Coastal Pines Students to Graduate Tonight
June 8, 2017 04:30 PM
When a Coastal Pines Technical College student accepts a job offer in their field of choice, Tim Woodward sees a success story. “It’s good to see students come in with a need and be able to leave with something they can use,” said Woodward, the director of student affairs at Coastal Pines’ Golden Isles site.
And tonight, nearly 55 local Coastal Pines students will be eligible to receive diplomas and certificates at the college’s graduation, scheduled for 7 p.m. at Waycross Middle School. State Representative Don Hogan, R-St. Simons Island, will speak at the ceremony.
Local student Valencia Byrd will be earning her diploma in practical nursing. But she won’t be in attendance at the ceremony, because she’ll be in Brunswick, at the job she received immediately after completing the credits needed for her degree. “I work in pulmonary medicine at the (Southeast Georgia Health System) hospital, in a doctor's office," said Byrd, a Glynn County native. “It worked out well. I’m glad I didn’t have to travel to go to school and to find employment.”
Many Coastal Pines graduates are going directly into the workforce and into the fields they're interested in, Woodward said. "It’s just good to see them obtain a goal in which they can actually go to work and make a living,” he said.
Thang Duong, who will be earning his degree tonight in electrical control systems, is one of many students who have received a practical education at Coastal Pines that can be taken directly into the workforce, Woodward said. “The industrial systems and the electrical control systems (degrees) made him eligible to apply at the hospital,” Woodward said. “And he’s now working in maintenance at the hospital.”
Duong said he’s now pursuing an additional degree in the air conditioning services program. “Everything — electrical, air conditioning — we have to do that in maintenance every day,” Duong said.
And for other students, Woodward said Coastal Pines serves as a jumping-off point from which they can pursue further education or other opportunities.
Courtney Wilson will earn a certificate in paralegal fundamentals tonight, and she is among the first students in the Golden Isles site’s paralegal studies program, which began last fall. Wilson plans to continue on to earn her associate’s degree in paralegal studies, then transfer to the University of North Georgia to work toward her bachelor’s. “I was super excited when they got the paralegal program, because that’s what I’ve always wanted to be,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to do something in law.”
Woodward said a total of 488 students from the Coastal Pines sites will be eligible to earn degrees or certificates tonight. And he said many of the students graduating from the Golden Isles site are headed in the right direction to work in their field of choice. “They’re in good shape to be productive members of society,” he said. “…And that’s what we hope for, is to have many success stories each year.”
Photo top left: Tim Woodward, director of student affairs at Coastal Pines’ Golden Isles site, congratulates students Thang Duong, Valencia Byrd and Courtney Wilson on their graduation, taking place tonight.
Article by By Lauren McDonald with The Brunswick News.
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