Last Updated on November 6, 2021 6:18 pm
Nearly 90 students from Caldwell and Watauga counties took their first steps toward being college graduates as the Foundation of Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute hosted its annual Dream Award ceremony at the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center in Lenoir on Wednesday.
Unable to host the traditional annual event in 2020 due to COVID-19 gathering restrictions, the Foundation of CCC&TI decided to honor two years’ worth of Dream scholars in one ceremony. The Dream Award, which ensures free tuition for local students to attend CCC&TI upon graduation from high school, was presented to 86 middle school students from Caldwell and Watauga counties.
Dream Award recipients are selected from among sixth-grade students in Caldwell and Watauga counties. Those selected must be first-generation college students who have demonstrated academic achievement and civic involvement, and who have the potential to succeed. The program, which is funded through private donations to the Foundation, has presented awards to 1,364 students since its inception in 1989.
CCC&TI President Dr. Mark Poarch opened the ceremony by welcoming scholars, their families and guests. “I’d like to be one of the first to congratulate you on receiving this award. Congratulations to the class of 2026 and class of 2027,” Poarch said. He also recognized members of CCC&TI’s Board of Trustees who were in attendance for the event, and thanked other community leaders, including school officials from Caldwell and Watauga counties.
Peg Broyhill, Chairwoman of the CCC&TI Foundation, congratulated the group and recognized her fellow Foundation Board members and CCC&TI administrators as well as various county school officials, local organizations, civic groups, churches and clubs whose contributions help make the program possible.
She gave special thanks for endowments and grants made possible by the Broyhill Family Foundation, the Coffey Foundation, the Granite Falls High School Class of 1963, the Hogan Family Foundation and the Rose and Dwight Church Family. She also recognized Dr. Tony Deal, retired Executive Vice President and Vice President of Student Services at CCC&TI, who introduced the idea of the Dream Award more than 30 years ago.
“You are the first in your families to attend college and now you will have the opportunity to lead the way for generations to come,” Broyhill said. “We look forward to seeing you shine and hearing about your successes in the future.”
Dena Holman, Vice President of Student Services at CCC&TI, provided a history of the program and encouraged recipients to make the most of the opportunity.
“With the promise of college in sight, now is the time to start setting your goals and dreaming of your future,” Holman said. “We encourage you to never stop dreaming and never let anybody tell you that you can’t do something.”
Holman then introduced guest speakers Irene Caldwell, a 2015 CCC&TI graduate, and Stephanie Reeves, a 2021 CCC&TI graduate. Both told event guests about how attending CCC&TI has changed their lives and offered advice on succeeding as a first-generation college student.
Caldwell shared her story of overcoming health issues at 41, enrolling at CCC&TI and how it impacted her life. “Be willing to take chances,” she urged the group. “You can’t do anything if you don’t take the chance. Go for it.”
Reeves, who now works in the corporate office at Blue Ridge Energy, shared how she was scared to go to college, but found the help she needed at CCC&TI to be successful. “CCC&TI is the place where your dreams can become a reality,” she said. “I owe everything to CCC&TI because they believed in me. And it’s the same belief that they have in each of you.”
To conclude the ceremony, Dream recipients introduced themselves to the audience and shared their career goals, while Holman read comments from their Dream nominations.
