Alum, staff member loves working in Financial Aid and helping students

Pat Hux, Financial Aid Specialist II, works full-time at the college and has attended classes on a part-time basis. She earned her Associate in Arts degree with the Class of 2007, graduating cum laude, and has previously earned an Information Systems Technology degree, and the Office Systems Technology and Medical Office Administration diplomas.

Hux came to HCC in 1995 as a student in the Information Systems program. She got involved in the work-study program in the spring of 1997 when financial aid personnel asked if she would like to work in the office and the rest is history.

Prior to arriving at the college, Hux met and worked with HCC Foundation board member and donor Marshall Grant who encouraged her to enroll. Hux wanted to pursue a degree for personal and professional reasons. She is a first-generation college student and would like to get a bachelor’s degree in the future.

“There is nothing like education. You can do a lot with education and you will never know it all.” As far as the future, Hux plans to continue in her current field. “I love working in Financial Aid and helping the students.”

“I quickly began to recognize within her the emerging qualities of a good teacher.”—Vicki Collier remarking on HCC alumna Rhonda Johnston’s success

HCC alumna Rhonda Johnston was acknowledged as the Halifax-Warren Smart Start Partnership for Children’s 2008 Early Childhood Educator of the Year. The honor was presented to Johnston in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the lives of the young children in her classroom.

Vicki Collier, center director, nominated Johnston for the award. Collier, who came to HCC’s Child Care Center in 2005, wrote, “I quickly began to recognize within her the emerging qualities of a good teacher. … I have witnessed first-hand her growth and maturity as a teacher of young children.”

Johnston joined the center as an instructor in 2004 after graduating from HCC’s Early Childhood Associate Program that same year. She is currently the lead teacher of the center’s two/three year-old classroom. In the future, she plans to complete her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education.

“She nurtures the natural curiosity of each child. Her positive energy is contagious and her caring nature is apparent,” continued Collier. Along with her caring side, Johnston has taken an innovative approach to managing the classroom, implementing a parent communication tool that has proven successful. Plus, Collier credits her in helping the center reclaim its five-star status in 2007.