VGCC Student Completes 4 Degrees at Once with 4.0

Graduating with just one college degree is a significant accomplishment for anyone. But Vance-Granville Community College student John Sides of Creedmoor is set to graduate with four degrees at the same time on May 17, after an educational experience that Sides calls “a bona fide miracle.” What is most surprising to him is that he is finishing with a 4.0 grade point average.When his wife became ill and had to stop working, Sides decided that he needed to stop working two jobs and upgrade his skills. One day, while out paying his power bill, Sides decided to drop by Vance-Granville’s main campus in Vance County. There, he met academic advisor Herbert Washington and learned about programs that suited his interest in computers. That was the fall of 2004. Forty-nine courses and less than three years later, Sides will complete the requirements of associate’s degrees in Accounting, Business Administration, Business Administration/E-Commerce and Computer Information Technology. Washington said that, in his many years at VGCC, he has never seen a case quite like that of John Sides. Sides said his multiple degrees were no accident, but rather fit together to meet his goals. He described his education as an arrow, with business and accounting degrees as one side of the arrow, the computer degree as the other side, and the E-Commerce degree as the tip, bringing the various skills together.“It’s gone by very fast,” Sides said recently of his college education. “I can’t believe I’m looking at graduation in May.” He said that the most difficult part may have been actually starting, recalling that at first, he thought he was too old for school, at age 45. After overcoming that initial trepidation, Sides said his college experience has been very positive. “I haven’t had a bad class,” he reflected, particularly singling out instructors Billie Evans, James Wheeler, Carl Hann and Jo Anna Jones as favorites. He has benefited from an employer willing to accommodate his 25- to 30-hour-per week work schedule to his education. Sides said that he and his wife had been living on a tight budget, “but we never lost faith.” They did, however, wonder about the future when, in May 2006, Sides was injured in a serious car accident the night before the start of final exams. Despite breaking several ribs, Sides persevered and continued to excel. Along the way, Sides was awarded two endowed Vance-Granville scholarships: a Faculty/Staff scholarship in 2005, and a Nannie A. Crowder memorial scholarship in 2006. “If it hadn’t been for those scholarships, there is probably no way I could have finished,” Sides said. He added that, in the near future, he plans to be “on the other side,” giving scholarships through the college Endowment Fund to students who follow him and who, like him, need financial support to complete their education.Sides has also been honored for his academic excellence by making the Dean’s List several times and by being inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year college students. He has served as a member of the Student Government Association for one year and as a tutor for other Vance-Granville students. His tutoring has also led him into a new opportunity. In the fall of 2007, Sides is actually scheduled to teach computer courses at VGCC part-time.Even with four Vance-Granville degrees under his belt, Sides is not finished with his education. He plans to return to VGCC this summer to start on another four degrees, in Web Technologies, Information Systems Security, Networking Technology and Electronics Engineering Technology. Then, Sides wants to transfer many of his credits to East Carolina University, where he hopes to earn a bachelor’s degree. Based on his recent history of achievement, VGCC staff expect that he will pass with flying colors. His ultimate goal is a job that allows him to use all his skills and to work from home as much as possible, to be near his wife.Sides has decided that “getting saved, getting married and getting an education” were the pivotal positive events in his life.Above: John Sides (left) helps fellow student Regena Yancey of Henderson, who is working toward a Medical Office Administration degree, with her accounting classwork, in the Academic Skills Center on the college’s main campus. Yancey described Sides as “a very good tutor,” while Sides said that Yancey was probably his “best tutee.” (VGCC Photo)