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‘Everything came from a truck driver’ – second class sends 16 new drivers into the workforce
Southeastern Community College in partnership with Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute graduated 16 more students as certified truck drivers on Dec. 13 in the SCC auditorium.
“What these students have done in a short amount of time is incredible,” said Dr. Sylvia Cox, SCC executive vice president. “Where can you go and who can come to the table and be willing to commit the time, the effort and the attention that it takes to learn the skills that they have?”
Cox said that today’s graduation ceremony was proof of SCC “being in the business of radically changing lives.” She thanked the SCC and CCCTI staff for their hard work in making truck driver training a reality at SCC, and she thanked the SCC Board of Trustees for their support.
Brett Ingram, CCCTI’s truck driver training lead instructor, explained that SCC is one of eight other community colleges they partner with to start truck driver training programs. Ingram said there were 461 students enrolled in their truck driver training program and only 391 passed. All 16 of SCC’s students were part of that passing number. Ingram said that 11 of the 16 graduates had job offers.
“If you think about it, everything that you have came from a truck,” Ingram said to the ceremony audience. “From the fuel in your car to the clothes on your back, everything came from a truck driver. And you’re getting ready to be one, so do something with it and have fun.”
Dewey Farmer, project manager for EMA Resources stationed at Smithfield Foods in Tarheel, was the graduation speaker. Farmer graduated from Nakina High School in 1985 and from SCC in 1986. Farmer became an ordained Methodist minister in 2004 and serves at Turner Station AME Church in Marietta, N.C.
Road instructors for the class were Roger Chester, Jones Matthews and Gary Tippins, Jr. Ingram called each student’s name to the table on stage to receive their certificate, SCC hat and hug from each instructor.
The second truck driver class consisted of Jerell Covington, Jeffery Daniels, Ceilita Gause, Oscar Jaimes, Tamyah Jennings, Desmond Marlowe, Dorrian McAuthur, Mark McCray, Demarious McDuffie, Roshad McNeil, Malcolm Monroe, Chrystal Pope, Jonathan Rivas, Frank Sarvis, Zachary Stanley and Rakwon Williams.
