Alum establishes scholarship to assist current students to succeed

Halifax Community College graduate and staff member Howard L. Bethany established the New Life Scholarship last year. He explained his motive, “In the early months of 2003, at the age of 44, I finally lost all of my earthly possessions to 25 years of drug addiction,” he said. “On June 6, 2003, I was born again. In July of that same year under the guidance of my Lord and savior Jesus Christ, I enrolled at Halifax Community College.”

With the help of his Lord, wife and family, and the college faculty and staff, Bethany began a new life. At that moment, Bethany decided he would make it up the ladder. He finished his first two years with a 4.0 grade point average and went on for college transfer courses, eventually earning a 3.97 average at HCC. He is now enrolled at Barton College, working on a Bachelor’s in Social Work degree. “I am very satisfied with my position on the ladder of life at this moment,” said Bethany. With the establishment of the New Life Scholarship, he added, “It is my goal to help as many people as I can during the remainder of my life.”
 

“I’ve been having so many rainy days in my life, so this is one sunny, shining day.”

Qiana Mann is a current HCC student. During her time here, she has been a campus leader and the recipient of several awards. However, to get to where she is today, she has been determined to face the challenges of everyday life.
Mann graduated from high school in New York in 1998. She was a teenage mother and had many obstacles to overcome just to graduate. After high school graduation, she entered the workforce and had two more children. She has lived in North Carolina since 2003.
In 2006, she decided that is was time to go back to school to achieve her dreams. She is currently pursuing an associate in arts and is enrolled in the college transfer program. After graduating from HCC, she plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in order to become a private investigator. One day, while she was on the Internet, she saw all of the courses HCC had to offer. She decided right then that HCC was where she wanted to continue her education.
In 2007, she received the Women in Business Scholarship awarded by the Daily Herald, a local newspaper. She stated at the time, “I’ve been having so many rainy days in my life, so this is one sunny, shining day.”