VP, CCP student participate in panel with First Lady, Governor
Randolph Community College Vice President for Instructional Services and Acting Vice President for Workforce Development and Continuing Education Suzanne Rohrbaugh and Uwharrie Charter Academy senior and RCC Career and College Promise (CCP) student Isaias Martinez-Hernandez participated in a panel discussion with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Governor Roy Cooper; U.S. Department of Education Assistant Secretary of Career, Technical, and Adult Education Amy Loyd, Guilford County Schools Superintendent Dr. Whitney Oakley, and other local students on Monday, April 15, a Guilford Technical Community College’s Greensboro campus. The event highlighted stories of area students exploring careers through community college courses while still enrolled in high school and local, state, and federal initiatives that make it possible.
Biden, a community college professor, discussed a new “Classroom to Career” proposal that President Joe Biden introduced last month, stressing dual enrollment where high school students take college courses while still enrolled in high school.
“For many students, the answer to what they want to do next isn’t only ‘I don’t know’ – it’s ‘I don’t know where to start,’ ” Biden said. “Nearly 60 percent of graduating high school students don’t go directly to a four-year college. For most people, a high school diploma alone isn’t enough to find a great career. But that doesn’t mean there is only one pathway to success. And that’s why we’re here today.”
Martinez-Hernandez, third from left at the table, discusses his experience in the dual-enrollment program (CCP) at RCC. Pictured at the table, left to right, are Rohrbaugh; U.S. Department of Education Assistant Secretary of Career, Technical, and Adult Education Amy Loyd; Martinez-Hernandez, Cooper, Biden, The Middle College at GTCC student Teniola Oladunjoye, and Mount Airy High School student and Surry-Yadkin Works apprentice Samuel Poteat.
Rohrbaugh began the discussion, presenting the myriad of opportunities available through RCC for high school students to not only get ahead, but explore careers, including Apprenticeship Randolph (AR) and CCP, which both offer free tuition. AR currently has 41 apprentices — three in Information Technology and 38 in Manufacturing Technology — and boasts 33 total graduates from the program. For the 2023-24 school year, 916 local high school students were enrolled in 3,047 RCC courses each semester with more than 1,100 registered for Fall 2024.
“At RCC, we’ve really taken intentional look about connecting careers in education,” she said. “We pulled our industry partners into the room. We asked them what skill sets they needed. We asked them what transferable trades are among our businesses and industries in the county. And then we developed our curriculum and our pathways around that.”
Martinez-Hernandez, a first-generation college student, has already completed his EMT certification through RCC. Next year, he will be attending N.C. State University on a full-ride scholarship.
“RCC has really set in stone my future plans of becoming a medical professional,” he said. “I want to be a trauma surgeon and just having that EMT, having that experience has really set in stone that I really do want to go into the medical field. Through RCC I’ve been given that opportunity to accomplish all these goals, accomplish my EMT, accomplish getting to college. Through RCC, I’ve finished my [General Education requirements], which has completed my first year of college. So that’s put me even more ahead of the competition in my career.”
RCC President/CEO Dr. Shah Ardalan attended the event, along with other RCC representatives and students and representatives from the Randolph County and Asheboro City school systems and Uwharrie Charter Academy.
“Our partnerships with local schools and industries are critically important,” Ardalan said. “These collaborations serve as the cornerstone of our commitment to addressing the evolving needs of our region’s economy. Through proactive engagement with employers, we tailor our programs to meet industry standards, ensuring that our graduates are well-prepared to enter the workforce and contribute meaningfully to the regional economy. RCC serves as an engine of prosperity, driving economic growth and innovation in our community.”
Randolph Community College (RCC), under the leadership of President/CEO Dr. Shah Ardalan, is committed to providing relevant career training and educational opportunities. Affordable degrees and short-term certificate programs start throughout the year, both in person and online. For more information, call 336-633-0200 or visit www.randolph.edu and expect to engage with the most competent and compassionate team of faculty and staff.