Virginia Western Community College is pleased to announce two awards received by members of the College community at the New Horizons Conference awards celebration on Wednesday, April 10, at The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center.
- Leslie Watson received the George B. Vaughan Leadership Award for Outstanding Adjunct Faculty. Watson has served as an adjunct faculty member at Virginia Western Community College since 2007, beginning in the Radiation Oncology Program and moving among several disciplines. She spearheaded the efforts of the School of Health Professions in the development of an Introduction to Health Professions college success course. Within this course, students enrolling in Virginia Western’s nine health professions programs have their first Interprofessional Education assignment, which provides an introduction to working across disciplines within healthcare.
Watson is also an American Heart Association Basic Life Support instructor at Carilion Clinic. She holds certifications as a Radiologic Technologist with a Specialty in Radiography, R.T.R., and a Radiologic Technologist with a Specialty in Therapy, R.T.T. through the American Registry of Radiologic Technologies. She is certified as an instructor for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid through the American Heart Association and has a certification for Current Professional Terminology Coding.
Her volunteer activities include serving on the Board of the American Cancer Society Loudoun Unit, where she is the Children’s Activities Director. She works with the Centra Health’s Witness Project, which is designed to increase breast cancer screening and mammography among underserved African American women. She volunteers to help teachers in the Pittsylvania County school district, and she is a Pittsylvania County 4-H, Future Farmers of America and Girl Scouts of America volunteer.
“I love teaching students not only job knowledge, but knowledge that will help them in their daily lives,” Watson said. “We all must see physicians, it is nice to know what they are telling us with all their ‘jargon.’ I am also a CPR instructor. I enjoy teaching people the skills that could save a loved one’s life.”
- The Community College Access Program (CCAP), administered by the Virginia Western Educational Foundation, was selected as this year’s winner of the 2024 Excellence in Education: Removing Barriers Award. CCAP is one of the Commonwealth’s first and largest “free college” programs and is nationally recognized for its unique private-public funding model.
In 2023, CCAP celebrated its 15th anniversary, having provided more than $10 million in tuition assistance to more than 4,000 students since its founding. The program is the flagship initiative of the Virginia Western Community College Educational Foundation, a nonprofit affiliated with the College that focuses foremost on reducing the financial barriers facing students.
CCAP recipients do not need to worry about Virginia Western tuition for their two years of eligibility, as long as they maintain their GPA and enroll in at least nine credit hours each semester in a program of study. The scholarship provides “last-in” funding, closing the final gap between state and federal aid and the tuition owed. Participants also are required to complete four hours of volunteer service each semester as a “give-back” to the public and private donors who have invested in their education. In the past 15 years, that has amounted to more than 30,000 hours of volunteer service to nonprofits in our region.
“Thanks to the vision of our partners and the dedication of the Foundation and the College, CCAP has transformed how we define hope in our service area, proving that college is possible,” said Deborah L. Petrine, Chair of the Virginia Western Educational Foundation Board of Directors.
The New Horizons Conference for community college educators and leaders is hosted by Virginia’s Community Colleges Student Success Center. The April 10-12 conference is focused on ”Education Transformed: Classroom Prepared; Workplace Ready.”
