2 WCC CAMPUS VOICE - NOV 16,1989
Letter from the President
For the past two years,
construction on the North
campus o-f Wayne Community
Col 1ege has been the
largest building project
underway in the North
Carolina Community College
System.
Fall quarter o-f 1989 was
the -first time in the
history o-f WCC that the
majority o-f operations were
held in permanent
■fac i 1 i t i es.
A primary goal o-f the
trustees and administration
will be to complete the
next phase o-f campus
relocation as quickly as
possible in order to
minimize the time that the
college must maintain a
two-campus operation.
Working drawings -for two
additional buildings are
now being reviewed, and
early in 1990, bids will be
accepted and construction
can get underway.
As the remaining
o-f-fices, classrooms and
programs are moved to the
North Campus, continued
state and local -funding
support, plus the sale o-f
South Campus property will
help to -finance the
completion o-f this phase o-f
construc t i on.
A two-campus operation
is inconvenient to students
and employees, and it poses
unnecessary expenses o-f
duplicated operations.
When the campus reloca
tion is completed, Wayne
Community College will be
the oldest, i-f not the
last, community college in
Nortli Carolina to have a
uni-fied, permanent campus.
Until that objective is
reached, the administration
and trustees will strive
diligently to -finish the
work that remains to be
done.
As a member o-f the Wayne
Community College -family,
you can provide a valuable
service to the community
and to the college by
helping to spread the word
about educational opportun
ities here.
The qua! i ty o-f
instruction at WCC is both
-first-rate and a-f-fordabl e ,
yet this -fact has been
called one of the "best
kept secrets" in Wayne
Coun ty.
By telling your -friends,
neighbors, and relatives
about WCC and by encourag
ing them to visit our new
campus, you can help us get
the "secret" out to the
publ ic.
Please encourage anyone
you know who is thinking
about college to visit WCC
and di scuss what i s
avai1able here.
G. Herman Porter
TLC empowers students
by Lisa Ransom
Over the summer, The
Literacy Center (TLC) moved
-from its cramped location
i n two mobi1e un i ts into
what was the South Campus
1 i brary. The Li teracy
Center houses the Adult
Basic Education <ABE) and
the Adult High School (AHS)
programs.
"I th ink it's sa-fe to
say that since that time,
our enrollment has
tr i pied," sai d G1or ia
Urenn, the Adult Literacy
Coordi nator.
Urenn attributes the
increased enrollment to the
ni cer -fac i 1 i ty and the
added space that allows -for
new programs.
Even with this boost in
enrollment TLC is operated
by only a hand-ful o-f paid
employees. The Center's
success depends on the help
o-f volunteers, according to
Wrenn.
TLC presently enlists
the help o-f 10 volunteers,
but according to Wrenn, the
center can always use more.
The Literacy Center is
open -from 8:00 a.m. to
10:00 p.m. Monday through
Thursday and -from 8:00 a.m.
to 12:00 p.m. on Friday. It
is -free -for all ABE
students. Students in the
AHS program pay only -for
their books.
The students range in
age -from teenage to
retiree. Many attend
classes to improve their
basic education skills.
Some attend classes to
learn to read -for the -first
time ever.
Many students have
learned o-f the program
through the 1i teracy hot
line or -from a -friend. Some
even bring a -friend with
them to the center.
One volunteer said that
•for many people, coming to
TLC -for the -first time is
probably the hardest thing
they have ever done.
Urenn added that many
-first time students are
surprised to -find other
people in their same
situation, even some who do
not read as wel1.
Accordi ng to Wrenn ,
initially many o-f the
students have a
preconceived idea o-f
school. She sa i d the
literacy program at Wayne
Community College has tried
very hard to overcome any
negative images and to
create a relaxed atmosphere
•for the students.
"We 1 ike to say, 'Th is
is the only class that you
can't tell the students
■from the teachers and we're
proud o-f it,'" said Wrenn.
The Literacy Center's
program is about more than
just improving basic
ski 11s. It's about
determination, pride and
sel-f esteem, according to
the enthusiastic Wrenn who
pre-fers to use the word
"empowerment."
by Cathy D.Sutton
When people see TLC,
they immediately think
"tender loving care", which
is exac11y what The
Literacy Center(TLC) at WCC
tr i es to prov i de.
Alex Barwick, a 29-year
old student presently
enrolled in the literacy
program is beginning to see
a considerable di-f-ference .
Alex dropped out o-f high
school be-fore completing
the eighth grade.
He says that receiving
his diploma is his main
object i ve.
*My main reason -for
coming back, i-f -for nothing
else, was to catch up on my
reading," stated Barwick.
Having been out o-f
school 14 years, Barwick
says that coming back is
something he has always
wanted to do.
"I really like it here,"
stated Barwick, “everyone
i s real nice."
Barwick says that TLC
has really made a change in
his li-fe; he encourages
students to complete high
school and obtain their
diploma.
TLC is de-finitely making
a d i-f-ference , and each
returning student as well
as the instructors have a
great deal to be proud o-f.
Algie Davis, instructor at TLC, assists Nathaniel Barnes, a
student who is learning to read. Photo: Daniel Heffner