Community Colleges Showcase Their Impact
Bruce Panneton, ECC instructor and interim dean, was one of five speakers at Wednesday’s North Central Prosperity Zone Community College Press Conference.
Edgecombe Community College was among nine area community colleges that united on Wednesday to showcase and celebrate their vital contributions to their service areas.
The colleges hosted the North Central Prosperity Zone Community College Press Conference on the campus of Wilson Community College. On hand were representatives from Central Carolina, Durham, Edgecombe, Johnston, Nash, Piedmont, Wake Technical, Wilson, and Vance-Granville community colleges.
“Community colleges were the Ellis Islands of the 20th century,” Dr. Tim Wright, president of Wilson Community College and moderator of the press conference, told the audience. “A modern metaphor might be that community colleges have become the smartest of our smart technologies. We adapt ourselves as the future hurdles toward us.”
Speakers included Bruce Panneton, interim dean of Health Sciences and Public Safety and chair of Science, Health, and Physical Education at Edgecombe Community College.
Panneton, who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from East Carolina University, is a product of the NC Community College System. He completed two years at Coastal Carolina Community College before transferring to ECU.
He shared the advice of his university mentors, who all said, when he informed them of his decision to teach science at the community college level, “Don’t lose them.”
Panneton said, “We all want our students to learn and to grow and to appreciate our discipline and expertise, and to be successful.
“We want them to use the information, the experiences, and the tools we give them to help them graduate, to help them get into the careers they want, and to help them become citizens that contribute to our society, our economy, and the next generation in a positive way.”
Other speakers were Dr. Stephen Scott, president of Wake Tech Community College; Christopher Blue, a student at Vance-Granville Community College; Nikki Ward, HR director at US Flue-Cured Tobacco Company; and Lyn Austin, trustee board chair at Johnston Community College.
ECC instructors and students demonstrate one of the many medical emergencies patient simulator Trauma Hal can mimic.
Also participating in the event were ECC instructors and students who demonstrated patient simulation technology inside the college’s mobile HealthCare Simulator. Robert Whistler, coordinator of Emergency Services and Public Safety Training; Troy McNair, lead simulation specialist; and three Paramedic cadets conducted simulation scenarios.
McNair is an April 2016 graduate of ECC’s Paramedic program. “It was a big advantage to me to be able to train using simulators while still in the classroom,” he said. “These high fidelity simulators make it real, just like you would see in the field.”
The Wednesday press conference was one of a series of local community college recognition days in the eight prosperity zones around the state. On Wednesday, March 29, Community College Day will be held in Raleigh at the NC General Assembly.
These events are designed to bring awareness to the programs and services offered by the state’s 58 community colleges.
Like all community colleges in North Carolina, Edgecombe Community College touches virtually every individual in its service area through academic degree, diploma, and certificate programs that lead to jobs or additional study at four-year schools; programs aimed at middle and high school students; workforce development initiatives that strengthen the workforce; opportunities to increase literacy or obtain a high school credential; summer camps for kids; and cultural events.