< Previous39FTCC ANNUAL REPORTWWW.FAYTECHCC.EDUI was born in Louisiana. My father was discharged from the military when I was two years old. My grandparents raised me in Idaho from the time I was two until I was eight years old. Then, I lived with my father until I was 18. I got stationed at Fort Bragg in the summer of 2008 and have been here ever since. I’m medically retired from the military. Now, I’m a full-time student at Methodist University studying social work because I want to help others.I did my presentation for the Out of the Darkness series with the FTCC Psychology Club in Fall 2016. I had never told my story in its entirety before. It was so empowering to embrace the trauma that has made me who I am. I disclosed several of the traumatic events from my childhood into my adulthood as well as several times that I really struggled with addiction and suicidal ideations. I was asked by Jennifer Bledsole, a psychology instructor at FTCC, to be a part of the series. She had heard some of my story during a church meeting. I also enrolled into the Fundamental Skills for Substance Abuse Counselor Part I program at the college.I started off by sharing information about abuse from my mother and then shared information about abuse from my father, stepmother, (step) grandmother and (step) uncle. I also covered some of the combat situations I was in. I didn’t realize I had PTSD until I went to substance abuse rehab. Once I stopped using to self-medicate, my symptoms got worse. My drinking was getting worse and worse after every deployment. My paranoia and anger were worsening as well.After presenting at FTCC, I got a lot of positive feedback and was told that my story helped another person who was dealing with childhood sexual abuse just as I had. This is a reminder when I go into my cave of depression and isolation that there are others like me. I went through these things to help others. It doesn’t take the signs and symptoms away; they are just less controlling.Sharing my experience with others has made me grow emotionally and spiritually. I have had to step out of my comfort zone and take in the reality of what I have been through, instead of trying to cover it up or pretend it didn’t happen or drown it away with alcohol or drugs. It has also made me realize how God can use horrible experiences to shape and mold me.Once a month, the College’s Psychology Club asks students and people in the community to share their stories of trauma and healing as part of the ‘Out of the Darkness’ speaker series. We asked Chris Canaday, a veteran and student, to speak about his presentation and experience of healing from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).Finding HealingIn March, FTCC was awarded a $16,000 grant by the Higher Education Research and Scholarship Foundation (HERSF). The grant will be used to support student scholarships at the College, with particular focus on students enrolled in healthcare-related programs.American Public University System (APUS) funds the charitable organization with support of its Board of Trustees. So far, 59 students have benefited from the generous grant.The Foundation was established to find ways to fund scholars and researchers, while assisting students with financial aid/scholarship assistance aligning with the mission of making accessible, afford-able, high-quality education available to underserved learners. HERSF and its supporters place a premium on diversity, public/private sector collaboration, and innovation FTCC Awarded $16,000 Grant by HERSFFrom left to right: Lorna Ricotta, Dr. Jolee Marsh, Dr. David Brand, Cathy Baxley, Susan Ellis, Dr. J. Larry Keen, Dr. Wallace Boston, Dr. Vernon Smith, Barbara Netzer and Dr. Chris Reynolds.Making Waysand anticipate that the grant will enhance the pathway and educational experience for FTCC students.The Higher Education Research and Scholarship Foundation (HERSF) bestowed a $16,000 grant upon FTCC in 2017. The funds will benefit scholarships supporting students enrolled in programs tied to the healthcare field. BY THE NUMBERS96100Percentage of graduation rate for the Nurse Aide Program, Class of 2018Percentage of passing rate for the National Certification Exam - Surgical Technology Class of 2018AROUND CAMPUS100Percentage of passing rate for the Radiography Program, Class of 201895Percentage of passing rate for the Practical Nursing Program, Class of 201841FTCC ANNUAL REPORTWWW.FAYTECHCC.EDUFTCC’s phlebotomy program trains and prepares students to draw blood specimens from patients. The samples taken are then tested and analyzed for many reasons, such as checking blood counts or diagnosing conditions in patients. Phlebotomy students also learn how to maintain equipment, communicate thoroughly with patients, care for blood specimens and efficiently keep records of blood tests. As part of their coursework, students are also required to complete training at clinical sites to gain necessary hands-on experience prior to seeking a career in the healthcare field. 42FTCC ANNUAL REPORTMichelle Walden’s journey with FTCC dates back to 1991. That’s when she enrolled in the radiologic technology program after realizing a larger university she attended wasn’t the best fit for her after graduating from local Pine Forest High School. She’s been teaching at the college for more than 15 years; prior, she taught mammography continuation at Johnston Community College. Now, she serves as department chair and instructor for FTCC’s mammography program and a clinical coordinator for radiography. Walden and a colleague wrote the curriculum for mammography that included the clinical rotation component, earning approval from the North Carolina Community College System. Students enrolled into the first class at FTCC fall 2013. Walden won’t hesitate to say what part of her career path she didn’t plan: teaching.