TCC donor’s scholarship plants seeds for student success

Sarah “Tata” White Kellam was 33 when she started selling plants from her greenhouse in a vacant lot on Virginia Beach’s Shore Drive. Her company, Mr. Greenjeans, blossomed into an interior plantscaping business company, selling, servicing and renting plants throughout Hampton Roads.

As her business evolved, Kellam also tended to the growth of her employees. She provided financial support for night school tuition “to help more women move forward in their college educations.”

It was the first of many contributions she would make to give back and help support women in business.

“There’s a saying I love: ‘You don’t know ’til you know,’” Kellam said, “I want to help people who want to know. You need education to get anywhere; that’s what I know!”

In 2017, she established the Sarah “Tata” White Kellam Scholarship at Tidewater Community College to support business and entrepreneurship students with a financial need who have demonstrated academic excellence and a commitment to education.

“I chose TCC because of the older demographic it served,” she said. “I wanted to support an older student, someone who was serious in their studies – who had some direction and interest in business. I was a little older when I started my business, and I wanted to help another woman with dreams.”

This year’s recipient, Dawn Johns, is just that.

A Navy veteran with 10 years of service, Johns was eligible for GI Bill benefits she was hoping to save for her more expensive Old Dominion University coursework.

“I learned about scholarships from Professor Angela Slaughter in my Business 100 class,” said the mother of two. “We were finishing early, so Professor Slaughter started walking us through the scholarship options. I went ahead and applied for 10 scholarships just sitting there in class.”

Johns searched for all the awards she was eligible to receive. “Some of them don’t even require an essay – you’re just completing the form,” she said.

To her surprise, she won several, including the scholarship established by Kellam.

“I take so much pride in being the recipient of a scholarship,” Johns said. “I know the process is competitive. Being selected made me feel honored, and I’ve pushed that much harder to make sure I keep my grades up. Every semester since I received this award, I have been a 4.0 student.”

Johns also credits the award for relieving a lot of financial stress and freeing up more time for her family and academics.

While at the college, her daughter attends TCC’s Child Development Center on the Portsmouth Campus, operated by YWCA South Hampton Roads, tuition her award helps to subsidize. She also applies her scholarship toward textbooks and a meal plan.

Graduating with her Associate of Science in Business Administration in May, Johns has already been accepted to Old Dominion and plans to complete a bachelor’s degree program in accounting. She will secure a second TCC degree, an Associate of Science in General Studies with a Specialization in Professional Communication, this summer.

She aims to open her own non-profit financial planning service to promote financial literacy and give back to neighborhoods like the one she grew up in.

Johns already offers this financial advice for others at TCC: “I’ve been showing all my friends TCC’s scholarship website and teaching them how to apply. These awards have been an important lesson learned. I want to share these opportunities with as many people as possible.”

As Kellam would say – “You don’t know ‘til you know!”

For more information about available scholarships at TCC, visit www.tcc.edu/scholarships. To learn more about establishing a scholarship at TCC, contact the TCC Educational Foundation at foundation@tcc.edu or 757-822-1080.

Learn digital court reporting in just six weeks

Tidewater Community College prepares students for certification in the high demand, cutting edge field of digital court reporting.

Sponsored by TCC’s Center for Military and Veterans Education (CMVE), the six-week program trains students in court and deposition procedures and practices, audio and video equipment and the complete process of advanced digital court reporting.

SkillBridge-approval enables eligible transitioning service members within 180 days of separation, with command approval, to participate in training as their place of duty. Students who successfully complete program requirements are guaranteed an offer of employment with Veterans Reporters Inc., either in Virginia or in their offices nationwide.

“There is a looming critical need for court reporters across the country,” said Batanya Gipson, project manager for military contract programs at the CMVE. “Many court systems are looking to digital court reporting as the answer. The digital court reporting program at TCC offers students the ability to make themselves marketable in this new and growing field.”

The next session begins April 16 and concludes May 25. Classes meet weekdays from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on the Virginia Beach Campus. Additional sessions are scheduled for:

June 18 – July 27
Aug. 20 – Sept. 28
Oct. 22 – Dec. 5

The course, recognized by the American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers (AAERT), prepares graduates for the national certification exam.

Donna Jenkins completed the program last fall and was hired immediately by Veteran Reporters Inc.

“You have to be a very meticulous person,” said Jenkins, who works in Washington, D.C. “You have to be committed and you have to recognize the seriousness of what you’re doing because people’s lives depend on what you’re doing and the record you’re taking.”

Students must have a high school diploma or equivalent and basic keyboarding and computer skills to enroll.

Although the program is geared to transitioning service members, veterans, and military spouses, enrollment is open to anyone.

The cost of the program is $3,950.

Students who complete the program earn 24 Continuing Education Units, a TCC certificate of completion and membership in AAERT.

Military-related students should contact the CMVE for information on using their education benefits to enroll in the digital court reporting program. Contact Gipson at 757-822-7724 or bgipson@tcc.edu or email military@tcc.edu to enroll in the program.

Navy veteran on the road to success with cyber security degree

When Navy veteran Shawn Goodwin retires from his 9-to-5 job in 13 years, he and wife Karen plan to hit the open road in their RV to see small-town America. “We want to travel all over the U.S. and see landmarks, beaches, mountains, streams and everything but the big cities,” he said.

Thanks to earning his associate degree from Tidewater Community College in December, he’ll have the income to support his travels. His Associate of Science in Information Systems Technology with a concentration in Cyber Security will enable him to do cybersecurity work while he’s on the go.

“I see myself working sporadically during the day as required, to keep an income stream with enough to fund our adventures,” he said.

A self-described computer nerd, Goodwin, 42, was a Senior Chief electronics technician when he retired from the Navy. He served 20 years and completed tours around the globe and a stint in Antarctica supporting the National Science Foundation.

“That was my favorite tour!” he said. “I provided tech support for the portable and high-frequency radios used to communicate around the continent.”

After the military, Goodwin found work as an information technology program manager for Navy contractors. He enrolled at TCC because of the quality of the cyber security program with its designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense by the National Security Agency.

“TCC fit my work schedule,” he said. “The flexibility of the classes and the adult learners in class with me at night made it an excellent experience.”

Goodwin meshed well with his cyber professors, particularly Rob Guess, director of cyber security, who he calls a super nerd. “I’m about his age, and I just get him. He’s extremely smart and knows his stuff.”

Using his GI Bill, Goodman earned his TCC degree debt-free.

The father of three children, Goodwin is encouraging his youngest to enroll at TCC. “I see kids struggling with classes and I encourage them to keep their minds on their studies.”