VGCC Names 14 College Transfer Scholars
Fourteen top College Transfer students at Vance-Granville Community College were named College Transfer Scholars for 2003 in convocation ceremonies at the college April 28.
Selected for the honor from more than 600 students in the College Transfer program were Stephanie C. Boyles, Michael G. Garner, Leslie Jo Holland and William D. Reynolds, all of Wake Forest; Bertha M. Brandon, Teresa R. Dover, Angela F. Simmons and Karri E. Wheeler, all of Henderson; Ivonne S. Caldwell of Creedmoor; Blakely A. Chorpenning of Franklinton; Donna B. Wescott of Louisburg; Christa L. Dwyre and Megan H. Eckenrode of Oxford; and Jesse E. Teilmann of Raleigh.
To qualify as a College Transfer Scholar, a student has to have a minimum 3.0 grade-point-average, be currently enrolled in VGCC and have completed 22 semester hours by the end of Spring Semester. In addition, each student has to be nominated by an instructor on the College Transfer faculty. The faculty meets and discusses each candidate, and then vote on which ones to give the honor, said Dr. John Beck, chairman of the General College and College Transfer program.
Dean of Curriculum Marsha Nelson welcomed guests to the ceremony and said to the scholars, “As you know, the College Transfer faculty doesn’t give much slack so you have a right to be proud of what you’ve earned.”
Dr. Beck pointed out that the College Transfer program at Vance-Granville Community College has grown from 150 to more than 600 in the past 15 years, and more than 400 VGCC graduates have graduated from schools in the University of North Carolina system in the past 10 years. “Typically, transfers from Vance-Granville do very well in the university system, frequently outperforming other students,” he said.
Due to the growth of Vance-Granville Community College in recent years, the college has been able to offer more in the College Transfer field, Dr. Beck said. He pointed out that fine arts and languages have been expanded, and numerous online classes are now being offered.
Dr. Beck also praised the College Transfer faculty of more than 30 instructors, and he recognized three of them who are retiring this year. They are Frances Brewer and Marie Murdock, who will retire at the end of Spring Semester, and Dr. Carl Shafer, who will retire in September. All three live in Vance County.
Dr. Shafer, program head and instructor for physical science and mathematics, has taught at VGCC since 1971, when the school was located on Chestnut Street in Henderson. Murdock, program head/instructor for Early Childhood Associate, also began on Chestnut Street in 1974 and has taught since then except for a two-year hiatus. Brewer, coordinator and instructor for developmental math, has 38 years teaching experience, the past 21 of them at VGCC.
Above, College Transfer Scholars for 2003 at Vance-Granville Community College are, front, from left: Stephanie Boyles, Karri Wheeler, Blakely Chorpenning and Angela Simmons, and back, from left: Ivonne Caldwell, Michael Garner, William Reynolds, Megan H. Eckenrode and Dr. John Beck, chairman of the College Transfer program.
The second photo is of the three veteran instructors who are retiring this year and were honored at a College Transfer program convocation April 28. From left are Marie Murdock, Dr. Carl Shafer, Dr. John Beck, chairman of the College Transfer program, and Frances Brewer.
