EDITORIAL: College gets thumbs up for T-shirt effort

Thumbs up to Williamsburg Technical College and Sykes officials who recently partnered to send T-shirts to troops overseas in response to a request from Andrews native and Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Russell “Trapper” Elliott, who is stationed in Afghanistan. Elliott and his multi-branch team composed of Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines began a campaign last fall to improve area business support for troops by soliciting logo T-shirts or hats for the troops to wear in digital photos in front of the mountains of Afghanistan in exchange for an email of the photos back to the supporting businesses to display. Williamsburg Tech is a public two-year college granting associate degrees, diplomas, certificates and continuing education units which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2009. Sykes, which opened a center in Kingstree in 2008, bills itself as a global leader in providing customer contact management solutions and services in the business process outsourcing arena.

Thumbs up to the donors who fully funded, through the Web site DonorsChoose.org, a project request for classroom materials submitted by Tracy Miller, a teacher at Mayo High School for Math, Science and Technology in Darlington. Miller’s project, called “Speak for Me!” provides applied science resources and experiences for 25 students. One of the donors gave toward the project $133, which was matched with funds from a DonorsChoose.org grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “I teach computer animation. My students are in grades 10-12,” Miller wrote on the site to describe her project. “Currently, my 25 students are sharing five microphones in my classroom. My school cannot afford to purchase any new equipment for my classroom. I need 25 computer microphones to ensure that my students have enough time to create quality projects. Right now, they are sharing microphones and this practice does not allow my students enough time to produce quality projects.” In addition to her project, there are three other requests in Darlington posted to the site that need funding. Any public school teacher can post a project request on Donors Choose.org. Those aimed at college-readiness in high-need or rural high schools may be eligible for a Double Your Impact match. To see Miller’s funded project, visit www.DonorsChoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id254374.

Thumbs up to First Citizens and the First Citizens Foundation for awarding a $100,000 grant to Northeastern Technical College to support the college’s nursing program. The grant will be used by the college to maintain basic instructional equipment and to purchase advanced equipment including hands-on clinical items, laptop computers with specialized nursing education software, and a computerized patient simulator. “The continued reduction in state funding combined with growth in our nursing programs has made it difficult for the college to provide our students with the training equipment desired to support a successful program,” Northeastern Tech President Dr. Ron Bartley said. “However, with this type of support from First Citizens, we will now be better prepared to provide modern instruction to our nursing students and to answer a growing need for skilled nurses in the Pee Dee region.” Northeastern Technical College offers a diploma program in practical nursing which prepares graduates to take the licensure exam to become a licensed practical nurse and a certified nursing certificate program which prepares students for a career as a certified nursing assistant. The college also recently graduated the first class of students from its associate degree in nursing program that prepares graduates to take the licensure exam to become a registered nurse.