NOVEMBER 30, 2007

SPOTLIGHT ON SUCCESS
Helping Yourself is the First Step

Crystal Hodgkinson is a Certified Medical Assistant with a great job at Greene Memorial Hospital’s Beavercreek Urgent Care campus.  Designed to provide immediate care and treatment for illnesses or injuries that don’t require an emergency room visit, the clinic’s staff of medical assistants are the first line of aid for the patients who come in.  It’s a role that gives Crystal great satisfaction.

“I like talking to the patients and knowing that what I’m doing here is going to help them,” she says. “Just being around the people, knowing I’m making a difference for them.”

“I’m glad I changed my life when I did.” 

Her new career has made her family proud of what she does, especially her 10-year-old son.  “He is so proud of me…he cried at my graduation,” she recalls.  Wherever they go together, he is sure to let everyone know:  “My mom is a medical assistant…she helps people!”

Crystal recalls vividly the day she received a card from National College’s Dayton Area Campus in the mail –mail she would usually have just thrown away.  “I was six months pregnant with my daughter, I had an eight-year-old son, and for some reason I looked at it was just like, ‘man, what am I going to do with my life?’  I’m getting another kid; I have no skills in anything else; I don’t want to work three jobs for the rest of my life trying to support them.”

Crystal was familiar with the College through TV commercials she had seen, in which the campus appeared to be an open, friendly environment. A visit soon confirmed what she had heard. “It was awesome,” she says.  “Everybody there was so friendly, and [Director of Admissions Linda Clemons] explained everything to me very thoroughly and let me know exactly what I was going to get myself into, and told me that it was great that I was doing this.” National’s focused, hands-on curriculum was a perfect fit for Crystal, who especially enjoyed her externship–not coincidentally, also at the Urgent Care clinic. “I hadn’t even worked there…three days, they started talking about offering me a job when I was done,” says Crystal.  “That’s how quickly we knew,” adds her supervisor, Clinical Team Coordinator Linda Williams, RN. “I was getting such positive feedback from the staff.”

A lot of work was involved between making the decision to turn her life around and achieving her career goals, however.  But the support network of family and friends, as well as her instructors and staff at National College, made her success possible.  “There was a couple of times I wanted to give up,” Crystal admits.  “But the support network that I had through the school and my mom, nobody would let me give up.” We’re proud of your achievement, Crystal, and hope you can be an example to other students who follow in your footsteps, just as you have for your children.

NASHVILLE

Feed the Children

With help from the College’s Community Relations Fund, the Nashville Campus recently supported a fundraiser for Feed the Children and helped to feed 48 needy families. Career Center Director Sharonda Campbell and night time Student Activities Council President Calvin O. Atchison recently assisted the organization as they delivered food boxes to the participating families.

In the photo, Feed the Children organizers and volunteers are caught in action as donations are delivered to area families in need.

MEMPHIS

Successful Food Drive in Memphis

Every year, around the holidays, a local Food Bank in Memphis collects food and paper goods for the needy. Business Administration student Tracy Rosemont spear headed the Memphis campus’s first food drive with help from Career Center Director Dorothy Gourdine. Tracy was instrumental in getting her company to combine their collected goods with the foods collected from National students and staff. It was a substantial showing for the campus’s first food drive! Thanks to Tracy and her efforts, National’s name will be published along with Auto Zone, FedEX, Campbell Clinic, and AT&T as a major contributor to the Food Bank this year.

Tracy is pictured with donations for the Food Bank.

LOUISVILLE

Changing Directions

The Louisville Campus is pleased to announce Elaine Jetton, former Admissions Representative, as the campus’s new Community Resource Coordinator. She has done an excellent job in admissions, and will certainly continue great accomplishments in her new role. Best wishes, Elaine, in your new position with the College.

PIKEVILLE

Honoring Our Veterans

On November 7, 2007 the Pikeville Campus held a Veterans Ceremony for faculty, staff and students to recognize the bravery and dedication of our nation’s armed forces. Guest speaker Earl "Red" McCowan spoke about his recent trip to South Carolina where he visited a tomb of fallen soldiers.  He also spoke about the days when he served in the Marines.  His speech was very emotional and brought tears to many eyes.  The campus also presented veterans a gift of appreciation for their service to our country. 

Red McCowan is pictured giving a presentation at the campus’s Veterans Day ceremony.

Upward Bound

Trent Ramey of the Pikeville Campus has recently been promoted to Regional Director of Admissions for Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio campuses. His career with National began in 2004 as an Admissions Representative. He was elevated to the campus’s director of admissions in June 2007. Trent said, "I am really looking forward to working with all the campuses and their Admissions teams."

