Community colleges extend their reach

   “Area college students are stocking up on school supplies to begin the fall semester. And whether they’re going into the classrooms of a community college or a four-year university doesn’t matter as much as it used to. The worlds of community colleges and universities are moving closer together than they once were, and both types of institutions have found their niche, but the main objective at either is still to obtain a quality education …”

• Click here to read the rest of this story, published Aug. 14 in the Commercial Dispatch.

PEP RALLY !
Shaquetta Robinson of West Point and Hailey Fulton of Philadelphia join the Student Christian Fellowship Sept. 4 during a pep rally before EMCC’s Saturday match-up in Ellisville with Jones County Junior College. Both young ladies are freshmen at EMCC’s residential campus in Scooba. The pep rally also featured an activities fair as students learned more about campus organizations and enjoyed performances by the EMCC cheerleaders, the Lion’s Pride Marching Band and the Dancing Sensations. After introductions of the football and soccer teams, students competed for prizes in a football toss contest. For more information about EMCC, call (662) 476-5000 or (662) 243-1900.

 MBJ’s 50 Leading Business Women   

   Wynelia Cherry poses with the award presented to her in August by the Mississippi Business Journal -- which named her one of its top 50 Leading Business Women for 2008. The Business Woman of the Year, chosen from among the top 50 list, will be named in January.
   Cherry, director of TRIO Support Services at East Mississippi Community College's Scooba campus, was one of about 250 women nominated for the honor.  
   TRIO is a federal grant program funded through the U.S. Department of Education. Its purpose is to help first-generation college students succeed in college by developing good study habits and sound personal and social decisions. The TRIO staff works to retain academic students from one year to the next -- ultimately helping them transition to four-year institutions to work toward bachelor's degrees.  
   For more information about TRIO, call Wynelia Cherry at (662) 476-8564.

• Click here for the Mississippi Business Journal's Top 50 list.
   

 Get a jump on your future! 

     Are you a high school student who wants to get a head start on earning college credit? If so, East Mississippi Community College’s dual enrollment program might be just what you need. High school students study side-by-side with college students like Greg Deans and Shannon Rhea, pictured, in Licensed Practical Nursing and Industrial Maintenance classes at EMCC’s Golden Triangle campus.
     Special arrangements can be made for qualifying high school students who want to enroll in other career-technical programs – and academic and online classes are also open to dual enrollment students.
     For more information, call Dr. Melanie Sanders at (662) 243-1904.

• To hear more about what two Columbus High School students
  think about dual enrollment, click to watch a WCBI-TV report
  broadcast on Aug. 26.