VGCC Ambassadors meet Middle School counterparts
Student ambassadors from Vance-Granville Community College recently traveled to Eaton-Johnson Middle School in Henderson to meet students who hold the same title there. On Oct. 24, the VGCC students talked with ambassadors at the middle school, as part of an expanding partnership between the two educational institutions that began when Dr. Priscilla Chavis-Lockley, lead counselor and College/Career Counseling Coordinator at EJMS, saw the need to expose her students to a variety of educational and occupational possibilities. Chavis-Lockley earned two degrees at Vance-Granville herself before continuing her education.
Six of VGCC’s ambassadors — Morgan Cail of Youngsville, Ryan Casady of Louisburg, Elizabeth Hundley of Norlina, Karon Harris of Butner and Keneica Moore and Joel Sebastian, both of Oxford — were accompanied by VGCC Vice President of Institutional Advancement Jo Anna Jones and VGCC Endowment specialist Kay Currin. Jones praised Chavis-Lockley for applying the ambassador concept to EJMS. “I’ve never seen this type of program at a middle school level,” Jones said. “The students are lucky to have a dedicated leader like Dr. Chavis-Lockley.” Jones added that she hoped to see the middle school students in the future when they enroll at VGCC. “You’ll already be prepared to be an ambassador!” she said.
Currin explained that, just as at EJMS, ambassadors at VGCC are “star” students, to whom other students might look up. Karon Harris said that she wanted to be an ambassador in order to serve as a good example of a VGCC student, while Ryan Casady emphasized leadership. “You’ve made the right choice to be a leader at Eaton-Johnson,” Casady told the middle-schoolers. VGCC ambassadors discussed how they were selected, including academic requirements, essays and interviews. Ambassadors represent the college at special campus and community functions, among other duties. Dr. Larry Webb, the principal at EJMS, told his students, “You are the face of Eaton-Johnson, just like our guests are the face of Vance-Granville.” Webb added that ambassadors are held to a higher standard, and must be servant leaders. “We’re giving you a little taste of what they do at Vance-Granville,” Webb said. He said the two groups of ambassadors certainly looked alike, with their dark blazers, white shirts and name badges inspired in part by the VGCC ambassador style.
Ambassadors at EJMS include Alexis Wilkerson, Noah Alston, Latessa Wilkerson, Jamel Talley, Angelo Taylor, Tiarrah Small, Fitzroy Wickham, Kayla Hawkins, Zadiedre Alston, Darius Hartfield, Nathan Oakes, Levi Shelton, Brandon Lopez-Hernandez, Jacob Wiggins, Heather Tharrington, Monisha Ragland and Danielle Jennings.
Above: Standing, from left, VGCC Endowment specialist Kay Currin and student ambassadors Elizabeth Hundley, Morgan Cail, Karon Harris, Keneica Moore, Joel Sebastian and Ryan Casady speak to ambassadors at Eaton-Johnson Middle School. (VGCC photo)
