High School Alumni Group Supports ECC Students

The NC Association of Black High School Alumni has donated $500 to support students in the High School Equivalency program at Edgecombe Community College. From left are Dr. LaShawnda Washington, director of College and Career Readiness at ECC, and Varnell Kinnin, College and Career readiness instructor and interim president of the NCABHSA.

The North Carolina Association of Black High School Alumni (NCABHSA) recently donated $500 to the College and Career Readiness division at Edgecombe Community College.

The NCABHSA is composed of alumni of African American high schools that closed in response to desegregation. The organization was established in 2008 to preserve the history of the schools and includes schools in Edgecombe, Nash, Pitt, Wilson, and Halifax counties.

Over the years, the organization has given approximately $2,000 to the ECC High School Equivalency program. Funds have purchased High School Equivalency testing fees and graduation caps and gowns. The NCABHSA, led by Varnell Kinnin, interim president, believes in paying it forward, that helping students realize their dream of earning their high school equivalency diploma is an important mission.

“Everyone doesn’t reach the finish line at the same time,” Kinnin explains. “Life happens, stuff happens. All students, whether they are 16 or 66, deserve a chance to fulfill their dream of graduating. This donation will assist with paying assessment fees, because paying the fees can pose a hardship for students who aren’t working.”