WCU Awards Scholarship

Ms. Justyne L. Reese has received the fall 2012 Western Carolina University Chancellor’s Achievement Award for the outstanding Southwestern Community College student. The award includes a scholarship for four semesters to fund tuition and fees.
 
To be eligible for the award Reese had to have a grade point average of 3.75 or higher and approximately 60 hours of transfer credit.
 
Reese, who is from Highlands, graduated Southwestern in May with her associate in applied science in accounting. While attending Southwestern as a full-time student, she also worked a full-time job and was diligent about maintaining her 4.0 GPA.
 
 “SCC helped prepare me for WCU in many ways, said Reese, who will be majoring in accounting. “Diania McRae, my advisor, and Cheryl Contino-Conner, director of Student Support Services, were great about working around my schedule to get the classes that I needed and helped me navigate through every step of the transfer process.”
 
“SCC has much smaller classrooms and the faculty really made me feel like they cared about not only my educational success, but also me as a person. The thought of transferring to a 4-year university was very overwhelming at first, but we were able to go on many fieldtrips and campus visits, which helped build my self-confidence.”
 
As a wife and mother of three, Reese admits she would not have been able to actually attend WCU if it were not for being awarded the Chancellor's Scholarship. “I honestly don’t know what I would have done if I had not gotten the call when I did. Taking out a student loan was just not an option for me and my family,” said Reese. “Now that I am able to continue with my education without the worry of a financial burden, I can show my children that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.”