High school students in Pitt Community College’s VISIONS Career Development and Scholarship Program completed a whirlwind tour last week to gain a better understanding of career and educational possibilities available to them locally.
Each June, VISIONS welcomes a group of rising Pitt County seniors to campus for the annual Summer Institute. The four-day program combines visits to local businesses and organizations with on-campus tours and presentations that help the newcomers become familiar with PCC curricula and support services.
“The Summer Institute is an opportunity for us to show our newest participants the importance of a college education and the real possibility for career success right here in Pitt County,” Marianne Cox, director of the VISIONS and HORIZONS program at PCC, said. “It is also a chance for us to let them know the expectations that we have for them in the months ahead and that we’re going to support them along the way.”
Started in 2004 to help reduce Pitt County’s drop-out rate while increasing the number of county students attending college, VISIONS is the result of a partnership between the Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Family Foundation, the PCC Foundation, Pitt County Schools and the Greater Greenville Community Foundation.
Cox noted that in the 10 years since VISIONS began, nearly 100 percent of its participants have completed high school. Those who have gone on to enroll at PCC have received scholarships and and academic counseling at the college.
