PCC Welcomes New VISIONS Class with Summer Institute

WINTERVILLE�Pitt Community College held its annual VISIONS Summer Institute this month to make a new group of program participants aware of the career and educational opportunities available to them locally.

Each June, the institute welcomes a select group of rising Pitt County seniors to PCC�s VISIONS Career Development and Scholarship Program. Created in 2004, the program provides the students with support and guidance needed to complete high school, enroll in higher education, and ultimately join the local workforce.

This year�s institute featured a tour of Greenville�s Grady-White Boats and a variety of hands-on activities and presentations on the PCC campus designed to help the students become familiar with the college�s curricula.

The week-long event also included a visit to Lake Kristi near Grimesland, where students participated in character-building exercises as part of world-class water skier�and Greenville native�Kristi Overton Johnson�s In His Wakes Ministries.

�I had so much fun at the VISIONS Summer Institute,� North Pitt student Marketa Roundtree said. �All of the programs were great, and so were the instructors.�

Institute organizers say they hope the event provides the teens with valuable information that will help guide them through the final year of high school and into college.

Each of this year�s 38 summer institute participants was selected for VISIONS as a high school junior. Through the program, they will receive special mentoring and advising from the program�s coordinator, Debby Gray, during their final year of high school.

As part of her duties with PCC, Gray monitors each VISIONS student�s academic progress, meets one-on-one with them when necessary, arranges tutors for them as needed, and assists them with their senior projects.

She also arranges seminars for the students on topics such as goal-setting, the importance of establishing good credit, and the federal financial aid application process.

VISIONS students who complete high school and enroll at PCC continue receiving personal and academic counseling at Pitt in addition to a $1,000-scholarship ($500 per semester). The students can renew the scholarships if they maintain a 2.5 grade point average throughout the first year of college.

Developed by the Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Family Foundation, VISIONS is a collaborative effort between the PCC Foundation, Pitt County Schools and the Greater Greenville Community Foundation.

Eddie Smith, who owns Grady-White Boats, is the VISIONS program�s benefactor. He helped the program get off the ground in an effort to reduce Pitt County�s high school drop-out rate while increasing the number of county students attending college.

There were 27 students in the first VISIONS class, and, as a result of their success, Smith has increased funding over the years to allow additional students into the program.