Fall Graduation

The Pikeville Campus recently held a graduation ceremony and reception for the Fall term graduates. Pictured left to right are new graduates Wednesday Coleman, Kenneth Huffman, Joanna Blackburn, Jacki Collins, and Valorie Scotts.

FLORENCE

Contest Winners Announced!

The Florence Campus recently held its quarterly oral presentation contest for the Fall term. The topics presented by the students covered a wide range of subjects including the Korean War, Pope John Paul II, and the "ideal" candidate. The students are encouraged to use all the library resources including the popular Virtual Library. Congratulations to the following winners: Tina Becraft, Cristen McCarthy, Hung Dang, Ruth Grever, Patricia Morales, Macon Poland, Erin Espelage' and Charlotte Hyatt. Pictured with the winners on the far right are Librarian and Instructor Cheryl Heer and Career Center Director Frank Wells.

LEXINGTON

An Accomplished Filmmaker

Bill Blackburn is an accomplished filmmaker who wanted to increase his knowledge of media. He earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the School of Filmmaking at North Carolina School of Arts. He then accomplished his desire to learn more about media by working towards an associate degree from the Lexington Campus in the Radio and Television Broadcasting program and graduated in the spring of 2006.

Bill’s degrees are now coming in handy as he works for Davey Digital Photography and does freelance work on the side making films. In addition, he works for FILMdyne, LLC and JustUs League Films on independent films. He has even done some acting in such award-winning films like Seabiscuit.

Bill has received many awards and acknowledgements for his work. Feel free to visit his website to learn more at www.myspace.com/billishere.

A Community Opportunity

Community Resource Coordinators Earlane Cox and Lee Wigginton along with Regional Director of Community Development Donna Stoutenborough recently represented the Lexington Campus at a visit to Eastland Save-a-Lot, a Partner in Education. The trio set up a National display in the store and had the opportunity to talk to Save-a-Lot employees and potential students about the many career-training programs available at the campus.

This was a fine way to welcome Lee on his first day of his new job at the campus. The campus would like to officially welcome Lee to the National family and wish him great success in his career.

Earlane, Donna, and Lee are pictured by the National display at Eastland Save-a-Lot.

Healthy Awareness

As a result of attending the Lexington Campus’s Health and Wellness Expo on October 18th, the Governor’s Office of Fitness and Health invited Community Resource Coordinator Earlane Cox to set up a display at their annual Health Awareness for Kentuckians event last month. The Office of Fitness and Health is focusing its efforts on healthy lifestyles and activity and was very gracious to invite us to attend their event. With as many as 42 vendors, the event was well attended by area residents.

RICHMOND

Ripples Of Hope Supporters

For the second year the Richmond Campus joined with the Ripples of Hope Foundation to provide families less fortunate with a Thanksgiving meal. For 10 weeks students, staff, and faculty purchased items for Thanksgiving meals and collected a total of 11 baskets for Madison County families!

Picture above left are students Hilah Ervin, Dora Whitaker, and Clara Thompson showing completed baskets. Pictured above right are students in Instructor Frances Click's Med 262 class who collectively brought in items to complete one entire basket.

Veterans Recognition

On November 8th, the Richmond Campus took time out to honor students, faculty, and staff who have served in the Armed Forces with a special Veterans Day observance. The ceremony began with remarks from Campus Director Keeley Gadd regarding the importance of recognizing all veterans and thanking them for their service to our country. This was followed by the presentation of the colors by a color guard from the local National Guard unit, the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem.  The guest speaker, Major Joseph Gardner of the Kentucky National Guard, focused his speech on the history of Veteran’s Day and on Kentuckians unwavering willingness to answer the call to duty since the beginning of our great country. Veterans were then presented with gifts of appreciation for their service. The ceremony ended with the playing of Taps by Troy Hensley and a closing prayer by veteran Reverend Gene Strange.

DAYTON AREA

Community Outreach

This holiday season, the Dayton Area campus is sponsoring six needy families through the Greene County OutReach Program, and in a combined effort with the Student Activities Council, the campus will be taking money and toy donations until December 21st. The Dayton Campus would like to wish everyone a blessed holiday season.

Admission Representatives Karen Underwood and Eileen Sherry are pictured by the campus’s tree.

BARTLETT

Honoring U.S. Veterans

On November 8th, the Bartlett Campus observed Veterans Day honoring those who have served in the Armed Forces. Ceremonies for day and night students recognized staff and students who have served in the military. Faculty, staff, and students enjoyed light refreshments at the receptions as each veteran was honored and presented with a gift from the College.

Campus Veterans include Campus Director Loyd Williford who served in the U.S. Army as a First Lieutenant and Company Commander for the 82nd Airborne Division and Financial Planning Representative Guy Stroup who was a First Class Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy. Instructors Jerry Beckley (pictured) and Barton Joseph served the Navy while Instructors Stanley Burton and Martha Cox both served in the Army. In addition four students are veterans: Tabitha Conatser and Richard Jones both served in the Navy; Brian Lewis was an Airman for the U.S. Air Force, and Derek Sims was a specialist in the Army.

