about this opportunity to show the community how much we’ve grown and what we’re all about.
“Our top priority from day one has been to help students succeed,” Dr. Tomas continued. “That’s why this scavenger hunt contest is so appropriate. We believe there is no greater value than an education at SCC, so the chance to win a scholarship here is actually an opportunity to change your life.”
In conjunction with the open house, the SCC Auto Club will host a free cruise-in for cars, trucks and bikes from 4-7 p.m. in hopes of showing some of the vehicle models that might have been on campus when the college opened its doors for the 1964-65 academic year.
Pepsi is donating free drinks while supplies last, and both KISS-FM from Asheville and WRGC-AM from Sylva will have giveaways in conjunction with live remotes.
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| This undated photo shows the first building on the campus of what is now Southwestern Community College. The building, which has undergone renovations and additions over the years, remains in use and is known as Founders Hall. |
N.C. Sen. Jim Davis; representatives from Macon, Jackson and Swain counties’ Board of Commissioners; and Webster Mayor Nick Breedlove will present resolutions commemorating Southwestern’s history and impact on its service area of Jackson, Macon, Swain Counties and the Qualla Boundary.
For more information about SCC and its programs, visit www.southwesterncc.edu.
To view a brief video tracing Southwestern’s first 50 years, check out: http://youtu.be/SGpGsCrcxm0.
For questions about the open house celebration, contact 50th anniversary planning committee chairman Tyler Norris Goode at 828.339.4394 or t_goode@southwesterncc.edu.
