VGCC Scholarship honors longtime educator Sue Grissom
Students who want to continue their education at Vance-Granville Community College now have another means of support, in the form of a scholarship that honors one of the college’s retired educators.
The new scholarship fund has been established by Lelia Brigham of Henderson in honor of Sue Wooten Grissom of Creedmoor, who retired in 2012 as Director of Basic Skills for VGCC.
In awarding the Sue Wooten Grissom Academic Achievement Scholarship, preference will be given to students who first came to VGCC for an Adult High School Diploma or High School Equivalency diploma , and then enrolled in a curriculum program to earn a certificate, diploma or degree.
“Sue was such an asset to the community and to the college during her many years here at Vance-Granville,” said Brigham, a longtime continuing education art instructor at the college. On the establishment of the scholarship, Grissom said, “I’m very proud, not for myself but for all the people who will have another opportunity for education but who had trouble affording it. This scholarship will be a continuous blessing for years to come.”
Grissom’s career in education started well before her arrival at VGCC. She previously worked for Wayne, Montgomery and Sampson community colleges, and taught in the Granville County Schools and Orange County Schools, where she was named county-wide Teacher of the Year.
“Education is in my blood,” Grissom recalled. “I had no choice but to go into adult education!” That was because her father, the late Charles Wesley Wooten, was one of the first adult education instructors in the North Carolina Community College System. He taught first at Sandhills Community College (where a scholarship was also established in his honor), and later at Nash, Wilson and Central Carolina community colleges. “My father would be proud of how education has developed and of what the community college system has accomplished,” Grissom said. “I feel that that this scholarship is an honor for both of us.”
Grissom first joined VGCC on a part-time basis in 1989 helping to coordinate special cultural events for the then-new Civic Center. In 1991, she became the full-time coordinator of special populations in the college’s Adult Basic Skills department. Holding various titles, she went on to administer VGCC programs that helped adults improve their reading, writing and math skills, earn a high school diploma, or master English as a second language.
“This scholarship will serve as a fitting tribute to Sue’s passion for educating, inspiring and supporting adult learners,” said Dr. Stelfanie Williams, president of VGCC. “She touched many lives through her leadership of the Adult Basic Skills department, and this scholarship will carry on her work of helping students achieve their goals.”
Through the Endowment Fund , VGCC has awarded more than 7,000 scholarships to students since 1982. Scholarships have been endowed by numerous individuals, industries, businesses, civic groups, churches and the college’s faculty and staff. Tax-deductible donations to the VGCC Endowment Fund have often been used to honor or remember a person, group, business or industry with a lasting gift to education. For more information, call (252) 738-3409 .
Above: From left, Endowment Director Eddie Ferguson, Lelia Brigham, Sue Wooten Grissom and VGCC President Dr. Stelfanie Williams. (VGCC photo)
