Remember: If no delays or cancellations are posted, the college is open and running on a normal schedule.

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The scholarship will be awarded annually to a CFCC Marine Technology student who shows interest in boat handling, seamanship and navigation.  The scholarship will help deserving students reach their goal of working in a marine-related profession.

CFCC Graduate Richie Spears

Born on Sept. 22, 1978, Richie began working on the Cape Hatteras waterfront as a pre-teen where he literally “ran” seafood from the boats to the markets.   He shortly graduated up to a mate’s position on the Miss Hatteras, an eighty-foot head boat.

Throughout his teen years he worked on charter boats where he honed his offshore sport fishing skills.   At the ripe age of 18, he took those skills to the Honolulu waterfront where he worked as a charter boat mate.  Although most of these early years were spent in a hook and line fishing environment, he was developing a love of traditional fish harvesting methods and the impacts that both have on our ocean resources.

“What he had at 20 years was a relatively immense amount of experience and a strong determination to forge a livelihood as a mariner,” said Joyce Spears.

To help focus this knowledge and energy he turned to CFCC’s Marine Technology Program.  At CFCC, he joined a great group of fellow professional mariners where he was able to put formal polish on his career efforts.

He graduated in 2002 with an associate degree in marine technology and a master operator’s license, allowing him to captain seagoing vessels up to 100 tons.

After graduation, he successfully opened a “child-friendly” inshore charter service, Hatteras Adventures, which catered to vacationing families throughout the summer season.  During the winter he fished commercially, operated a duck hunting guide service, and served as the stand-by captain for the Tow Boat US Franchise in Hatteras.

Dickie Spears, Richie’s father, said that Richie considered himself fortunate to attend CFCC.  He was proud to be a graduate from the marine technology program and pleased to be associated with such a fine group of mariners.

“We are so very thankful that our friends and family members have given so generously to a program that will help others achieve success in a field that Richie so loved. We are very grateful that the Captain Richie Spears Memorial Endowed Scholarship will live on in honor and memory of such a fine waterman,” Mr. Spears said.

For more information about CFCC, the Foundation, endowments or scholarship opportunities, please contact the CFCC Foundation at (910) 362-7207.

To qualify for a merit scholarship, a student must be an area high school senior and have proof of academic potential shown by grades, class rank and/or aptitude test results.  Consideration is also given to extracurricular activities, work record and community service.  This award indicates great confidence in students’ abilities to excel in a college setting as they pursue their educational goals.

The following students were selected from Pender and New Hanover County high schools:

• Ashley High School:  Sara Gross from Wilmington, NC.
• Coastal Christian High School:  Hannah Matthews from Wilmington, NC.
• Laney High School:  Ashlee Wagner and Jim Ton from Wilmington, NC.
• New Hanover High School:  Benjamin Jones and Lex Tolan from Wilmington, NC; Calvin Rowell from Castle Hayne, NC.
• Pender High School:  Tiffany Pigford from Burgaw, NC.
• Topsail High School:  Marissa Citarelli from Hampstead, NC.
• Trask High School:  Miranda Lewis from Rocky Point, NC.

Merit scholars receive $900 each semester, which covers the majority of the costs for tuition, fees, and books.  Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 grade point average and complete at least twelve credit hours each semester to remain eligible for the scholarship.

For more information about CFCC, the Foundation, endowments or scholarship opportunities, please contact the Foundation at (910) 362-7207.  

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This is exactly the type of scenario students at Cape Fear Community College experience while training to become a certified paramedic.

According to paramedic instructor Thomas Herron, it’s these kinds of real-world scenarios that help get the students ready to respond to a real emergency.

“What we are trying to do is prepare students to deal with the unexpected,” said Thomas Herron, CFCC’s paramedic coordinator.

While every situation is different, there are basic principles that students learn that will help them do their jobs which will save lives and prevent further injury until a patient gets to the hospital.

To become a certified paramedic, students must go through three levels of training.

There are 3 levels of initial EMS training.  All students must start at the EMT level.  The EMT course is a 200 hour, 1 semester course.  After completing the EMT course, students can choose to take the EMT-Intermediate course which is a 6 month, 306 hour course or, after completing an Anatomy and Physiology course enter the Paramedic Program.  The Paramedic Program is an 11 month, 1200 hour course that covers the most advanced skills and knowledge available to a prehospital provider.

In the first introductory EMT course, students learn:

-       CPR

-       Assessing patients (figure out what is wrong)

-       Vital Signs

-       Medical Emergencies

-       Traumatic Emergencies

-       Pediatric Emergencies

-       Childbirth

The intermediate EMT course covers:

-       All EMT Skills reviewed and refined

-       IV Skills and Medication Administration

-       ~ 20 Advanced Medications

-       Advanced Airway Skills such as endotracheal intubation

-       Basic EKG Skills

The final paramedic course includes:

-       All EMT and Intermediate Skills reviewed and refined.

