Annual Attempt Out Challenger Winners Announced

 Elizabeth Kent Duffey, Crystal Mickens, Grace Yancy, and Kim Pomier 

Four winners inwards the 2013 J. Sargeant Reynolds Annual Essay Contest were announced at a Reading Reception on Tuesday, Apr 23^rd in the Gallery inwards Georgiadis Hall on the Parham Road Campus.  The Annual Essay Contest was opened upwards to all currently enrolled JSR students together with Dual Enrollment students inwards upper-level courses who attend cast on campus.  Available topics included What Reynolds has Meant to Me, Why I Decided to Come to Reynolds, What I Expect from My Education at Reynolds, and The Best together with Worst of My Reynolds Experience. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 total of 55 essays were submitted for consideration.  A panel of 3 judges reviewed the submissions together with selected the winners.

Congratulations to Crystal Mickens, First Place; Elizabeth Kent Duffey, Second Place; Grace Yancy, Third Place; together with Kim Pomier, Honorable Mention. 

Crystal Mickens described her personal struggles at 2 other colleges earlier finding JSRCC.  “The chance to become to Reynolds came at a fourth dimension when I idea I was a consummate failure, when I idea I would never encounter whatever success inwards my life.  My fourth dimension at Reynolds has reaffirmed to me that I’m to a greater extent than than capable of treatment whatever life throws at me – that I induce got the skills together with cognition to succeed together with motion forward.”  Crystal noted, “And the teachers, well, they induce got been the best business office of the schoolhouse to me.  They’ve looked out for me almost equally much equally my ain Mom.  That’s why going to Reynolds has meant together with therefore much to me.”

When Elizabeth Kent Duffey enrolled at Reynolds to consummate prerequisite courses for a Bachelor of Science flat at Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing she considered Reynolds equally exactly a agency to an end. However, inwards her classes she witnessed men together with women of all ages striving to improve their lives though education, frequently inwards spite of hard circumstances, amongst promise for a amend future.  As to what Reynolds has meant to her, “It agency hope.  It agency dedication.  It agency existence witness to individuals who know that an pedagogy volition convey alter to their lives together with to the lives of those they love.”

In her essay Grace Yancy talked close her journeying of self-discovery at Reynolds.  Although her human relationship amongst learning started out good equally a immature child, she describes her years inwards middle schoolhouse together with high schoolhouse equally “miserable together with traumatic experiences.”   Nonetheless, afterwards high schoolhouse graduation she enrolled inwards classes at Reynolds at the urging of her parents.  She institute the professors at Reynolds to live a breath of fresh air together with did real good from her origin semester, renewing her confidence inwards her abilities.  During her fourth dimension at Reynolds she came to realize that “my biggest obstruction has ever been me.”   Grace said, “I induce got resolved to non let myself to live mediocre or cheat myself out of success ever again.  I induce got taken the confidence together with insight that I institute at J. Sargeant Reynolds together with applied it to other facets of my life…I didn’t exactly larn how to role Microsoft Excel or how to component polynomials; I learned to jibe myself accountable for my happiness together with productivity.”

Kim Pomier’s “long together with interrupted Reynolds journey” began inwards 1977, when she enrolled to report Secretarial Science.  One of her cast assignments was to pick out the examination for occupation amongst the State of Virginia.  Although Kim was non seeking a labor together with had no intentions of leaving school, inwards the terminate a full-time seat amongst the Department of Health was offered, together with Kim accepted the position.  She worked for the terra firma for the adjacent fourteen years, got married, held jobs inwards several dissimilar industries, together with traveled extensively doing missionary work.  Through the years her wishing to attain an pedagogy never left her together with returning to J. Sargeant Reynolds was ever inwards the dorsum of her mind.  For many years she passed the downtown campus every solar daytime together with longed to attend classes again.  Kim was endure able to realize her dream of returning to Reynolds inwards 2011 afterwards existence seat off when her employer moved out of state.  Kim calls her Reynolds sense “a thirty-four twelvemonth journeying dorsum to what my catch desired.”

Congratulations to all the winners! 

Read the Essays here: 

http://www.reynolds.edu/_news/documents/Essay-Mickens.pdf
http://www.reynolds.edu/_news/documents/Essay-Duffey.pdf
http://www.reynolds.edu/_news/documents/Essay-Yancy.pdf
http://www.reynolds.edu/_news/documents/Essay-Pomier.pdf

Crystal Mickens, First Place Winner

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