Student finds hope through difficulty

Halifax Community College student James Davis has big dreams. With his sights set on a career in music, Davis is currently a curriculum student and graduated with a GED just a short time ago. Originally from Jersey City, N.J., Davis moved with his family to North Carolina when he was only seven years old. The family settled in Weldon. While still in ninth grade at a local high school, Davis decided to pull out of public school and go for home-schooling during 10th grade. However, after a year, he wanted to return to public school. Since he did not take end-of-course testing while still in ninth grade and his home schooling was not accredited, though, his work did not count towards graduation. He would have to start high school all over again.

“I was crushed,” said Davis, who credits his family for pulling him through that difficult time. He went on to take Human Resources Development classes and from there learned about HCC. He took the GED exam and began the process of registering for curriculum classes. He is now in the Associate in Arts program on the college transfer path. After HCC, he plans to attend Georgia State University to study music management/music engineering.
 

“I have wanted to be a teacher since I was in the second grade.”

An Associate in Arts major, Rebecca Simmons plans to become an elementary school teacher, either teaching second-graders or possibly leading a 5th-grade science class. “I have wanted to be a teacher since I was in the second grade,” she explained. After graduating from HCC in May 2009, she plans to transfer to Elizabeth City State University to finish her education degree. She originally chose to attend HCC because of its convenient location.
A peer tutor at HCC, Simmons is also a member of Trinity Pentecostal Holiness Church where she is a toddler teacher assistant and a member of the women’s auxiliary group. She is a volunteer fire fighter with Gaston Fire Department and is also a member of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK). She has served as secretary for the Alpha Eta Phi chapter of PTK and is currently serving as president. She is also a scholarship recipient and was named as a Coca-Cola Scholarship recipient this year.

Along with giving service to her community, Simmons has also served her country. At age 18, she joined the National Guard and has traveled across the country and the world. In fact, in 2003 and 2004, she served in the U.S. Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom.