Success Stories: Sydney Boulware (College Transfer Programs)
WPCC Helped Sydney Boulware Find Her Drive, Her Courage & Herself
Morganton — Sydney Boulware felt “stuck”: at 19-years-old, she had no high school diploma, no job, no driver’s license, no plans for her future. She had left high school four years earlier, and public education had been challenging for her.
“I had a lot to offer during my primary education years but did not know how to apply it,” said Ms. Boulware. “As a result, I got lost between the cracks in school. I lost confidence in my abilities and I lost confidence in myself. My mother, being a loving and concerned parent, decided to move me to another school when I began having trouble connecting with my education. When my situation remained the same, she relocated me again.”
After attending 12 schools between the ages of eight and 14, Ms. Boulware had learned one thing for sure. Schools teach different curriculum. She felt she was either relearning a previous lesson or attempting to learn new material upon which she had no appropriate foundation.
“That’s when I began to feel left behind,” Ms. Boulware explained.
Today you’ll see a different Sydney. In just 20 short months, Ms. Boulware decided the impossible was possible and she rejoined the world, received her GED® from McDowell Technical College, gained her driver’s license and became a student at Western Piedmont Community College (WPCC). She is now a second-year student working toward graduation with an Associate in Arts degree in May 2014.
“Throughout my experiences at WPCC, I have lived and learned more than I had in all my earlier years,” Ms. Boulware shared. “Western Piedmont has accomplished what no other institution of higher learning ever did. WPCC taught me how to take everything that was in my mind, dying to get out, and utilize it. I realized I am smart and eloquent. Thank you, WPCC, for having given that to me!”
No longer “stuck,” Ms. Boulware is quick to praise WPCC instructors and staff. “I have never met a more incredible group of people who have intellectually challenged me in the most wonderful way. Western Piedmont helped me find my drive, my courage and myself after years of having lost all.”
Western Piedmont Community College offers associate degrees designed for transfer to senior colleges and universities. They are the Associate in Arts (AA), the Associate in Science (AS) and the Associate in Fine Arts (AFA). The degrees are designed in compliance with a Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) between the North Carolina Community College System and the constituent institutions of the University of North Carolina. We invite you to learn more about WPCC’s transfer degree programs. To speak with someone about the program, contact Amanda Rhea, Transfer Counselor, at (828) 448-3159 or by email at arhea@wpcc.edu.
You can also get information about becoming a student at WPCC.
Western Piedmont Community College enrolls approximately 4,000 students annually in pursuit of college transfer degrees, two year associate degrees and diplomas. More than 10,000 students enroll each year in continuing education courses for professional development and personal enrichment. The College also provides programs for high school completion. Western Piedmont received recognition for Exceptional Institutional Performance based on standards established by the North Carolina General Assembly.
CONTACT PERSON: LIBBY BARGER, 828-448-3121