ECU ‘connects’ with local students

A collaboration between East Carolina University and Sampson Community College gave students in Sampson County the opportunity to see what their futures could look like should they pursue college.

The event was called Sampson Connect and it was meant for Sampson Middle, Clinton High, SCC students and their parents. The aim was to educate all students to their highest level of academic performance and support them to become productive and contributing members of society.

To achieve that goal, an in-person college-knowledge program and college fair was held at SCC. ECU, being the partner for the event, brought a fair share of their students, faculty and staff from a variety of different departments and programs to interact with Clinton City Schools students about college.

One such group was the ECU Neuroscience Program and one of its students, George Cherry, shared what it meant to him attending the event and its importance.

“I’m a junior neuroscience, psychology and African American studies major at ECU,” he said. “I’m just delighted because I love being able to give back to the next generation and inspire them to study neuroscience. I think neuroscience changed my life and gave me a different outlook on life and what I wanted to pursue, and it works well with my future aspirations of medical school.”

“So I’m just excited about catching these kids while they’re young, middle school, high school, and helping to plant a seed in their mind,” he said. “That’s my goal, the reason why I’m here; we’re planting seeds to help steer them towards their futures, ones they may didn’t think was possible, like neuroscience.”

Similar booths as that were set up all over the SCC Warren Student Center, each aiming to showing future collegiate paths available. There was also a bilingual Q&A seminar and individual workshops to teach not only students, but parents, about ECU and how and what they should know to help their child prep for college and what to accept if they chose to attend.

The event itself was part of a pilot program launched by ECU Public Communication Specialist Rich Klindworth, a data-driven program that found success at ECU that came out of his dissertation study. Sparked by his passion to help as many students as possible learn that college is an accessible option, regardless of situation, Klindworth wants to continue to share with everybody he can.

“What I love about this is that we have all these tables around, but not everybody is a recruiter for their department,” he said. “Some of them are, but a lot of these people are just ones that want to come out to the community or to the rural areas to have different pathways to reach students.”

“This is really all about trying to get the information out that college is possible, because too many people, unfortunately, have misinformation passed around such as, ‘oh, you can’t afford college,’” Klindworth said. “That’s why we’re here to put all that information out there so that they can see those various pathways like financial aid, scholarships or working on campus. Some will need to start a community college or maybe an associate’s degree is their best choice.”

“We just want them to have the proper information so that they can make the choice that is best for them and their future.”

Klindworth was at SCC that night when he shared that information about the project with The Sampson Independent. He also touched on the reason why he started the program and what it means to him personally to share it with Sampson County.

“One thing that attracts me to ECU is our mission, or strategic plan, which is all about helping the world,” he said. “It’s not all about helping the rural communities, but our rural communities are a big part. So getting out into our rural communities and making sure students don’t fall through the cracks, it’s everything to me — because we’re reaching out to people that might not have an opportunity to easily get to campus.”

“That’s why we’re bringing our information to them, then partnering with the community colleges so that they can make an informed decision on what pathways for higher education there is for them,” said Klindworth. “But the main thing is to show that higher education is possible.”

Sampson Middle CTE Director Natasha Faircloth also attended and was key in helping the program extend to SMS and CHS after learning ECU was coming to SCC.

“This was an absolute treasure and a hidden treasure as well,” she said. “We don’t often get the opportunity to have a college come out in recognition for middle schoolers and high schoolers. But, my idea was just the middle school and the support that they got tonight, just to kind of get some ideas of what it may look like for them in the future, was fantastic.”

”I noticed their ability just to connect with people and that’s something that we talk about all the time,” she said. “I absolutely loved it. What I loved more was that I had these parents that connected with their kids and that was just powerful.”