“My younger self would have never seen me teaching, honestly,” she said. “My sister is actually an elementary school teacher, and we would always laugh because I would say I would never teach. It was never a thought. When I took the leap of faith at Johnston, I realized I liked the classroom part of it.” Walden spoke about her interests in the medical field, taking on multiple roles at FTCC, and the importance of community colleges in a Q&A from the comfort of her office. Where does your interest in the healthcare field come from? When I was 16, I was a candy striper at Cape Fear Valley [Medical Center]. I would work one day a week in medical records, and then I would work in the rehab center with the paraplegics and quadriplegics. We’d go to the rooms and fill up cups with ice and provide drinks for the patients, and at lunch time, we would help feed the patients. I volunteered for one summer and just knew. I just was trying to figure out exactly what. I talked to a counselor at FTCC, and he said, “You love the medical field, and you love math. What about radiography?” I was the first person in my family to do healthcare. Why did you choose to come to FTCC? I went to a university out of high school, and I was there for a year and a half. I wasn’t happy there with the large classes and taking classes not in my major. When did you know coming to a community college was the right choice? As soon as I started. It was the smaller classes, I felt like the instructors cared. I felt like a number [at the university] but I felt like an individual here. My instructor for my communications class was Polly Davis. She was amazing. She genuinely cared about people, asked about your end goal, how you’re doing, etc. When I came back to work here, she was still working here and retired along the way. She remembered me, and I was so excited to see her. She was so excited to see me. A sit-down with health faculty member Michelle Walden From student to teacher43FTCC ANNUAL REPORTWWW.FAYTECHCC.EDUYou graduated from here with a degree in radiologic technology. What steered you toward mammography? One, you are helping women. Every woman is coming in to find out if they have cancer. The interaction in mammography is like no other because you are up close and personal. You are there for the patient if they are nervous, if they’ve had a bad experience with a mammogram. You work with them to make it a good experience. It’s such a rewarding field.Tell us a little more about the structure of the mammography program here.It’s just me, myself and I [Walden said this with an excited laugh]. The students in the program change but there’s usually between 10 to 15 per year. I can only have students where I have clinical sites such as in Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Lumberton, Elizabethtown, Wilmington, Greensboro, and First Health [Moore Regional Hospital] in Pinehurst. It’s expanding. I’ve also had students in Tennessee and Hawaii because of how the program is set up: the didactic is online and if a facility will go into an affiliation agreement with the college, it can be a student’s clinical site. My goal is to continue growing the program and get students from other states.How integral has FTCC been in where you are now? FTCC is all of it. I wouldn’t have done any of this without FTCC. The opportunities given to me here, without FTCC, none of this would have happened. When I wanted to offer a mammography program, I mentioned it to my dean. Then, I started offering a short mammography program that I created through the Continuing Education Department. Anytime I’ve had an idea, it was the encouragement of, “Yes, let’s go for it, do the paperwork, and let’s see what happens.”What do you want to say to current, future students as a graduate of a community college?I think everyone should go to a community college. Coming here first prepares you, your study skills, maturity and life experience. It gives you the opportunity to have a little freedom and learn that lesson about if you don’t do your work, it’s on you, and it’s not such an expensive mistake. Also, transfer students to a four-year college have a higher success rate. You’ll have a better chance of success at a four-year college and it’s more affordable. It’s amazing to watch students you’ve had, and they’re now working in clinical sites around town. It’s nice to go around to the clinical sites and seeing them being successful and doing well. Not with every program do you get to see them and follow up through the years unless they stay in the area. Here, we get that opportunity.Michelle Walden teaches and answers questions from students in her Radiographic Physics II class. That day, students split into groups and did an activity on x-ray interactions with the human body, teaching them the importance of radiation safety. Some-times atoms in the body can alter when exposed to radiation.Michelle Walden, FTCC’s department chair and instructor for mammography and clinical coordinator for radiography, said her younger self never saw teaching in her future. She realized it was the right path for her after teaching a small mammography class at a nearby community college. Her path in the healthcare field began as a volunteer at a hospital when she was a teenager and grew into her becoming a graduate from FTCC in 1991 after being a part of the radiologic technology program. 