Academic Advantage Students Take Enrichment Trip
Academic Advantage Students Take Enrichment Trip
Students enrolled in the Southeast Community College Academic Advantage Program
recently took part in a daylong cultural enrichment trip to Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
The group traveled by chartered bus and during the outing they toured various sites in the
area, had the opportunity to shop at outlet malls and attended the Dixie Stampede
performance.
According to Shelia S. Gordon, a counselor within the SECC Student Support Services
Division who also serves as the coordinator for the cultural enrichment program, a total
of 31 students made the recent trip to Tennessee.
?The students had the chance to be exposed to some new and exciting things,? said
Gordon. ?The trip allowed students to bond with one another and build friendships that
can last over the years. It also gives them the chance to become part of a group, and
friendships established on these trips can also serve to help students remain in school.?
According to Gordon, the Academic Advantage Program operated by Southeast
Community College sponsors one cultural enrichment excursions during the academic
year. Funding from a federal grant makes the trips possible. In the past, SECC groups
have traveled to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C., to museums in Newport,
Cincinnati and Louisville and have attended operatic performances in Lexington.
Carolyn Sundy is the head of TRIO programs at Southeast of which Academic
Advantage is a component. Assisting Gordon on the trip as chaperones were college
employees Dianne Fain and Michelle Ashby.
?Our program is here to serve students and help them overcome any barriers that would
possibly prevent them from becoming a success in college,? said Gordon.
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