Editorial Column for Daily Herald
For Publication: 10/10/07

HCC: Changing Lives One At A Time
Dr. Ervin V. Griffin, Sr.
President, Halifax Community College

In an earlier column, I introduced to you Rodrigo Martinez, one of the many outstanding students attending Halifax Community College. In this column, I want to introduce another one of our outstanding students. She has a wonderful story and should be an inspiration for many students who might think attending Halifax Community College is impossible.

Ms. Qiana Mann is a Halifax Community College student and also the Student Government Association President. Currently holding a 3.8 grade point average, Qiana is the recipient of the 2007 Women in Business Scholarship. Qiana is also the student representative on the Halifax Community College Board of Trustees. To get to where she is today, she has been determined to face the challenges of everyday life.

Qiana 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.

Last year, 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. She is considering transfer to UNC-Wilmington or Chowan University, but isn't sure where she will finish her education.

“I always came to Roanoke Rapids to shop and I would see HCC on the way to the mall and I always knew that I wanted to come back to college,” says Qiana. 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.

President Mann received the 2007 Women in Business Scholarship awarded by the Daily Herald. She stated at the time she received the scholarship that “I've been having so many rainy days in my life, so this is one sunny, shining day.” We at HCC couldn't agree more. The presence of students like Qiana brings sunshine to our campus community every day.

From the President's Perspective, I am thankful that Qiana decided to continue her education at HCC. I know there are others who could benefit from her example and should take the next step and enroll at HCC. As always, I think it's important to remind everyone in our service region that HCC is here to help all citizens of the Roanoke Valley. Whether you need to improve your English and math skills, earn a GED or enroll in one of our curriculum or continuing education programs, we are here to assist you in your educational and career goals.

We continually strive for HCC to be the place where “Learning Comes to Life in Pursuit of Excellence” for all the citizens of the Roanoke Valley. To learn about other HCC programs, stop by campus, call us at (252) 536-HCC1, or check us out online at www.halifaxcc.edu. Also, feel free to send me an email message at president@halifaxcc.edu  with your thoughts or ideas about HCC.