44FTCC ANNUAL REPORTFayetteville Tech’s Apprenticeship Open House is a community- outreach event that provides participants an opportunity to learn about the benefits of FTCC’s apprenticeship program for manufacturers and businesses in Cumberland County. The open house featured a variety of successful programs from across the campus such as electrical, plumbing, carpentry, welding and human resources development (HRD). The seminar also highlighted FTCC’s Small Business Center, Transition Tech for future veterans, the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Apprenticeships, and Corporate and Industry Training. Dr. Pam Howze, program director of apprenticeship at the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, served as the guest speaker. Apprenticeships develop employees into highly skilled individuals. They receive customized training to meet industry standards, even skills tailored to specific needs of businesses they work for. Moreover, employees learn needed skills through on-the-job learning from an experienced mentor combined with education courses, creating work-based learning. Apprenticeships not only benefit the apprentice, but businesses as well. The programs’ impact can lower cost of recruitment and reduce turnover rates for businesses. Ninety-one percent of workers who complete an apprenticeship are still employed nine months later, enhancing employer retention. Apprenticeships also emphasize safety, creating a reliable pipeline of qualified workers coupled with a systematic approach to training. The precautions ensure employees receive training and can produce at the highest skill levels required for their specific occupation. A safer workplace may reduce worker compensation costs. Lastly, businesses– where available – may qualify for state-based tax credits as apprenticeship program sponsors. Just as the government understands the importance of apprenticeships with tax credits, so do workforce systems and other community partners. Both can choose to contribute funding for training, supplies or other aspects to make apprenticeship programs excel. Those steps help reduce an employer’s investment in apprenticeship training costs while at the same time, being able to offer the opportunity to eager and ready workers.AROUND CAMPUSApprenticeship Seminar Builds CommunityThe FTCC Apprenticeship Seminar featured programs from across the campus and from the North Carolina Department of Commerce. 45FTCC ANNUAL REPORTWWW.FAYTECHCC.EDUDuring summer 2018, Fayetteville Tech offered a short-term culinary class (four weeks) entitled “Healthy Eating: Where to Start.” Chef Anna Fiore taught the class and shared information on healthy cooking, alternatives to favorite meals, and culinary trips in the kitchen. The class was popular, beneficial in promoting healthy eating, and appropriate for all cooks — even beginners. Healthy Eating With Chef FioreConnections of Cumberland County located on North Cool Spring Street in Fayetteville. 47FTCC ANNUAL REPORTWWW.FAYTECHCC.EDUIn the summer of 2018, FTCC began a partnership with Connections of Cumberland County, a Fayetteville-based organization providing a walk-in Day Resource Center serving women and mothers and their children who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness.The partnership resulted in an Employability Lab that operates on a drop-in basis and doesn’t require an appointment. The grant-funded lab is only for clients of Connections. The lab is equipped with computers and provides users with a range of resources and skills they’ll work on, as listed below:• Interest and aptitude assessment to determine best career fit • Career exploration (exploring what is involved to obtain a job in a specific career) • Communication skills to include problem-solving and being an effective team member • Workplace ethics, expectations, and standards • Practice completing online applications • Information about resumes, identify which one is best for them, write/type a resume • Writing and then practicing a 30-second commercial • Imaging & branding • Learning helpful job fair tips/pointers • Networking and learning about social media • Practicing job interview skills • Registering for NC Works at the Career CenterCrystal Lassetter, case management/field placement coordinator for Connections, talked about the goal of providing an employment resource for clients.“We want to have our clients brand themselves and increase their potentials of employment and maintain their housing without assistance,” she said. “And the ones at risk for homelessness? We want to prevent them from being homeless.”The idea for the lab began with a conversation between Lassetter and Kim Lewis, FTCC’s department chair for HRD and Career Readiness Certificate. The lab falls under FTCC’s Corporate & Continuing Education Department. Lewis toured the organization’s headquarters in downtown Fayetteville to see what partnership opportunities were available. Those talks began early 2018 and progressed with students from one of FTCC’s computer classes installing the lab as a capstone project this past spring semester. FTCC Human Resources Development (HRD) Instructor Lakeisha Marshall oversees and runs the lab. “We wanted to have someone who is able to work with them on a wide level,” Lassetter said about Marshall as an instructor. “We wanted someone who could help with their resumes and employability skills. We have clients who range from low-education to a master’s level.”So far, Marshall has only had a handful of clientele visit the lab, as Connections continues to inform current and new clientele about the new resource.“They say this is a need,” Marshall noted from her conversations with clients from Connections. “And they say ‘thank you.’”Marshall has done similar work with other organizations across Cumberland County such as the Fayetteville Area Operation Inasmuch and the Alston Wilkes Society; the latter provides rehabilitative services to adults released from correctional facilities in North and South Carolina.Marshall welcomes the partnership between FTCC and Connections.