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This week, we came across a captioned photo from the Foundation's 2nd Annual Scholarship Luncheon, which was held in 2002. The caption read, "Approximately 80 people attended the 2nd Annual Scholarship Luncheon held in the Birch Dining Room." My how things have changed! There is no longer a Birch Dining Room, with the Birch Building later being configured to join the Balsam Computer Technology Center.
This year's Annual Scholarship Luncheon (the 15th) has grown to approximately 480 attendees-recipients, donors, Board members and special guests. That is a 500% increase since 2002; wow! Thank you to all the alumni, donors, and friends of the College who have helped the Foundation live out its mission! Your contributions are making a college education possible for students in our region; for that we are grateful.
Your contributions are making a college education possible for students in our region; for that we are grateful. You cannot find a higher "ROI"--Return on Investment--than an A-B Tech Scholarship. A scholarship can change lives and build stronger communities. Call 398-7176 to set a time to talk about contributing to the Foundation; thank you!
Sue Olesiuk
Sue H Olesiuk
Executiv
e Director
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| 2016 Scholarship Luncheon |
The 2016 Scholarship Luncheon, the 15th annual celebration of our student scholarship recipients, was held March 15th at the Crowne Plaza Expo Center. This very special and inspirational event provides an opportunity for our scholarship students to meet the individuals responsible for their particular scholarship in person over lunch, and for members of our College and community to hear from a few of our students and alumni. This year, we were proud to honor over 200 student scholarship recipients for the 2015-2016 academic year who were in attendance, in addition to over 200 other guests, including scholarship donors, A-B Tech Board of Trustees Members, Foundation Board Members, community members, and A-B Tech staff and faculty.
During the program portion of the luncheon, guests were able to hear personal stories from Patricia Downey and Philip Cooper, two of our 2015-2016 Scholarship Recipients. Patricia is a single parent of 5 who is a recipient of three scholarships this year: the GEM Fund created by the Asheville branch of the American Association of University Women, the Lavender Fund which was established to assist single parent students, and the CORE scholarship - a new 4-year scholarship created in conjunction with UNC Asheville. Upon graduation in May, Patricia will be transferring to UNC Asheville to continue her studies in Psychology. Philip is a current recipient of the Grace Joan Love Schneider Endowed Scholarship. He graduated from A-B Tech in 2013 with a degree in Human Services Technology, but has returned for his transfer degree. Upon graduation, Philip will be transferring to Western Carolina University to study Computer Information Systems. Philip is also employed at A-B Tech as an administrative assistant in the Student Services department and serves as a mentor to students in the Minority Student Leadership Academy.
We were also thrilled to have a recent graduate return to share the impact her scholarship is having in her life journey. Kristina Hyatt, pictured above, graduated in 2014 with a degree in Dental Hygiene. While at A-B Tech, Kristina was the recipient of the Worth B. Gregory, Jr. Scholarship. She is currently a dental hygienist with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians' Children's Dental Program. In addition, Kristina was recently named Miss Native American USA.
Thank you to all of our Table Sponsors, our student volunteers and College Advancement staff, and especially the students, scholarship donors, A-B Tech employees and community members in attendance for making this event such a success! We are truly proud of all of our 2015-2016 Scholarship Recipients!
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College Receives Funding for Embedded Entrepreneur Program
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A-B Tech Community College was awarded a $100,000 grant from the A-B Tech Educational and Entrepreneurial Foundation for its Embedded Entrepreneur program.
The Embedded Entrepreneur Program offers an innovative approach to assisting startup and growth-stage companies in reaching new levels of success. Five companies will be selected for the pilot year of the program.
 "Unlike many entrepreneur support programs that can only hit the high spots by providing guidance in short
meetings and limited work sessions, the Embedded Entrepreneur Program
(EE) intends to move participating companies forward by changing the typical support equation," said Steve Poland, Director of the Embedded Entrepreneur Program.
Once the participating
companies have been selected before the end of February, Poland will work in each of the companies
over the course of an entire year, helping company founders reach new milestones.
There is no cost to the program participant, but they must meet certain criteria such as having been in business for at least one year, be a for-profit company based in Western North Carolina, be revenue generating and have at least the founder working full time in the business.
The Embedded Entrepreneur Program is a program of the A-B Tech Small Business Center and Business Incubation program.
"Example program elements include the high-level One on One Technical Support & Embedded Work," said Poland. For example, skills development will cover time management coaching, delegation skills, critical path analysis, team building and employee retention. Other areas include business and financial training, execution guidance, lender and equity funding preparation.
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The Challenge of Student Retention:
A View from the Outside
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For over a generation, community college students nationwide are among the most at-risk of all college and university students in dropping out and failing to complete their educational studies and goals. Many factors enter into the equation for community college students. These include the greater likelihood that they are non-traditional, first generation college students, come from lower-income families that experience financial setbacks, more likely to have marginal prior academic achievement, more likely to have family and employer demands and priorities, and more likely to be unaware of and unable to take advantage of student support services, among others.
