VGCC Auto Student Wins Statewide Dallas Herring Award

The North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) has named Vanguard Kyle Harris its 2025 Dallas Herring Student Achievement Award recipient. Harris is a current student in Vance-Granville Community College’s Automotive Systems Technology program.

Harris served in the military when the US was attacked in September 2001 and was deployed to Iraq in 2003. After his honorable discharge, Harris faced significant challenges, including PTSD, addiction, homelessness, and incarceration. In the midst of these obstacles, he found support from the Veterans Life Center in Butner. That was where Harris met outreach staff from Vance-Granville. College staff regularly visit the center to offer veterans educational opportunities, and they played a crucial role in helping Harris apply and enroll at VGCC.

“Enrolling in the Automotive [Systems] Technology associates’ program is where my redemption story really began,” he noted. “I hope that my story reaches as many people as possible struggling in addiction, to not only choose sobriety but to enroll in a community college.”

While Harris started without much automotive experience, his determination combined with the mentorship of program head James Gibbs has allowed him to thrive. Now just a few credits away from graduating, Harris has already begun a fulfilling career at Southeastern Specialty Vehicles. He also actively supports fellow veterans by encouraging them to pursue education and employment. His resilience and commitment make him a role model and a testament to the transformative power of community colleges.

The NC Community College System will honor Kyle Harris at an awards recognition dinner on April 3.

About the Dallas Herring Award

The Dallas Herring Student Achievement Award is named after the late Dr. W. Dallas Herring, whose transformative vision and tireless work culminated in what would become the NC Community College System. NCCCS bestows the award to current or former students who best embody Dr. Herring’s philosophy of “taking people where they are and carrying them as far as they can go.” Out of the 58 nominees submitted from NCCCS member colleges annually, only one receives the Dallas Herring Student Achievement Award.