-       Anatomy and Physiology

-       Advanced Airway Skills including endotracheal intubation, nasal intubation, surgical airways and chest decompression

-       IV Skills and Medication Administration

-       ~ 160 Advanced Medications

-       Advanced Cardiology Skills including 3-Lead EKG Skills, 12-Lead EKG Skills and Advanced Cardiac Life Support

-       Advanced Trauma Care including PHTLS Specialty Course

-       Advanced Pediatric Skills including Pediatric Advanced Life Support and PEPP

Herron explained that the textbook knowledge is only one part of the training. The skills most students find most challenging is learning how to talk to patients, who are often under stress and in pain.

He said that these problems areas are addressed using numerous practice scenarios in the classroom, hospital and field rotations for direct exposure, our SimMan 3G simulator and exercises like those held this weekend.

When combining all initial course enrollments, Continuing Medical Education (CME) enrollments and specialty course enrollments, the EMS Program serves approximately 1,000 students per year. 

Herron added that there is a high demand for quality paramedic in our area.  The most recent Paramedic course had 18 graduates of which 15 are currently employed either full-time or part-time in the immediate area.  Across NC and the US, there is national shortage of paramedics rivaling that often heard of with nurses.

For more details about CFCC’s EMT and paramedic training, visit http://cfcc.edu/ce/phs.htm.

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CFCC students have been exploring renewable energy for years with a wide variety of projects that include everything from designing award-winning sustainable structures to refitting gas-powered automotive engines to run on electricity.

Current green projects underway include:

• A renewable energy project at the North Campus where students are developing a power station using solar power to run lab equipment.
• Students in automotive repair are converting an old BMW to run on electricity.
• Students have developed a method to make their own bio-diesel from vegetable oil.
• Architectural technology students have designed a series of sustainable buildings that have won state and national awards. The buildings have actually been built in the Triangle area of North Carolina.

“As businesses become increasingly more green-saavy, we need to make sure our students have access to the latest trends and technology so that they can stay competitive in the job market,” said Bob Philpott, CFCC’s Dean of Technical and Vocational Education.

The sustainable technology program is available in three tracks: A two year associate degree program, a one-year diploma and an 18-hour certificate program.

Courses include alternative energy, environmental engineering technology, sustainable manufacturing, and green building technology. Additional topics include sustainability, energy management, waste reduction, renewable energy, site assessment, and environmental responsibility.

Graduates should qualify for positions within the alternative energy, construction, environmental, and/or manufacturing industries.  Employment opportunities exist in both the government and private industry sectors where graduates may function as manufacturing technicians, sustainability consultants, environmental technicians, or green building supervisors.

For more information about CFCC’s new sustainable technologies program, contact John Wojciechowski at (910) 362-7761 or email jwojciechowski@cfcc.edu

For course information about this program, please visit the online CFCC Catalog.

In order to better equip students with real-world skills before entering the workplace, the Landscape Gardening curriculum recently purchased DynaScapes computer design software in a new computer lab at CFCC’s North Campus. 

This award-winning software offers the newest in design technology and is currently being taught at more than 70 universities across North America and is an industry standard. Students will learn to quickly produce high quality computerized commercial designs  - giving them a competitive edge once they graduate from the Landscape Gardening program. The program will allow students access to a plant database of more than 9,000 plants and 1,200 design symbols that can be inserted into drawings at the scale and paper size of choice.

Once a design is completed, students still have to do all the hard work of measuring, digging, transplanting the flora. With the use of the software, students get real world experience in planning a design, which can save time and money when it comes time to do the “real work.” 

“We want our students to be exposed to as many areas of the landscaping industry as possible and be given useful and practical training,” said CFCC Landscape Gardening Instructor Michael Jones.

“Our new technology computer lab and DynaScapes will be a super addition,” Jones said. 

CFCC’s associate degree and certificate landscape gardening programs offers classes in plant selection and use, horticultural pest management, turf management, greenhouse plant production, retention pond management and landscape construction.

For more information contact CFCC landscape design instructor Michael Jones at 602-3949.

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WellCare pledged a $25,000 donation, which will establish the WellCare Clinical Leaders Scholarship.  The funds will be dispersed over a five-year period to students who are studying to become certified nursing aides, licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and occupational therapy assistants.  Applicants must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0, with preference given to students who express interest in a home care career.  An essay demonstrating the applicant’s leadership and critical thinking skills must also be submitted.

WellCare is a home health care agency serving southeastern North Carolina which utilizes nurses, therapists, certified therapy assistants and certified nursing aides to provide patients with in-home care. 

“I believe that customer service is second only to the delivery of exceptional healthcare.  Aside from meeting a patient’s medical needs, home health care is about respecting the wishes and requests of the patient,” said Long.

“In addition to having outstanding clinical abilities and critical thinking skills, a career in home health care requires a clinician to embrace the philosophy of customer service excellence.  By partnering with CFCC, WellCare is planning for the future of the home health care industry by supporting students who demonstrate these attributes.” 

For more information about CFCC, the Foundation, endowments or scholarship opportunities, please contact the Foundation at (910) 362 7207.  Cape Fear Community College is one of the oldest and largest in the North Carolina community college system. 

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