by Katie Keszey Last week, thirteen Community College of Vermont (CCV) students joined CCV president Joyce Judy for the annual Leadership Scholarship luncheon and award ceremony in Montpelier. The scholarship is given to one student from each academic center who goes above and beyond to make a positive impact in their classrooms, at their centers, and in their communities.
Vermont State Colleges System Board of Trustees chair J. Churchill Hindes welcomed students and their families to Friday’s award ceremony. Hindes, who has held leadership positions in health care, education, and government over the course of his career, calls himself an “accidental leader.” He said that at pivotal moments throughout his life, he’d been “tapped on the shoulder” and asked to take on new responsibilities, new challenges, and new opportunities—despite not always feeling prepared. “Someone tapped me on the shoulder, like you’ve been tapped on the shoulder. As you’re looking ahead, open your life to surprises.
That message resonated with students.
Betsy Trucott attends CCV-Newport. She says she started college at UVM in 2007 and didn’t think she’d ever get the chance to go back to school. But when she arrived at CCV, “I hit the ground running and I put myself up on a higher standard. I have just pushed myself to do the best that I can do. And then [my advisor] Cindy tapped me to start helping others.” In addition to her studies (she’ll graduate in June with a STEM degree), Betsy works as a Job Hunt Helper at Goodrich Memorial Library, is a tutor for English and math, and is a peer academic mentor for the Post-Secondary Readiness and Engagement Program, a college preparation program for first generation students in the Northeast Kingdom.
T.K. Lahey, a student in Brattleboro, feels like he used to be an “accidental leader.” But at CCV, people around him “starting pointing out to me the qualities that made me a leader....I wanted to nurture those qualities.” Now he considers himself an “intentional leader.” Today, he says, “I lead mostly with my heart...I care about how the other students do success-wise...That’s really what leadership is to me is just showing other people their own qualities and helping them nurture [them] and achieve the things they want.”
Amanda Reed has been working at Our Place Drop-In Center in Bellows Falls since 2012. She said she’s been “tapped on the shoulder” repeatedly: after a year as a volunteer at Our Place, she was offered a job in the kitchen; a year and a half later, she was promoted to a job in the office; today, she’s the head case manager.
For Cheryl Barratt, who started taking classes in St. Albans in 2016, being tapped on the shoulder by CCV has resulted in a growth spurt. “In 2016, I would not be up here speaking to anybody. I’d be hiding in the back...But through all the classes I’ve taken and everything else it’s really brought me forward as a person. Just being out there and thinking ‘what’s next, where can I go from here?’”
The Leadership Scholarship represents just one of the many scholarship opportunities at CCV. For many students, these gifts make it possible to continue their education. Last year, the College awarded more than $530,000 in scholarships and grants; 70% of these awards were for $250 or less.