Jerry Beckley (pictured) is also a recipient of the Silver Star. He was a submarine officer for the U.S. Navy.

A Mock Office Environment

Students in Instructor Pamela McLaughlin’s Principles of Management class held a Dress for Success Day in which students donned appropriate attire for an interview. Students also hosted an office brunch and role-played various office scenarios.

According to McLaughlin, “the role playing exercises allowed the students the opportunity to react to various situations that occur in today’s workforce.” These situations included manager/employee sexual harassment; favoritism in the workplace; employee violation of SOP (standard operation procedures); and employee misuse of company property.

Student Lina Tuggle (left) is pictured with Brian Lewis role playing as a manager demonstrating the appropriate way to talk to an employee who has been harassed by another manager.

HARRISONBURG

Enhancing the “Rusty” Skills

After working as an Office Assistant/Production Worker for a company for 11 years, Anne Comer (right) was laid off and found herself in need of employment opportunities.  Realizing her computer skills were “rusty” she enrolled as a student in the Computerized Office Applications program.  Anne graduated this past August with high honors and an impressive resume. Shortly after she began job searching, she started a new career with a local insurance company.  Recently, Anne returned to the campus to pose for photos to be used in upcoming marketing materials for National as she is a great example of finding success at National. As the holiday season approaches, Anne says she is grateful for family, friends, and National’s career focused educational programs!

MARTINSVILLE

Providing A Helping Hand

National College recently provided monetary contributions to two Martinsville area social service agencies that have served as externship sites for Martinsville students.  The Free Clinic of Martinsville and Henry County serves the uninsured, under-insured, unemployed, or those on fixed incomes living in the area. The clinic is currently the medical home for over 1200 local citizens. Campus Director John Scott is pictured presenting a check to Beverly Rakes with the Martinsville-Henry County Coalition on Health and Wellness and Director of the Free Clinic, Carol Batts. Also pictured are Medical Assisting extern Alisha Eanes and the campus’s Director of Health Care Education Gary Jenkins.

Citizens Against Family Violence is an independent, non-profit agency that serves the City of Martinsville and Henry and Patrick Counties. The agency is funded through government grants and allocations, non-government grants, United Way, and individual contributions.  The agency's motto is "Together Against Violence," and its advocacy role supports victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, and stalking. This organization has served as an externship site for management and accounting students. John is shown presenting a check to Executive Director Bonnie Lee Witt.

ROANOKE VALLEY

Campus Angels

Thanks to the support and organization of Librarian Betty Johnson, the many representatives from the Roanoke Valley Campus and Campus Support pulled together to sponsor an Angel Tree from the Salvation Army. The kind donors that supported an angel include Ashley McGhee, Louella Clement, Melissa Stuart, Karen Jackson, Annie Counts, Carolyn Maynard, Bunny Hancock, Betty Johnson, Aaron Akers, Caroline Huff, Christie Hensley, Shana Roche, Judy Steelman, Bill Adams, and Curt Alderman and graduate Tempe Gilbert.  Special thanks to everyone who supported this cause!

Ashley is pictured with packages she brought in for her “Angel.”

An Appropriate Honor

The Roanoke Valley Campus would like to recognize and honor the life of Loretta Jean Ziegler Wimmer, who passed away on Friday, November 23rd.  Mrs. Wimmer was a graduate of National College and had the distinction of being the first woman sworn into the United States Navy in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  She was an officer in the Roanoke squadron of the Civil Air Patrol, an EMT with the Hollins Rescue Squad, a member of the Hollins Charter Chapter of the American Business Women's Association, and a charter member of Bethany Christian Church.

MADISON

A Healthy Week

At the Madison Campus, Director of Health Care Education Beth Flanagan challenged her students with a questionnaire in honor of Health Week. Participants had to answer health-related questions such as “What is the universally recognized symbol for poison?,” “What is a myocardial infraction?,” and “What is Zoonosis?” Winners were revealed during the campus’s Purple Pride Week celebration. Congratulations Tonya Barnhill and Alicia Hamilton for winning this fun challenge.

Celebrating Purple Pride

From November 5th to 9th, the Madison Campus celebrated Purple Pride Week with several special events. On Monday, the campus had a Dress for Success contest and awarded Tonya Barnhill and Carol Majors for dressing the best.

On Tuesday, students that had perfect attendance for the Summer terms were recognized. Congratulations to Robbie McQuiston, Jamie Landrum, Stephanie Inmon, Amanda Nelums, Hong Phommasy, and Constance Wade.

