Pigall
JCC Radiology Graduate
Was Pioneer In The Field
Of Ultrasound
Carol Parker Lewis, a Benson native,
graduated with honors in 1975 from JCC
(then Johnston Technical Institute} in Radi
ology (X-Ray). Today she is department
manager of the Medical Sonics (Ultrasound)
department in Willis-Knighton Medical Cen
ter in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Following certification by the American
Registry of Radiologic Technologists in
1975, she worked at Wake Medical Center
in Raleigh as a Fluoroscopy Technologist.
After several years in Diagnostic Radiology,
she returned to school at UNC-Chapel Hill,
enrolling in the Medical Sonics Technology
program.
Carol was one of only two students na
tionwide accepted into the Ultrasound pro
gram at Carolina!
Upon graduation from UNC she passed
the National Certification in Medical Sonics
and began working at Oshner Medical Cen
ter in New Orleans, which was known at that
time as a pioneer ultrasound facility in the
U.S.
While working at Oshner, Carol co-au
thored a medical publication on Neonatal
Ultrasonography.
Now married and the mother of two chil
dren, Carol has continued to grow and serve
her profession proudly!
No Knowledge Is Wasted If
You Are A Writer, Says
JCC Alumna Annis Ward
Jackson
Annis Ward Jackson graduated from At
lantic Christian College in 1987 with a ma
jor in English after spending two years in
JCC’s college transfer program.
While at JCC, she was already a pub
lished author, having written a wide variety
of poems, short stories and articles. She is
also the author of a novel which placed
fourth in the Sir Walter Raleigh Award com
petition in 1980. She captured first place in
the Cynthia DeFord Adams Literary Awards
Competition at JCC in both 1984 and 1985
(cash awards for written entries by JCC stu
dents founded by the late Cynthia DeFord
Adams of Four Oaks).
Annis attended JCC while her husband
was county manager for Johnston County.
Born in the North Carolina Appalachian
Mountains, her strong ties to the mountains
are clear in much of her writing. Many of her
short stories and poems portray mountain
people in their home settings. Often her
writing reflects either her childhood experi
ences while growing up in the mountains or
the experiences of her parents and grandpa
rents. Her numerous human interest stories
also involve mountain folk—such as the local
moonshiner in her native Watauga County.
She began her writing career in the 1960’s
because she wished to “preserve a way of life
that is changing drastically.” According to
the writer, the North Carolina mountains,
because of their isolation, have always been
somewhat behind the times. This simplistic,
yet colorful way of life began changing dur
ing the 1960’s. . .changes she found disturb
ing. The beautiful mountains around Boone
were actually moved. Shopping malls were
constructed in their place.
Annis believes that writing is perhaps a
means of salvaging her heritage-not only for
her children, but for others who have never
known the mountain way of life that is quick
ly fading.
She saw a degree in English as a means of
broadening her experiences. “I do not be
lieve any knowledge is wasted if you are a
writer. . .there is so much you can draw on
by studying other writers.”
The Jacksons now reside in Pitt County
where Annis is currently pursuing a gradu
ate degree at East Carolina University.
JCC HOSTS DINNER FOR BLACK MINISTERS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS
JCC president Dr. John Tart addresses a group of Johnston County Black community leaders and ministers during a recent dinner
held in the student lounge. Participants were introduced to several JCC graduates, including Sonja King of Clayton, who recently
received a bachelor’s degree from Meredith College, and Sherry Gera/d of Dunn, a rising senior at Campbell University. Miss King is
now a member of the JCC staff. The dinner is an annual effort to discuss ways of making more educational opportunities available m
the county and surrounding areas.
1 Would Do The Very Same Thing Again
In 1975, when her child was of kinder
garten age, Patricia Cockrell of Route 2,
Kenly, secured a part-time position in the
reading tutor program at Winstead Ele
mentary School. She discovered that she
really enjoyed being in a classroom, and later
she became a classroom teacher’s assistant.
Soon she realized that what she wanted was
to be a primary teacher; more education was
necessary if she was to pursue her goal.
In the summer of 1980 Patricia Cockrell
took her first cautious step toward acquiring
a college degree: she enrolled in the college
transfer program at Johnston Community
College and took two courses. “I needed to
find out if I could hack it,” she says today.
After she had taken a tew courses, her con
fidence began to build.
By the fall of 1980 she was a full-time stu
dent in JCC’s General Education program.
She made every moment count, and her
schedule was demanding. “Thank goodness
I had a cooperative husband who was sup
portive of what I was trying to do!” she said.
She was completing course work at the
College by the fall of 1981 and was also tak
ing some courses at Atlantic Christian Col
Patricia Cockrell
lege in Wilson, where she intended to get her
degree. In 1983 she graduated Magna
Cum Laude from Atlantic Christian with a
BS degree in early childhood education. She
had “made it” in three years and four sum
mers of intense effort.
“I kept a ‘Progress Book’ in a spiral note
book,” she says. “I kept a careful record of
the courses I had taken, of the grades I had
received, and of my GPA (Grade Point
Average). It kept me on track.”
“I went to Atlantic Christian soon after I
started the program at JCC and discussed
my plans and goals with an advisor in my
field. I wrote down the specific courses AC
wanted me to take, and I followed my plan
«5?voctly.”
Today Patricia Cockrell is a third grade
teacher at Princeton, and she loves her
work. .She is currently working on a gradu
ate degree In Early Childhood Education at
East Carolina University.
“I hail Johnston Community College’s
college transfer program,” Patricia says with
conviction. “When I transferred to Atlantic
Christian my preparation was certainly equal
to that of my classmates there. I would do
the very same thing again!”
HOMEMAKER/HOME HEALTH AIDE STUDENTS GRADUATE
Homemaker/Home Health Aide students at Johnston Communltji College were recentig presented certificates of graduation dur
ing ceremonies In which they also received special pins from faculty members and Testaments from Mrs. Mary Strickland of the Smith-
field Auxiliary of the Gideons.
Graduating students were (left to right): Ann Aycock of Selma, Barbara Mickens of Kenly, Margaret Stephens of Smithfleld, Chris
tine Boyland of Selma, and Barbara Stallings of Clayton.
The next Homemaker/Home Health Aide class will begin October 2. For more Information, contact the director of admissions at
934-3051.