Two outstanding Southwestern Community College students, Melody MacDonald and Andrew Timan, have received fall 2013 Western Carolina University Chancellor’s Achievement Awards. Each award is a full scholarship that covers tuition and fees for two years. It is presented to one or two transferring students each year, chosen by an SCC selection committee, from a very select pool of applicants with grade point averages of 3.75 or higher and successful completion of approximately 60 hours of transfer credit.
MacDonald, who is from Waynesville, graduated summa cum laude as an Honors Program graduate from SCC in May with her Associate in College Transfer. While attending SCC as a full-time student, she also worked part time, maintained a 4.0 GPA, volunteered with numerous community activities, was an SCC peer tutor, and was the 2013 SCC Science Fair Grand Champion. MacDonald began at SCC with 17 hours of high-school Advanced Placement credit and completed 12 credit hours of honors courses while enrolled at SCC.
“As one of eight children, my parents simply cannot afford sending my siblings and me to college, so I independently support myself through grants and hard work,” said MacDonald. “I have loved being a student at SCC, and have thrived on the personal, community-like atmosphere of the school. I have made personal connections with my advisors and teachers, and gotten to meet and converse with high-ranking members of the faculty, all of which would have been impossible anywhere else. I will represent and support SCC as a WCU student by carrying on that sense of community.”
MacDonald will complete her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or mathematics at WCU and hopes to work on developing and improving alternative energy sources.
Timan, from Franklin, will graduate summa cum laude as an Honors Program graduate in July with his Associate in College Transfer. He has completed more honors credits than any other SCC student. While owning his own business and going to school full time, he still made time to be a guest lecturer on religion at SCC, volunteer as a homeschool teacher, mentor, and tutor at SCC through the Peer Tutor Program.
“My goal is to attain the level of a PhD in history, religion and philosophy…my passion is to study to attain knowledge, and knowledge is only useful when it is used to apply to practical solutions and remedies,” said Timan. “I intend to be a professor who teaches with passion and energy, drawing students into the mystery and joy of living.”
“The award committee definitely sees these students as future graduate students and wishes them the best in their career endeavors,” said Thom Brooks, SCC Vice President for Instruction and Student Services.
From left, Dr. Thom Brooks, SCC Vice President for Instruction and Student Services; Brook Roberts, WCU Senior Assistant Director of Admissions; Melody MacDonald; Andrew Timan; Dr. Don Tomas, SCC President