On Wednesday, the campus held a recognition ceremony honoring Veteran students Frederick Senften, Monica Ferrell, Sharon Estes, Rebecca Bilbery-Foster, Danny Basford, Terrence Johnson, James Perko, and Richard Phillips. Richard and Danny also received the Imagine America Military Award Scholarships.

On Thursday, the campus recognized the Summer term Dean’s List recipients and served purple cookies and coffee. Friday was purple hat day where students, faculty, and staff were encouraged to wear their purple hats in National school spirit. 

Pictured are Admissions Representative Christine Crisp, Career Center Director Rosemary Templeton, Financial Planning Representative Angela Spencer,  and Admissions Representative Udeme Eket proudly wearing their purple hats.

Hands-On Experience

Students in the Body Control Systems class at the Madison Campus recently had the opportunity to practice their skill of blood pressure applications. Campus Director Debbie Bowman is pictured having her blood pressure checked by student Brenda Lewis. Brenda and other students benefit greatly from this hands-on experience.

LYNCHBURG

A Holiday Sampler Event

The Lynchburg Regional Chamber recently held its annual Holiday Sampler and Silent Auction offering an excellent setting to begin the holidays. Admissions Representative Sharon Estreval and Community Resource Coordinator Jane Kuhn attended the event and took the opportunity to welcome members of the business community to the National booth. Sharon and Jane were able to share information about the programs and grants offered at the Lynchburg campus and about the benefits of attending National.

Sharon (left) and Jane (right) are pictured presenting a donation for the silent auction to Ann Knight, Member Relations Manager of the Lynchburg Regional Chamber and Event Coordinator. The campus was proud to donate a “Chocolate Lover’s Gift Basket” from the Farm Basket with chocolates from around the world. 

Winter Market

In support of the Liberty Godparent Foundation, the Lynchburg Campus recently exhibited at the Foundation’s 2nd Annual Winter Market held November 16th and 17th.  Proceeds raised totaled more than $20,000, and went to benefit Liberty’s residential maternity home.

Director of Healthcare Education Sue Coleman and Medical Assisting students Laurie Owens, Allison Norwood, and Shannon Miles, joined by Director of Admissions Nancy Wilcox, Admissions Representative Sharon Estreval, and Community Resource Coordinator Jane Kuhn talked with prospective students at National’s booth over the 2-day event.

Pictured at the National display are Laurie, Allison (in back), Sue, and Shannon as they proudly represent the College.

CINCINNATI

Holiday Spirit Kick Off

In order to kick off the holiday spirit, the Cincinnati Campus organized a Thanksgiving canned food drive to help those in need around the community. Admissions Representative Amber Schatz and Community Resource Coordinator Vanessa Mabry organized the campaign with the help of student worker Heather Stapleton.  Items were brought in by staff, faculty, and students which will be given to Our Daily Bread located in the heart of downtown Cincinnati. Five gift baskets were put together along with additional boxes of canned good items and non-perishable foods.  Overall the food drive was a great success. The staff members at Our Daily Bread were thankful and appreciative.  Thanks to all who contributed and have a great holiday season!

Admissions Representative Amber Schatz (left) and Community Resource Coordinator Jim Clark (right) are pictured with Joyce Foster from Our Daily Bread with donations made by the Cincinnati Campus.

YOUNGSTOWN

Business Open House

On November 13th, the Youngstown Campus welcomed local guests for a business open house. Approximately 150 people from the community, local businesses and area third-party agencies attended and learned more about National and its many available career training programs. Visitors also had the opportunity to tour the school and meet with the staff, faculty, and students.

Feedback from the event indicates a smashing success. Community Resource Coordinator Michael Lyons received a letter from Gail White from the Youngstown Business Journal that reads as follows:

"Congratulations on a Rousing Success!  Words cannot express how impressed I am with National College! The facility is beautiful. The courses are what Youngstown has been looking for. There has been a lot of talk about needing a 'community college'. I think we have our answer! But what impressed me the most at the Open House was the staff. Friendly and assertive, but not overly aggressive.  Down to the last, they were all well-spoken, confident and knowledgeable.  As I listened briefly to a few tours, these representatives made me want to attend NC [National College].  Congratulations on a rousing success!  I am excited for National College in 2008!"

Michael Lyons is pictured with Campus Director Patrice Cizmar and Harry Christman, a fellow member of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber.

The Vindicator in Youngstown, OH recently published details about the Youngstown campus’s open house that was held on November 13th. Click here to read the full story.

The Tribune Chronicle in Warren, OH also published details about the open house. Click here to read the full story.

In compliance with regulations of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, in Tennessee National College is National College of Business and Technology. All references to "National" or "National College" within this email refer to "National College of Business and Technology" in the state of Tennessee.