2020 Dream Award Recipients
Helen Abarado, Collettsville SchoolCiara Angove, William Lenoir Middle SchoolVictoria Ashley, Cove Creek SchoolSavannah Auton, Valle Crucis SchoolJames Bates, Oak Hill SchoolDominick Becht, Oak Hill SchoolAlaina Church, Granite Falls Middle School *Debbie Yount Dream Award RecipientParker Coffey, Granite Falls Middle SchoolBraxtyn Conn, Granite Falls Middle SchoolSamantha Contreras, Hudson Middle SchoolCameron Crawford, William Lenoir Middle SchoolThomas Deiters, Parkway SchoolHailey Dunn, Hardin Park SchoolCorbin Forbes, Collettsville SchoolKyleigh Ford, Blowing Rock SchoolColton Greene, Hudson Middle SchoolLeah Greene, Happy Valley SchoolYessi Guzman, Gamewell Middle SchoolMarissa Harmon, Bethel SchoolKatelynn Johnston, Kings Creek SchoolAaliyha Kirby, Collettsville SchoolAntony Mendez Alcaraz, Cove Creek SchoolMerrix Oakes, Bethel SchoolVelkan Ortiz Coronel, Collettsville SchoolSamuel Palma, Gamewell Middle School *Dr. Tony Deal Dream Award RecipientJosiah Pope, Kings Creek SchoolOlivia Ray, Green Valley SchoolSophie Reece, Mabel SchoolAshlin Rudisill, Granite Falls Middle SchoolHannah Sheffey, Cove Creek School *Optimist Club of Boone Dream AwardMarisah Sluder, Bethel SchoolCadence Smith, Green Valley SchoolPresley Smith, Happy Valley School *Dwight and Rose Church Dream AwardSarah Spann, Oak Hill SchoolKaegan Stough, Kings Creek SchoolSteven Tran, Hardin Park SchoolJuan Valdovinos-Lemus, Valle Crucis SchoolLilah Vestey, Valle Crucis SchoolDeclan Warlick, Happy Valley SchoolLia Washington, William Lenoir Middle SchoolAmber Watson, Parkway School *Optimist Club of Boone Dream AwardSaydie Weaver, Mabel SchoolDorian Whitehead, Blowing Rock SchoolMackenzie Wishion, Gamewell Middle SchoolChloe Woody, Hudson Middle School
2021 Dream Award Recipients
Tristan Barlow, Granite Falls Middle School *Debbie Yount Dream AwardZain Benfield, Mabel SchoolLiberty Bolick, Hudson Middle SchoolJonathan Botello, Parkway SchoolKalani Brown, Hardin Park SchoolMadison Caldwell, Collettsville SchoolAva Carignan, Valle Crucis SchoolJosephine Cornett, Valle Crucis SchoolLillian Crosswell, Blowing Rock SchoolCrawley Dawkins-Young, Hudson Middle SchoolIsabelle Diaz Torres, Kings Creek SchoolKarsyn Drum, Hudson Middle SchoolKathryn Drum, Gamewell Middle SchoolLayah Dula, William Lenoir Middle SchoolJasmin Flores Valencia, Granite Falls Middle SchoolJeralyn Gonzalez, Bethel SchoolEmile Greer, Green Valley SchoolCourtney Hartley, Collettsville SchoolMorgan Hensley, Hudson Middle SchoolKaitlynn Hinson, Happy Valley SchoolCharles Hubbard, Parkway SchoolAliese Isaacs, Parkway SchoolCharles Kerley, Bethel SchoolAaliah Macias, William Lenoir Middle SchoolMario Martinez-Munoz, William Lenoir Middle School *Dr. Tony Deal Dream AwardEmma Miller, Green Valley SchoolValerie Miranda-Mejia, Blowing Rock SchoolStephanie Morales-Mendez, Cove Creek SchoolLucas Palmer, Gamewell Middle SchoolEmma Parsons, Granite Falls Middle SchoolBrodi Pope, Happy Valley SchoolChristopher Ruiz Alegria, Hardin Park SchoolClaudia Sapon Baran, Hardin Park SchoolLyla Swanson, Collettsville SchoolCaleb Triplett, Kings Creek SchoolJaiden Watson, Happy Valley SchoolLeah Watson, Kings Creek SchoolMatthew Weiss, Gamewell Middle SchoolZachary Westpfahl, Mabel SchoolPresli Wood, Cove Creek SchoolSierra Wood, Happy Valley School *Dwight and Rose Church Dream Award
Pictured are the 2020 Dream Award recipients who participated in Wednesday’s ceremony at the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center in Lenoir. The award, presented by the Foundation of CCC&TI, ensures free tuition to attend CCC&TI upon graduation from high school.
Pictured are the 2021 Dream Award recipients who participated in Wednesday’s ceremony at the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center in Lenoir. The award, presented by the Foundation of CCC&TI, ensures free tuition to attend CCC&TI upon graduation from high school.
Irene Caldwell, a 2015 graduate of Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, speaks to Dream Award recipients about her success story at Wednesday’s ceremony at the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center in Lenoir.
Stephanie Reeves, a 2021 graduate of Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, speaks to Dream Award recipients about her college experience during Wednesday’s ceremony at the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center in Lenoir.
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