Sandhills Community College recently announced that Calvin Ford is the winner of the North Carolina Community College System’s 2021 Academic Excellence Award. One student from each of the 58 North Carolina community colleges receives the award each year.
“I would like to thank the Lord, my parents, siblings, and the many teachers that put effort into guiding me in my academics,” Calvin said.
SCC students who have a 4.0 GPA and more than 50 hours completed toward their degree are reviewed and considered eligible for the award. Faculty members submit a statement of support for candidates. The list is narrowed to the finalists with the strongest faculty support, and a vote is taken.
Calvin came to Sandhills after being homeschooled his entire education. “I came into college with a distaste for school, but by the end of my first semester, the teachers had lit a flame in my life for education.
“The college provided me with a social and academic experience I had never had before,” Calvin said. “That experience shaped me into the person I am today. As the semesters went by, the math classes and teachers I encountered nurtured my passion for engineering and helped cement my future education choice, as well as inspiring me to teach in the future.
“Because of that inspiration, I started working as a tutor, deciding that I would give back to the community that had so generously given to me. I was motivated to keep working hard by my fellow classmates and the faculty and staff of SCC.”
Calvin plans to transfer to North Carolina State University in the fall and major in electrical engineering.
Courtesy photo/Contributed.