“I had a client come in who just broke down crying because she had a tough day. She was evicted,” Marshall said, adding what she hopes to provide to the women and mothers. “I want to encourage the clients to think positive of themselves. There are a lot of people in the community that need help like what Connections is giving. I’m thankful for the opportunity to help.”Since 2014, Connections of Cumberland County has opened 761 cases for women who are homeless or at-risk. The numbers for children and infants are higher combined, 972 and 17 respectfully. Numerous factors can contribute to homelessness, such as not having a savings account to fall back on when a crisis arises, insufficient income, or falling into the many cycles of poverty – living paycheck to paycheck. Lassetter said Connections will evaluate the Employability Lab’s progress. “Our goal is to continue it,” Lassetter said. “Our organization wants to have a safe place for clients to come and feel respected with dignity, no matter their situation. We want to help their families maintain stability.”A partnership and a step toward helping women, mothersCultivating RespectEducation has always been a part of Brian and Victor Arevalo’s lives, although memories of earlier lesson plans through the years have turned hazy.“I remember field trips, having stickers and name tags to say who we were,” Brian, 19, recalled.“I remember nap time and the blue, little beds we would have, but nothing else,” Victor, 18, chimed in. Brian looked at his brother and shook his head in laughter without saying a word. Brian and Victor were toddlers when they unofficially became some of Fayetteville Technical Community College’s youngest students in 2003. They were part of a federal program called Even Start. The program offered grants to support family literacy projects targeting early childhood education and adult literacy such as lessons for English-language learners, and activities to make the family unit more cohesive. In Fayetteville, the program involved the college and Cumberland County Schools. The partnership consisted of Wanda Wesley, a family literacy coordinator for the school system, a pre-kindergarten teacher and an assistant in addition to FTCC English Second Language Instructor Lynne Kreiser; she taught the parents. Kreiser described being involved with Even Start as the “perfect combination” for her. “I have very strong beliefs about how important it is to work with young children, even though I’ve become an adult educator,” Kreiser said. She has taught at the college for 22 years. Now, the Arevalo brothers attend FTCC. They graduated from Terry Sanford High School. Kreiser saw the brothers again in October 2017 for the first time since they were students in the Even Start program. All hugged each other and smiled in the lobby of the Health Technologies Center. The brothers’ mother, Elvia Arevalo, was there. She attended the Even Start program with her sons. The Arevalo family and Kreiser reconnected, thanks to Wesley. This past spring, Wesley attended an induction ceremony for FTCC’s Chapter of the National Society of Leadership and Success. She recognized two of the inductee members – Brian and another student who also attended the Even Start Program at a young age. Brian shyly admitted he didn’t remember Wesley at first, but his mother did. “I felt like a proud grandmother,” Kreiser said when she saw Brian and Victor again. “When you see them as three- and four-year-olds, all are pretty amazing. Sometimes, you don’t get to see the payoff as an educator.” Through the years, Brian and Victor have been able to understand the payoff from attending the classes. English became their first language.“It definitely helped to learn English first because we could have been at a disadvantage,” Brian said about attending school through the years. “But now, I do wish I would have learned Spanish first because I feel English would have been easier.” Victor added, “As you grow up, you see how important learning a second language is with applying for jobs and your family, it helps you out more.”A MOTHER’S CHOICEElvia Arevalo was born in Mexico. She moved to Fayetteville about 20 years ago to stay with family. That’s when she met Abel Arevalo, her husband. Arevalo didn’t speak English when she moved to North Carolina. She initially took an English as a Second Language (ESL) class at a local high school before she learned about Even Start.Arevalo described Kreiser as a “good teacher,” one who pushed her to understand English by using a variety of methods such as repeating words until she pronounced them correctly. “I understood everything she was teaching, it wasn’t too hard and not too easy,” Arevalo said. When Arevalo signed up for Even Start, she decided Brian and Victor’s second language would be Spanish. The brothers would learn it at home with help from their mother and father; he is native to El Salvador. Being bilingual has been beneficial for the family outside of the home. A new student, from El Salvador, enrolled at Terry Sanford High during Victor’s senior year. The transfer student spoke little English. Victor helped him. Arevalo said “it felt good” to know Victor was able to assist a fellow classmate. Kreiser said stories like the Arevalo family’s serve as an example about the importance of community partnerships. Even Start hasn’t received funding since 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s website. The story also reinforces why people become educators – for Kreiser, at least. “These two young men started with us in 2002-2003, and I just think this is an amazing story,” she said. “And now, they’re students here. Having this partnership, having this positive relationship with FTCC – the parents and the children – it has paid off.” At FTCC, Brian plans to finish his associate’s degree in science in December 2018. His next goal is to earn his associate’s degree in dental hygiene. Victor is also pursuing a science degree. Knowing the brothers will leave home is an idea Arevalo still has yet to come to terms with. They are, after all, her sons. “My sons are doing [well], they’re still in school and interested in school,” she said. “And I’m proud of them. They’re going to make me cry when they leave FTCC and go to school in a different city.” AROUND CAMPUSAn English as a Second Language instructor helped change a familyA MOTHER’S CHOICENext >