From the perspective of a volunteer, scholarship supporter, and mentor the past two years, I believe that A-B Tech has in place a comprehensive and systematic array of services to support student retention and successful student outcomes.
The College offers strong faculty-based advising and a Developmental Education program to ensure that new students are appropriately served from the outset, until they are placed into regular curriculum courses and complete these courses successfully. Faculty advising continues throughout the student's program. Specific student services such as early alert for students in academic difficulty and other academic support programs (tutoring, mentoring, etc.), Veteran's services, Disabilities services, Career Counseling services, College Placement services, and College Transfer services all contribute to student retention and achievement at A-B Tech.
One of most notable requirements to support student retention is the College's ACA 115 and ACA 122 courses. ACA 115 is a one-credit hour class required of students in degree programs and most diploma programs to address student success in college. The course, referred to as "the Homeroom of the College," addresses student personal responsibilities in college, the campus resources that support student success, study skills strategies and college-wide policies and procedures. In Fall 2015, 34 instructors taught this class which requires first semester students to understand and use the college's very complete Student Handbook. The course relies on guest speakers, on-campus visits to key offices, problem-solving skills, and other factors which contribute to student success. ACA 122 is a required course for students planning to transfer to a four-year college or university, and addresses the necessary protocols which transfer students must follow.
I am a mentor to a successful student who has already completed one Diploma and Associate Degree program and is now enrolled in the College Transfer program. She is a Dean's List student, multiple scholarship awardee, and holds a position in the college's Student Services Division. When we talked recently about student retention challenges, she mentioned the importance of students taking advantage of the wide array of existing college resources. She's participated in the Writing Center, the Academic Learning Center, Student Government, Student Leadership Program, informal class study groups, and the college Mentoring Program, all of which she believes have helped support her educational achievement. She acknowledged that many A-B Tech students have great demands on their time and life, but need to carve out time to participate in those services which will most benefit them in completing their educational goals.
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National Volunteer Week 2016
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National Volunteer Week is about inspiring, recognizing, and encouraging people to seek out imaginative ways to engage in their communities. It is about demonstrating to the nation that by working together, we have the fortitude to meet our challenges and accomplish our goals. We take this time to recognize and thank the more than 70 volunteers that have contributed over 7,500 hours of their time, talents, and passions since April of 2015, in making A-B Tech truly "the community's college."
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NC State Employees
Combined Campaign
Designation Code #3803
Combined Federal Campaign
Designation Code #75833
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2016
A-B Tech Foundation Board
of Directors
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Chris Young, 2016 Chair
Clean Environments
Young Office
Mary Ann Rice, 2016 Vice Chair
NCSECU
K. Ray Bailey
President Emeritus, A-B Tech
Joe Brumit
Brumit Restaurant Group
Tracy Buchanan
CarePartners
Dr. Sandra Byrd
Retired, UNC Asheville
Pat Carver
First Citizens Bank
Adam Charnack
Hi-Wire Brewing
Shea Cline
Omni Grove Park Inn
Marcus Cox
Bank of America
John Ellis
Novus, Bowers, Ellis & Watson Architects
Jack Ferguson
Retired, Lowe's
Charles Frederick
TD Bank
Allan Gerson
Retired, Palm Beach State College
Tate Groome
Colton Groome and Company
Darryl Hart
Hart Funeral Services, Inc.
Richard Hurley
Retired, Square D Company
Anthony Johnson
Aspen Realty Advisors
Dennis King
President, A-B Tech
Michael Kryzanek
Associate, CBRE Hotels
, Province Valuation Group, Inc.
Thomas Maher
Pisgah Investments, LLC
Michael Meguiar
GE Aviation
Bill Murdock
Eblen Charities
John Oswald
Mills Manufacturing
Ray Rapp
Retired, Mars Hill University
Dr. Lary Schulhof
Retired, Physician
O'Neal Shelton
Madison County Chamber of Commerce
Steven Sizemore
Northup McConnell & Sizemore, PLLC
Ann Skoglund
Beverly-Hanks & Associates
Ray Spells
Retired, Wells Fargo Bank
Ron Storto
Biltmore Farms
Pat Wood
Budweiser of Asheville, Inc.
Kay Crews
Board Emeritus
Nancy Miller
Board Emeritus
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Office of College Advancement Staff
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Sue H Olesiuk
Executive Director
Phone: 828.398.7176
Liz Atkinson
Lavender Fund Scholarship Advisor
Phone: 828.398.7564
Amanda Bryan
Development Specialist
Phone: 828-398-7177
Patti Cameron
Campus Volunteer Coordinator
Phone: 828.398.7761
Kristabell Certain
Grants and Foundation Accountant
Phone: 828.398.7358
Susan Haldane
Development/Events Coordinator
Phone: 828.398.7567
Laura Pennington
Director of Resource Development
Phone: 828.398.7571
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